Experience. Involvement. Results.

I was instrumental in bringing a transportation solution to the table that gave residents and visitors an alternative to getting around besides their personal vehicles. Providing another way to get home helps address drunk drivers on our roads, and gives senior citizens and anyone without a vehicle a way to reach essential needs like groceries and doctors.

Today, ridership is approximately 55% residents and 45% visitors, showing this service meets a real need in our community.

I have worked for years on housing issues. I helped ensure that our existing affordable housing stock would be protected in perpetuity, and I worked to secure requirements for expanded and new developments to provide additional housing opportunities for our workforce.

This is what I believe local government should do: identify a need, do the work, bring people together, and find practical solutions.

The Village is under a consent order from the Department of Environmental Protection after a string of sewer overflows. Drawing on my earlier experience on Council putting the central sewer system in years ago, I recommended consultants who could steer the process to clear the consent order and provide the upgrades the Village needs.

They have been instrumental in moving the necessary projects along and keeping the process on schedule to satisfy DEP. The project is funded by state and federal grants, with only a small portion paid from local funds. I will continue to follow the progress to keep local expenses minimal and grant money flowing our way. Experience counts, and I have the experience.

Government accounting is substantially different from private industry. Many funds are restricted by law or by their funding source and cannot simply be used for other purposes.

The General Fund supports the Village’s day-to-day operations and is funded primarily by property taxes. Last year the General Fund budget was $24.3 million; the proposed budget for the coming year is $25.8 million. Police and fire funding used about 2/3 of the increase, leaving only 1/3 to cover cost-of-living adjustments and inflation in the other areas.

The Capital Fund is different, funded primarily through discretionary sales tax revenues and state and federal grants. Major projects including the roughly $7 million Lower Keys canal project are funded through these sources, not property tax dollars. I personally reviewed the projects in the Capital Fund to look for opportunities to move money back into the General Fund to reduce property tax, and I found nothing that could be redirected.

I take the Village budget seriously. I have reviewed the numbers, looked for savings, and will continue to do so. We have a responsibility to spend taxpayer dollars carefully, maintain essential services, and make sure every dollar is used for its intended purpose.