What other issues would you tackle while in office?
1. Improve the communication between the School Board and City Council.
It is evident that there is poor communication between City Council and the School Board as editorials were traded between members of each in the newspaper during the budget process last year. There needs to be regular meetings between the two bodies to discuss the needs of the school division and how those needs can be met. If elected, I could provide current information regarding the school division to other council members.
2. Change the fee for recycling.
Last year city council voted to have each household pay $17.50 per month for the city’s recycling program. The fee was put in place to help pay for waste management and is little more than a tax. It would have worked better for citizens if they had raised taxes instead of implementing the fee, as a tax is deductable on income tax. Suffolk wants to be known as the city with the lowest tax rate, but it should not be done by disguising taxes as fees. With this train of thought there could be new fees on the horizon such as mosquito spraying fee, public safety fee, tax bill processing fee, etc.
It is evident that there is poor communication between City Council and the School Board as editorials were traded between members of each in the newspaper during the budget process last year. There needs to be regular meetings between the two bodies to discuss the needs of the school division and how those needs can be met. If elected, I could provide current information regarding the school division to other council members.
2. Change the fee for recycling.
Last year city council voted to have each household pay $17.50 per month for the city’s recycling program. The fee was put in place to help pay for waste management and is little more than a tax. It would have worked better for citizens if they had raised taxes instead of implementing the fee, as a tax is deductable on income tax. Suffolk wants to be known as the city with the lowest tax rate, but it should not be done by disguising taxes as fees. With this train of thought there could be new fees on the horizon such as mosquito spraying fee, public safety fee, tax bill processing fee, etc.