Rogers Anderson reflects on 24 years as Williamson County mayor, cites growth, new housing tool and health system transition

Rogers Anderson, Williamson County’s county mayor for the past 24 years, used his final State of the County address to praise long-term investments in education and infrastructure while flagging new tools and transitions for the county.

Anderson told the roughly 700 attendees that the county has seen “remarkable” growth since he took office in 2002: population rose from about 140,000 to 276,000; per-capita personal income grew from roughly $44,000 to about $140,000; and median home values climbed from about $236,000 to more than $920,000 in recent years. He also noted the county’s school system expanded from 33 to 52 schools, the student population from about 21,000 to 40,000, and the school budget from about $126 million to $566 million.

“These are indicators,” Anderson said, framing them as results of collective effort rather than individual credit. He emphasized the county’s long-standing commitment to education, noting that “77¢ of our tax rate of a dollar 30 goes back to public education” and that including debt service roughly 72% of property-tax dollars support schools.

Anderson outlined recent and upcoming policy items. He said the county will receive about $4,200,000 in opioid-related funding directed over the next 15 years as part of settlement distributions and cited the countywide opioid task force established to channel those dollars. He also announced a state grant of more than $15,000,000 to build an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center that will offer vocational pathways — including aviation, cybersecurity and AI — with capacity for up to 432 students.

On healthcare, Anderson said the Williamson Health board of trustees recommended to the county commission that it begin processing the sale of Williamson Health to Ascension Saint Thomas and that “it will still be another year and a half before all of the paperwork is done.” He described the board’s decision as difficult and taken after extensive review.

Anderson highlighted a recently enacted state law — Senate Bill 1849, the Essential Government Employee Housing Act — which he said went into effect May 22 and authorizes certain counties and cities to partner with private developers to finance and operate housing dedicated to essential public employees, including teachers, nurses, firefighters and law enforcement.

Guests at the event included a prerecorded message from U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and remarks from former governor Bill Haslam, who praised Anderson’s collaborative, low-conflict approach and quoted Abraham Lincoln’s call to lead “with malice toward none and with charity toward all” when praising Anderson’s style.

The program also featured sponsor remarks — including William Bradford of United Communications, who said United and Middle Tennessee Electric have invested more than $50,000,000 to expand fiber internet in Williamson County — a video tribute from Williamson Health, scholarship presentations to local students and other ceremonial recognitions.

Anderson closed by thanking family, staff and residents for their support and urged continued investment in the county’s schools, parks and public safety systems. He said the current property-tax rate will remain at $1.30 for the year and expressed gratitude for community cooperation that has supported the county’s growth.

The county did not record formal votes on new policies during the event; Anderson described board and commission actions already taken (for example, the hospital board recommendation and county commission tax-rate approval) and outlined next steps for implementation.