Elections 2012: Q&A with Stillwater City Council Ward 2 Candidate Tom Corbett

Stillwater Patch recently submitted the following questions to all four of the candidates running for seats on the Stillwater City Council. The candidates were asked to keep their responses below 350 words each.

Here are the answers provided by Ward 2 Candidate Tom Corbett:

Browns Creek Trail

The Brown’s Creek Trail will have an obvious impact on the future of Stillwater, but the DNR has stated there is not enough funding to complete the trail. If elected, would you push to get the trails completed sooner or later?

Sooner.  This trail will improve upon Stillwater’s status as a destination city and will also improve upon the quality of life for residents.   

How would you go about doing that?

Partner with our state representative and state senator to have a voice for the project at the capitol. Determine which portion of the project costs the city may be able to pick up. Keep an open mind for creative ways to address this problem.  For example, why not challenge local hiking and cycling enthusiasts, organizations and businesses to raise private funds for the trail and provide matching city funds?  This could lead to a community fundraising event that everyone could support. 

Would you see this as a prudent use of city funds to hire a lobbyist?

Not if our state representative and state senator are willing to partner with the city to take up the cause.  

Levy Project Funding

The levy project in Lowell Park has been going on for years. The Army Corps of Engineers have recently said they will begin the final phase next spring. The city has said it will go with the Army Corps plan now, but if ground isn’t broken by next spring, they will consider doing the project internally. City staff states the project can be completed cheaper if the city does the work. If this project is delayed again, would you support working with the Corps to complete the project, or having city staff work on it?

If at all possible, the Army Corps of Engineers should do the work.  Hopefully the recent storm damage out east will not divert the Corps’ resources from this project.  If the project is delayed beyond August 1, 2013, I’d be inclined to have the city do the work. 

Why?

My understanding from the Patch reporting of 9/5/12 is that having the Army Corps do the work will cost the city about $350,000 while the city doing the work itself will cost the city about $525,000. 

As an aside, the City Council needs to treat the professionals at the Army Corp of Engineers with more respect.  Name-calling by Councilmembers isn’t helpful and reflects badly on the city.  The Corps are not bad actors.  They just have budgets and priorities like any other organization.

Employee Health and Retirement Benefits

What is your position on the city paying for employee health and retirement benefits?

City employees should be appropriately paid and appropriately benefitted.  As I’ve commented on the Patch before, I am not out to cut retired city employees’ benefits and leave anyone in the lurch. It is also important for the City Council to lead by example when it comes to benefits.    Right now, the city spends approximately $20,000 to provide health benefits to City Councilmembers.  City Councilmembers are not city employees, nor is being on the council intended to be a 40-hour a week job.  If elected, I will not take these benefits and I will look for at least two other votes on the council to end this spending. 

Do you believe the city should continue to pay 100 percent of the benefits or negotiate for greater employee participation?

As a member of the Stillwater Library Board of Trustees, I have reviewed the union contract for library employees who are AFSCME members.  I have also compared it against the City’s union contracts with the City’s union employees. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just asking employees to chip in for their benefits. The city does not have an HR person, nor does the city have an over-arching and consistent policy for how city employees and city consultants should be paid and benefitted.  We need one.  About 80% of the city’s operating expenses are for personnel services.

I believe we need to do a “true-up” that results in the city using more of today’s dollars to pay city employees and consultants for the services they are providing today.  The city has relied too much on using benefits and tomorrow’s dollars to pay city employees and consultants for services.  One problem with this approach is that the city can’t control what benefits, especially health insurance, will cost in the future.  I would expect that this “true-up” would result in city employees and consultants having more take home pay and benefits that are more in line with the private sector (e.g., not cashing out accrued sick time for retiring workers).

Distressed Housing

Residents have raised concerns about an increase in distressed housing in Stillwater. Do you see distressed homes as an issue in Stillwater, and if so, how would you go about addressing it?

I do see this as a problem. I would require the city to enforce its existing ordinances with respect to distressed homes and nuisance properties.  This is a core function of the city.  The historic housing stock in Ward 2 is one of the city’s great assets.  The city needs to do its part to make sure everyone is doing their part to keep our neighborhoods beautiful and to keep housing values up.

Ordinance Scofflaws

With the chicken and bee ordinances came discussion about the enforcement of scofflaws. How would you suggest addressing issues that may arise with the enforcement of noise, problem properties ordinances and the various provisions written into ordinances such as keeping bees and backyard chickens?

Same response as the question about distressed housing. You need to start with property violations that are open and obvious to anyone.  For example, people who begin projects on the exterior of their homes and then abandon those projects half-way through.

Dog Park / Swimming Pool

There are groups in Stillwater trying to gain city support for an off-leash dog park and a municipal pool. If elected, how would you address these two proposals?

Are you in favor of a dog park? 

Yes.  It is unlikely that it would be located in Ward 2 due to the fact that there is not much undeveloped property in the ward.  The groups supporting the dog park should also gain the support of the Councilmember who represents the ward where the dog park would be located.

A municipal pool?

No, unless someone can show me how the city could build and operate a municipal pool in a fiscally responsible manner.  I’m not yet persuaded that there is broad and deep support across the city for a municipal pool.  That said, if someone came forward to donate the acreage needed for the facility and private donors stepped up to get behind the project, I would be willing to take another look.   

Budget Management

What do you think about city spending?

It needs to be less than city tax revenues.  I am committed to holding the line on property taxes.

How would you work to keep amenities and services residents want and expect up to par while managing a budget?

The same way we all manage our budgets: by prioritizing and differentiating between wants and needs.  The City Council needs to take a line-item approach to budgeting.   Also, the city needs to be more transparent about how it spends taxpayer money.  There is no reason for reports on taxing and spending to be buried on the city’s website.

What areas would you consider cutting?

In my responses above, I’ve offered a few examples: eliminate benefits for City Councilmembers, avoid using lobbyists where they are not needed, “true-up” compensation and benefits for city employees and consultants, and have the Army Corp of Engineers do the levy project, if possible. 

Is there any circumstance in which you’d be in favor of increasing city budgets?

No, if the budget cannot be increased without raising property taxes. That said, I am open to looking at property-tax-neutral ways to accomplish important initiatives.  Also, if private development in the city takes off again, there may be a need to increase city budgets.  This increase would be offset by the additional taxable property in the city.  

Police Department Expansion

With the proposal to move the fire station to the new armory location, there is talk about expanding the police department into the fire station space. If elected, would you support expanding the police department?

It depends on what is proposed.  Obviously, the fire station space would need to be used somehow. 

If so, how would you suggest paying for it?

Until the costs are determined, it’s hard to say.  A huge part of the city’s budget is spent on retiring debt.  The city spent $4.5 million on debt service last year.  It may be that waiting for some of the city’s existing debt obligations to be retired would free up the money needed for this type of project.

New Liquor License Ordinance

The city council is currently considering an amendment to tighten the city’s liquor ordinance in an attempt to “improve conduct” at Stillwater bars. How would you propose the city moves forward with this issue? 

The senseless violence we’ve seen recently after hours in downtown Stillwater is totally unacceptable.  The city should first determine whether existing state statutes (e.g., dram shop acts) and the city’s current liquor ordinances are being enforced.  The city should then be thorough and look at what ordinances other Minnesota cities have on the books and whether some of those approaches make sense here.