Last night at the Bauer Haus was a mayoral forum that consisted of two parts---first a 10 minute presentation by each candidate, and then a short question and answer period where each question asked was answered by each candidate.
The first question was asked by Mason Braunschweig, 590 W. Main, an aldermanic candidate in the April election. He asked " What would you do as Mayor to reduce taxes?"
There was a moment of silence since it may have been a long time since the prospects of reducing actual spending has been in view. Both Sandy Decker and Mike Anderson responded that they felt the city budget was in order and so no area that could sustain big cuts. Karen Aikman, the current Finance Chair, responded that yes Evansville taxes were high, but the thing to concentrate on was developing more commerical and industrial tax base which might provide some relief to homeowners. The key was not to concentrate on absolute cuts but on having the homeowner tax burden shrink relative to the total taxes paid.
If any candidate wants to add to this description, feel free to do so.
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You may be interested in attending the Budget meetings as they unfold this year...you will if you become the Alderman you seek to be. This is where the money gets disbursed to the various committees etc.
ReplyDeleteOf course not everyone agrees how each dollar gets spent. For a theoretical example, the parks department gets an allotment at budget time and they spend it as their committee determines. While you may agree at the overall budget meeting that $50,000 is a fair amount to spend on parks each year, you may not agree new slides (and I'm making this up here) is the best use of your tax dollar. In this made-up case, you do best to address it with the parks committee. This kind of expense is often the thing people think about when claiming there is waste. Single people who want groomed jogging paths get frustrated when they see slides get replaced, while families with small children are pleased. Spending, in reality, has more to do with the aldermen and their committees than with the mayor. Something you may wish to keep in mind during your own campaign.
Yes, you're right. The mayor position is one of influence and leadership. The power of the office is not assumed, but rather granted by those around it.
ReplyDeleteI expect I can speak for everyone who attends the Finance and Labor Committee meetings, when I say that we would welcome your interest as we spend much of our time critiquing where the money is going and how it is being spent. It would be a fertile learning ground for you. You, as well as anyone else, are welcome to attend.