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The Office of Carter County Trustee is open, and Travis Hill says he is up for the challenge and ready to continue to serve Carter County. Hill will be on the ballot in the upcoming Republican Primary on May 3.
Hill is no stranger to hard work. He served as a firefighter/engineer with the City of Elizabethton Fire Department for 12 years before embarking on a life-long dream of earning a college degree. With the support and encouragement from his family, Hill eventually left the fire department and entered ETSU for the first time in 2013. He soon found his gift with numbers and entered the Accountancy program. Hill excelled as an accounting student and spent every semester except one on the Dean’s List. He decided to pick up a second major to compliment the accounting program and chose Management. Determined to complete both degrees, he took full course loads every semester including summer all while working full time at Pal’s, where he was also promoted to manager. He graduated from ETSU with two BBA degrees in Accountancy and Management in three years with Magna Cum Laude honors.
After graduation he put his BBA to work and went back to the City of Elizabethton as an accountant. He has continued to further his professional education and increase his knowledge of accounting by earning professional certifications. He is certified by the State of Tennessee as a Certified Municipal Finance Officer and certified by the TVPPA as a Certified Utility Accountant.
As hardworking as he is, Hill still makes time for family. He has been married to Stacie McCall Hill for 14 years and they have two children, Eli and Amelia. He enjoys spending as much time as he can with his family especially having adventures in our region’s beautiful scenic spaces.
“I’m a family man first. I’ve been blessed more than I deserve. I try every day to be a good example and I know I fail sometimes, but I hope they know that everything I do is for them,” Hill said.
In 2018 Hill took on another challenge. He entered public service as a commissioner representing Carter County’s 6th district.
“I ran for commissioner in the 6th district because I wasn’t excited about the direction our county was moving at the time and so I got involved. I wanted to work with others in the community to try and give our county and our kids a future,” the now-commissioner shared.
Hill was elected to represent the 6th district of Carter County beating two incumbent competitors. While representing the 6th district, the commission passed three balanced budgets and increased funding to outside agencies with no tax increases. They also lowered the amount of debt by paying off existing loans and most importantly refinancing bonds saving over 2 million dollars to the taxpayer, increased Unassigned Fund Balance to over $10 million, and increased Debt Service Fund Balance to over $3 million.
“It has been my goal since entering office to be a good steward of our taxpayer money and to also support our county employees. I feel like we have done that with good fiscal management and trying to find ways to make the county employee wages and benefits competitive,” Hill shared.
While serving as a commissioner, Hill accepted the challenge of leadership and was elected to serve as Chairman of the Budget Committee, the Agriculture Committee, and Vice Chair of the Financial Management Committee. He was also subsequently elected as Chairman of the County Commission, and he currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the County Commission. Hill has served on other various committees and boards including the Audit Committee, Library Board, and the Carter County Planning Commission.
“I’ve lived in Carter County my whole life and I have enjoyed being in public service and helping others. I want to continue to do that by putting my experience and education to work for everyone in Carter County as Trustee,” the candidate said.
Just as Hill set and accomplished goals as a commissioner, he has goals for the Office of Trustee. If elected, he would work to streamline services and implement a curbside service program for citizens with disabilities or are unable to come into the office. He also has plans to work to increase the amount of money the county provides to the property tax relief program to help the eligible elderly low-income homeowners as well as disabled homeowners and disabled veterans.
Another top goal is to invest the county’s idle funds to increase interest revenues. Hill knows from first-hand experience the importance of every dollar of taxpayer money. “I’m currently in my fourth year on the county’s budget committee. I know we must be good stewards of the taxpayer’s money and we try to stretch each dollar as far as we can. I will work with local banks first to get the best rates possible, but I am not opposed to shopping outside the county so that each dollar can generate the most interest it can,” Hill stated.
He said he appreciates all the support the citizens of Carter County have shown him over the year and would like to thank everyone for their support and friendship.