Monroe Roark has filed a declaration of intent to run for chairman of the Henry

County Board of Commissioners. He will host a meet-and-greet Tuesday, Feb. 21, at 7 p.m. at the Ted Strickland Community Center in Stockbridge. A similar gathering in the southern half of the county is in the works for the following week. His web site should be up and running within a few days. Monroe released the following statement to the Citizen Newsletter: "It's time to examine Henry County's priorities. "We need the right priorities when it comes to economic development. We must focus more on having better jobs here at home than on making it easier to get to Atlanta to work. We must have a plan, and we must be united in implementing that plan. We need to make it irresistible for business and industry to invest THEIR resources here, instead of investing taxpayer money hoping business will come. "We need the right priorities when it comes to transportation. The key here is local control, not regional control. Any future special sales tax revenue collected in Henry County should go solely toward road and intersection projects in Henry County. "We need the right priorities when it comes to the county budget. Every department that impacts the safety of our citizens must be properly funded. Every other department is optional. To take any other approach would be an unfair burden on our taxpayers as well as our county employees. We must strive to reduce that burden. "As chairman of your Board of Commissioners, I want to help ensure that our priorities are the right ones. Our future quality of life depends on it."