PCB's/Water Contamination

So far we have spent $6 million dollars of Federal money. And for that $6 million all we got was a temporary reduction. We have another $700,000 coming from the state.

The most important thing we can do is identify the source of contamination before we spend another dime. Only when we know the source of the problem, can we develop an effective plan to solve it. This plan must include a solution that will clean it up completely. Our residents deserve nothing less. I believe that once we have a complete understanding of the problem, the source, and a plan for clean-up, then we should aggressively pursue the state, county, and federal monies that may be available to help pay for it.

In addition, I am a firm believer in POLLUTER PAYS. When the polluter, or the descendants of the polluter can be found, they should be held responsible. Identifying and citing polluters would be a better use of code enforcements time than what they are doing now.

It is my intention to utilize the resources and expertise developed by Toxic Free Shores and Michigan Clean Water Action for guidance. Both are a valuable resource in our community, and to continue to ignore their knowledge would be foolish.

Fees

I want to make sure that there is a direct relationship between the fees the city charges and the cost of providing the service. Fees should be reviewed regularly to make certain that our residents are charged the actual cost to provide the service. To often, fees are utilized as an additional revenue stream - a "tax" that does not require a vote of the people.

Sidewalks

As with so many issues that have come up recently between the city and the property owners, I am concerned about the arbitrary way that certain sidewalks are being targeted for replacement.

It makes me wonder, "who is in charge here? Who makes these decisions?" Is it the contractor? There should be an objective standard, enforced by a neutral party-not someone who stands to benefit. Most of us would feel terrible if someone tripped and got hurt in front of our house-I know I certainly would. And that's got to be the standard-is it dangerous?

Then we would need to make sure that the cost is competitive and we need to figure out a way to help our residents offset the cost, if it is going to be a hardship.

Finally, I have been disturbed with the quality of workmanship I have seen on many of the replacement sidewalks. The contractor must be held to a rigid standard, inspected at each phase of the project, and warranty their work.

Blight

I don't oppose maintaining our neighborhoods. I oppose harassing our citizens. Code enforcement has gone way over the edge into the harassment zone. Do our residents need to be protected from those who neglect their property and drag down the value of the neighborhood? Of course!!

But does this include gravel driveways or a fleck of chipped paint? Absolutely not. This year over a thousand of our residents have been cited, and have received nasty, threatening letters from the city, and many were over minor cosmetic things. I think this is wrong and I want it stopped.

Stahls' relationship to the city.

Stahls' does not sell anything that the city would want or need to buy. We do, of course have to deal with the city on things like permits and fees, just like any other business. I would, of course, abstain from any vote that directly affected Stahls', and most importantly, have a policy of voluntary, full disclosure on any kind of interaction between my family company and the city.

City Employees

I respect our city employees, and believe that they are the ones who can best tell us where the waste is in their departments. I hope to seek out the opinions of our employees when I am looking at the ways to cuts costs. Furthermore, the city council cannot directly fire anyone except the city manager and the city attorney. I will, however, hold the city manager and the city attorney to a much higher standard of performance than the current administration does, and their reviews will reflect this higher standard.

What's your political affiliation?

The city council is a non-partisan race; therefore NONE of our political affiliations should have a bearing on the race. However, I am honored to have the support across the board from Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Independents and Greens.

City Place and a Tax Increment Finance Authority (TIFA)

I like the idea of City Place, and I think I would enjoy shopping and dining there. However, I oppose using taxpayer money to fund a private development. I believe that if a development is viable, then developers will be vying with each other to build it. If the only way a development can be viable is if it is getting a taxpayer subsidy, then it is no longer viable and should not be built. I will never forget the hard lesson learned by our neighbors in Pontiac, who subsidized the building of the Pontiac Silverdome for the Lions, and have been paying for it ever since. I will not support taxing our residents to bond, or subsidize private development, no matter how much I might like to see a proposed project implemented.

Water Rates:

My campaign literature says that I want to make sure that our water rates are comparable to other cities, and that's exactly what I mean to do. I understand that older communities have somewhat higher rates, because our pipes are older and tend to break more often. St Clair Shores had over 400 breaks last year alone, and those breaks need to be paid for. But it is my intention to compare our rates to other cities in similar circumstances, and make sure that what we pay comparable and that we are not gouging our residents. I firmly believe that the cost of providing a service is what should determine the fee for that service, and that residents should not be over charged for a vital service in order to generate revenue for something else. If there is a surplus or and overcharge, I will propose that it be refunded.

Attracting/Keeping Businesses

The best way to increase city revenues without raising taxes is to attract new, successful, tax paying businesses into the city. The best way to attract new business into the city is to make the city "business friendly" That means working with - not against- new businesses that want to locate here. I recently publicized the plight of a local woman who was being harassed by the city for operating a business out of her home. Instead of moving, she decided to rent a building to house her company. Now, I hear that she is being harassed about her new facility! The city is demanding extensive renovations, permits, inspections, and generally continuing to make her life miserable. That's not business friendly. I want our city to welcome new business. To streamline the processes of moving your business in here. And as long as it's not a business that is going to add to our pollution problems, I want the city policies to be "Welcome to St. Clair Shores" How may we help you to locate here? It starts with a change of attitude.

