Wednesday, October 31, 2001
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Wednesday, October 31, 2001 |
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Peachtree City mayoral candidates questioned Four candidates will ask for your vote Tuesday in Peachtree City's mayoral race: Steve Brown, Dan Lakly, Frank Murphy and Gary Rower. Here are their answers to a questionnaire from The Citizen.
1.
How will you vote to deal with the city's budget crunch?
Steve Brown We need a specific budget strategy as a city council. We must formulate some financial principles to determine what is absolutely necessary verses what is not. Police, fire and public works are absolutely essential. It is disheartening to see a pet project ($2.5 million Tennis Center expansion) not before the voters via a referendum and viewed as an essential project while valuable public works projects are being pushed back into future years (see http://www.SteveBrownPTC.com/budget.html). Had we bonded new facility costs over a course of years instead of paying for them in cash, new citizens moving into the city would be paying their fair share of the costs and we would be in a much better financial position. A sound strategy would be to pay for all necessary facilities via bond or the Georgia Municipal Association's "Bricks and Mortar" program so that the city does not take a deep, immediate financial hit.
Dan Lakly I will vote to fully fund public safety, health and public welfare. The other departments will receive careful and through consideration. If necessary, brick and mortar projects would be the first items to be delayed and/or reduced. The people/voters will decide the bond issue. In the event that the bond referendum fails, that will be the will of the people/voters.
Frank Murphy Great Question! I was in agreement at our last council meeting when our government had the forethought to vote in a contingency plan for a possible drop in revenue. The city staff presented a plan, which covered a range from a 5 percent to a 20 percent loss. I would not, however, vote on a plan that would jeopardize the safety or welfare of our citizens. I will not cut funding to the Police or Fire Departments. Public safety must always be our priority. I am not a candidate that will hide behind wishy-washy answers to questions. I personally support the bond referendum. As the father of four, my family uses the recreation facilities almost daily and I understand the need for more, but, should the citizens of Peachtree City not accept them then I would honor and respect their wishes. I will never look for ways to bypass the wishes of the citizens.
Gary Rower The "city's budget crunch" as the question implies, presupposes that nothing has been done to date. That perception would be inaccurate. To date, the staff and current council have already adjusted the millage rate to account for last year's untimely rollback that created this year's shortfall. Additionally, at the Oct. 18 council meeting, staff presented and the council approved a contingency plan to defer, as necessary, equipment acquisitions, construction projects and a list of other items that could be postponed. That list, which is too long for this forum, is available at City Hall. Potentially deferred items have been ranked by necessity with the more important items being the last to be deferred and the first to be reinstated as the situation evolves. Council will be updated over coming months on the adjusted revenue projections from sales tax and will adjust the deferrals as necessary.
2. The city is nearing build-out, while the economy is in a slump. Given that, should city staff levels grow, remain the same, or be cut?
Steve Brown Currently, remain the same. A 20 percent shortfall in revenue is $1.46 million. I will not use property tax increases as a remedy for the shortfall. I also will not fund developer windfall projects like the TDK Boulevard extension (see http://www.SteveBrownPTC.com/planning.html). Before considering employee layoffs, I will cut funding to the Development and Airport authorities. Both are huge funding vacuums. The taxpayers/homeowners come first and the special interests must fall back in line. Historically, I found that previous councils rarely touched the council contingency funds allotted in the annual budget. Our current administration exhausts the contingency funds by mid-year. We need to stop being compulsive shoppers and focus on conserving tax dollars. We need to streamline our purchasing systems and look for ways to save by devising joint purchasing agreements with other jurisdictions. Just bidding our road projects in conjunction with the county government would save large sums of money.
Dan Lakly Everything but public safety, health and public welfare will be on the table for public discussion.
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