• Allen joins commission after working for SLCEDC.

The new Lincoln County Commission Chief of Staff Stephen Allen says there are several projects they want to prioritize as they seek to create some unity with the new role.

Allen was more recently a liaison for the South Lincoln County Economic Development team. With all that is happening in industries in south Lincoln County and the residential uptick in the northern part, he says the Commission felt it necessary to have a central resource.

He says he will work with local leaders to see what projects they have, and he will then be able to go and present that to the State Loan and Investment Board (SLIB).

“I also work with personnel policies,” Allen said. “That’s a project I am on right now.”

He says one thing he looked at was review health and insurance and that will save around $800,000 to $1 million in the second half the current fiscal quarter.

He also highlighted that there will be nine different companies that will be coming into south Lincoln County between now and 2030. He says the new role will help in finding success in those companies coming.

“This is all about getting a jump ahead of that ball game,” Allen said. “before they all get here.
He added, “This will bring in well over 10,000 temporary workers, which will leave us with another 3,000 to 4,000 permanent workers (which) is a very conservative estimate.”

He says one of the main focuses initially in terms of projects will be managing all the different departments and “bringing them under an organizational system”. He says this will be to provide quick responses. “As constituents and elected officials need data or projects done,” Allen said. “And managing those resources.”

He says this will create a system so that they can best manage projects across the county. He says this will not only be for the economic development going on in south Lincoln County but also the residential increase in the upper and lower valleys.