Goals and Objectives
I believe our system of government is breaking down and our leadership is out of touch with the reality of day to day life.
Reality is that Benton County Taxpayers are already the most highly taxed people in this area. The number of foreclosures is skyrocketing, home values are dropping, we have record high gas prices, we have a high debt load and the cost of living is increasing daily and instead of trying to find the best, most economical way of delivering services our leadership is creating new programs and new fees for the taxpayers in the county. Something has to change.
Another reality is that gimmicks and slogans won’t fix this. Temporary tax caps, wage freezes, deferring maintenance and cutting employees are just gimmicks and quick fixes. They don’t solve problems, they just delay the inevitable and in two or three years we pay more to fix the damage done by the gimmicks. It’s a cycle that needs to be broken and it will take long-term planning and long-term commitment to fix the problem permanently.
As Commissioner I would advocate:
· A moratorium on all new programs and fees for at least one year
· A thorough review of all existing programs and budgets to find waste, mismanagement, inefficiency or redundancy in the delivery of services and solve those problems.
· A thorough review of our fee schedule to be sure fees are reasonable and legal
· Locating other funding sources
· Finding better, more efficient ways of delivering state mandated services
· Balancing budgets by controlling spending
· Instituting zero balance budgeting once every four to eight years thereby ending automatic inflationary increases to budgets
· Forming purchasing co-ops with other government entities for all goods used
· Working closely with other government entities to avoid redundancy in services
· Sharing information with all other government agencies to avoid waste and mismanagement
· Aggressively pursuing small business to bring in to the county – preferably manufacturing or light industrial. Find businesses more suited to today’s needs – solar, fuel cell, agribusiness, etc.
· Staggering meeting times to allow for more public input
· Reviewing and updating zoning and land use ordinances to make them more applicable to today’s needs
· Reviewing all county ordinances and making necessary changes to make them easier to understand and more applicable to today’s standards
· Working with employee groups to find ways to cut costs
I believe we are at a tipping point now. We have to face the fact that costs are going to keep going up. I do not advocate quick fixes or gimmicks just to cut taxes. As the county grows it will cost more to maintain and provide the services we expect and are used to having. We are going to have to make hard choices and a long term commitment to fiscal responsibility to solve the problems we face permanently.
Reality is that Benton County Taxpayers are already the most highly taxed people in this area. The number of foreclosures is skyrocketing, home values are dropping, we have record high gas prices, we have a high debt load and the cost of living is increasing daily and instead of trying to find the best, most economical way of delivering services our leadership is creating new programs and new fees for the taxpayers in the county. Something has to change.
Another reality is that gimmicks and slogans won’t fix this. Temporary tax caps, wage freezes, deferring maintenance and cutting employees are just gimmicks and quick fixes. They don’t solve problems, they just delay the inevitable and in two or three years we pay more to fix the damage done by the gimmicks. It’s a cycle that needs to be broken and it will take long-term planning and long-term commitment to fix the problem permanently.
As Commissioner I would advocate:
· A moratorium on all new programs and fees for at least one year
· A thorough review of all existing programs and budgets to find waste, mismanagement, inefficiency or redundancy in the delivery of services and solve those problems.
· A thorough review of our fee schedule to be sure fees are reasonable and legal
· Locating other funding sources
· Finding better, more efficient ways of delivering state mandated services
· Balancing budgets by controlling spending
· Instituting zero balance budgeting once every four to eight years thereby ending automatic inflationary increases to budgets
· Forming purchasing co-ops with other government entities for all goods used
· Working closely with other government entities to avoid redundancy in services
· Sharing information with all other government agencies to avoid waste and mismanagement
· Aggressively pursuing small business to bring in to the county – preferably manufacturing or light industrial. Find businesses more suited to today’s needs – solar, fuel cell, agribusiness, etc.
· Staggering meeting times to allow for more public input
· Reviewing and updating zoning and land use ordinances to make them more applicable to today’s needs
· Reviewing all county ordinances and making necessary changes to make them easier to understand and more applicable to today’s standards
· Working with employee groups to find ways to cut costs
I believe we are at a tipping point now. We have to face the fact that costs are going to keep going up. I do not advocate quick fixes or gimmicks just to cut taxes. As the county grows it will cost more to maintain and provide the services we expect and are used to having. We are going to have to make hard choices and a long term commitment to fiscal responsibility to solve the problems we face permanently.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
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3 comments:
Steve - you will make an outstanding commissioner! You are intelligent and informed and will do an excellent job representing the best interests of your constituents. You are very practical and will find solutions to problems. You are not afraid to stand up and take a position and your leadership is much neeeded!
Are you the candidate that had the big dogs in the Gilman parade?
Yes I am. If you need more information please call me at 320-983-2898.
Thank you!
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