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 I am pleased to announce that I am seeking re-election as
your mayor. Our city continues to face a number of
challenges that must be addressed if we are to continue to
grow and prosper. Our property taxes are too high and our
debt is more that what it should be for a city of our size.
Our older neighborhoods need to be preserved and upgraded.
Our streets are in need of a lot of work and our utility
systems need a lot more maintenance and repair than they are
currently receiving. We have excellent fire and police
departments. We obviously need to do whatever it takes to
maintain this excellence. Our economic development team has
done a great job over the past few years in bringing
industry to our city. It is critical that this effort be
continued. Good, environmentally friendly industry that
provide high paying jobs for our citizens are necessary for
the vitality of our community. The continued re-development
of our downtown area is something that is important to all
of our citizens. A partnership between city government, Hill
College and private investors and business owners will
continue to make our downtown area an exciting place.
Making all of this happen will require a lot of work. Being
the mayor of a city of nearly 30,000 is nearly a full time
job. Unlike my opponents, I have an office here and I am
available all day long, every day, to meet with citizens and
conduct city business. During the last budget cycle I
proposed a budget that would retain the same level of city
services while at the same time increase spending on street
projects and lower city property taxes. Unfortunately, my
proposal was voted down by a majority of the council. I
pledge to you that I will continue my effort to lower your
property taxes and work toward paying down some of our $100
million in debt. Because of our windfall of energy royalty
money, we have a marvelous opportunity to do some good
things for our city.
Some of my proposals aimed at lowering your tax burden have
been a little controversial because they have not been
"business as usual". One of the members of the council
recently told the audience at a recent meeting that taxes
would go up and debt would increase. At our March 28th
council meeting our finance director told the council that
he was in favor of continuing to increase water rates at the
rate of 3% a year. I just simply do not buy in to this line
of thought. It is my belief that we can conduct our business
in a manner that will keep tax and water rates from
increasing. I promise you that, as your mayor, I will not go
along with those who do not represent the will of the people
just for the sake of unity. If an issue comes up that is not
in the best interest of the city as a whole I will not
hesitate to draw a line in the sand and say no.
Thank you for your continued support!
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