Greetings and Salutations Citizens and visitors:

It is time for celebration! Can you believe it has been a full year since I was elected as mayor? Last year [you] the citizens voted 65% majority over the incumbent that you were ready for a more profound and dynamic change. Change is inevitable and a change has come! So, much has happened over the past year. I cannot take all of the credit for these accomplishments; however, I would like to highlight a few things that have taken place. With various collaborations, we have been able to see that we are a city on the move. I would like to take this time to say thank you to Mayor Smith (Haywood County Mayor), as well as Mayor Sterbinsky (Mayor of Stanton) for a great working team. It has been commented on numerous occasions that there has not be a team of mayors able to get more done for their citizens.

A true testament to the change that has come to Brownville is through the collaboration of the community, elected officials, and many other entities to help make this change positive and possible. Just look:

We opened our brand new Boys and Girls club; opened the new Flagg Groove School; contracted out a $2 million drainage project for North Brownsville that will alleviate the flooding; with the help of a grant from TVA we will begin construction of the I-40 Advantage Park, completed phase one of the Farmers Market; with the assistance and donation from the Brownsville Housing Authority we opened a new Police Substation at Summer Oaks Housing Authority; the opening of 16 new housing units under the CDBG Housing grant; we erected new welcome to Brownsville signs with the assistance of public and private donor funds; celebrated with a groundbreaking of a new facility with H&R Agripower, that is a 3.2 mill investment which, once completed, will increase sales tax revenue; with assistance from donor funds of Mr. Pat Mann the construction of the Amphitheater has begun; we celebrated as a united city to cheer on the Tomcats (Coach Dancy and the Boys Basketball Team) in victory and becoming Haywood County’s first TSSAA Champions 2015; launched operation clean sweep to board up houses as well as remove debris, over grown roughage and trash from our city streets; we launched a new website and facebook in order to keep the City connected to City Hall; launch of Healthy Moves Initiative; developed a partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield to fund and enhance our “Healthy Moves” Health and Wellness Initiative; launched the Save Our Streets Anti Violence Initiative, with programs focusing on Community Policing and bridging the Gap, Ministers Alliance and community Unity Breakfasts, Youth Symposiums and Engagement; with collaboration of all three mayors we secured the Delta Regional Authority $50k grant to launch the Career Ready Workforce initiative and after the commitment from Co-Chairman Chris Masingill of an additional $50k if we can match it, we are determined to find donors to match this grant. I have completed elected officials academy Levels 1 & 2 and received TDOT Right of Way training; while actively participating Haywood Tipton Lauderdale county board of directors; TN Municipal League; Regional Mega Site Board; Southwest Development Board of Directors; as well as, the West TN Mayors association. Brownsville we are definitely on the move and headed in a better direction.

Finally, as school starts and the summer comes to an end let us turn our focus towards the future. We are headed towards better times. Educators we pour into you so you might be full to pour into the vessels that are our children. We encourage you to remember the light that shines in each child you see. They become our workforce, they will become our council men and women; let’s build our leaders. Thank you educators for all that you do. We want our students to be well rounded individuals that are Career Ready, because the Megasite is coming, our Industrial Park will be filled with various companies; jobs will be here and the child that you educate today will turn into the person looking for employment tomorrow. I am committed to bringing a better quality of life to the citizens of Brownsville. I am committed to bringing hope back into our community.

I would like to say thank you to everyone who has helped make the first 12 months of my administration an incredible success.

Let’s make a successful school year and let’s make it an even better second year of my term as Mayor!

William D. Rawls, Jr.
Mayor