How should the unions be approached in negotiations?

The approach should begin by talking to the employees about ways to cut costs, without reducing salaries or benefits. We have many good people working for the city, and we cannot afford to lose them to cities with bigger budgets! Vital services must be maintained as cost effectively as possible. During the course of this campaign, numerous employees who want to remain anonymous have approached me. They tell me that their departments waste all kinds of money. I want our city to open up a dialog with the employees and hear them out. I think we will be surprised at how much easier negotiations will go when we start listening to our people.

The city is facing hard financial years. What more can departments do to contribute to a balanced budget, yet maintain quality services to residents?

ALL older cities in S.E. Michigan face these challenges - we are not alone! My experience working at Stahls' has shown that departmental employees know where the inefficiencies are within their departments. Given the chance, and the proper incentives, the employees can show management multiple ways to cut costs.

What about the golf course, marinas and pool?

Each should be evaluated for cost VS viability. Some cities benefit from selling such facilities to private concerns. Private golf courses make money. Private marinas make money. If the city can't make them profitable, then we need to sell these facilities to private concerns that can. Then they become tax paying instead of tax draining.

As to the pool, I recently learned that the city of Troy did a cost evaluation and determined that demolishing their pool would actually cost more than to continue to operate it. So, one of my friends who is on the city council over there founded a volunteer group called "Friends of the Aquatic Center." This volunteer group is probably made up of many of the people who use the pool, and helps the city make sure that it doesn't wind up being a burden to the taxpayers who may have no interest in using it.

The police and court buildings are in dire need of renovations. What can be done about the situation that those 2 departments face?

All departments must tighten their belts during these hard times. Only renovations that affect health or safety or ADA compliance should be undertaken. Once again, employees should be consulted to provide input and ideas. Changes in décor should be postponed, or untaken by volunteers within the community

How can St. Clair Shores market itself to encourage younger families to purchase a home and stay?

SCS is a great place to live and raise a family. Every member of the community is responsible for shouting that message to the rooftops! The city can help by making the permitting process easy and inexpensive for young families who wish to buy and renovate our "fixer-uppers." I was recently talking to a contractor who used to provide home improvement services to homeowners in St. Clair Shores. He told me that our permit fees are so high, our inspection processes so difficult, and our city so impossible to deal with, that he will no longer take work here if it requires a permit. That is not the way to encourage people to move here and buy a home that needs fixing. Those policies make people look elsewhere. I want us to review those processes, and make sure that our permit fees are reasonable and comparable to other cities, and our inspection requirements don't go beyond what is needed to protect our neighborhoods from shoddy contractors. Just like my stand on businesses, I want the city policy to be "Welcome to St. Clair Shores! How can we help you to buy your home here?"

What about the budget?

I have reviewed the budget, and there are several areas where it appears that we could be doing a better, more efficient job. As your councilwoman, I plan to investigate those areas. However I know enough about municipal financing to know that there are always some items, which, at first glance, appear to be wasteful spending. Then, once you dig into them and find out the reason for the expenditure, you discover that it is one of those "unfunded mandates" from the state that we are always hearing about, and by law cannot be cut. So I am not going to stand up here and say "I am going to cut this or cut that" and then find out later that it's something that we have no ability to cut, making it look like I have just broken a campaign promise. I have promised that I will scrutinize every line of the budget, evaluate each expenditure, and ask some really tough questions about where the money is going and why. We know that the money that comes from state revenue sharing can has been drastically cut, and will probably be cut again. As a result, we are going to have to make cuts too. The issue is always where and how.

I am currently attending Walsh College, and am working towards Masters degree in finance. I will use those skills to do my evaluations, and do everything I possibly can to make sure that our tax dollars are being spent efficiently and effectively.

You have been pretty critical of the Mayor and the Council. If elected how will you work with them?

I don't think our Mayor and current council are bad people! I just think that they have lost sight of some of the things that are important to our residents. That's easy to do, once you have been in office for a while.

There is an old saying - if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you always got. I think we need some new and fresh ideas and perspectives, and if the support I am receiving from the community is any indication, the residents of St Clair Shores think so too. If I - or any of the other candidates who are challenging the current council are successful, then I think that puts everyone on the council on notice that the people are tired of getting what they always got, and it's time to do things differently.

As a candidate for public office, it's my job to tell people what I think is wrong, how I think this should be done. Then if people agree with me, they vote for me. If they disagree with me, they don't vote for me. If I thought everything was wonderful, and that the city was being run the best way it could possibly be, I wouldn't be a candidate.

As far as working with the other council members, I can only say this. I am a nice person, with some skills that I think this council really needs. It may take me some time to win some of them over, but I am also a patient person. I have the best interests of this city at heart, and I will work with who ever winds up sitting beside me at the council table.

Email Erin At: Erin@ErinStahl.com

Paid for by: Friends of Erin Stahl
20113 Avalon
St. Clair Shores, MI 48080
(586) 774-8181