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District 3
Age: 61 Occupation: Retired from construction Town of residence: Newport Question: As various forms of federal aid expire and costs rise, the county is facing a struggle to balance the budget. Should the county consider some form of tax increase to have enough revenue? Increase fees for county services? How would you prioritize cuts to county services if there isn’t enough revenue to continue services at current levels?
Answer: I will not raise taxes on the people of this county. There is money that is being wasted and we can recover funds to balance our budget. If money is not being used wisely and not working to benefit the people it has to stop.
Question: Like many employers, the county is having a difficult time attracting and retaining staff. What can be done to make sure the county has enough workers to do county business? Pay more? Allow work from home? Something else?
Answer: Staffing is hard to find when you don’t have sufficient housing where people can live.
There are many factors for hiring and retaining qualified talent.
Question: After funding law enforcement, some would say maintaining county roads is the next top priority for county funding. Do you agree that is the case and if so, is road maintenance adequately funded now?
Or is road funding one of many things the county has to fund with the money it has? If there aren’t enough funds for maintaining roads, what should be done?
Answer: Our roads are in dire need of repair and restoration. I have a background in road building and will work closely with the road department.
Roads receive the largest amount of funding in the budget. From looking at the numbers I believe forty percent of that budget is being wasted.
We need to be wise with our actions and spending, bringing common sense ideas to the forefront.
Let’s Make This County Great Again!
