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http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...3c819619180.txt

First Ward Common Council Candidate Interviews

Published: Saturday, April 23, 2011 5:09 PM CDT
Angelo Loroy Corley, 57

Party: Democrat

Should the city acquire the former YMCA building to open a recreational center and use riverboat money to fund its operation?

Depending on the condition of the YMCA building and the cost of opening and running it on a daily basis, it could be used as a recreational center, and using riverboat money is an option. Would there be a possibility of federal grants or funding? These are things that could be looked into because we need something for the youth.

Should city employees receive yearly pay raises, and how would you determine whether they should or shouldn’t?

Yes, if it’s affordable for the city, then city employees should get yearly raises, either by contract negotiations or yearly evaluations. These are up to the mayor to decide. The council only votes on what the mayor decides.

What’s the greatest problem facing the city that you as a Common Council member could address?

Jobs. Jobs that will bring our graduates back to the city after they graduate.

Richard Murphy, 42

Party: Democrat (incumbent)

Should the city acquire the former YMCA building to open a recreational center and use riverboat money to fund its operation?

I believe a recreational center for Michigan City residents is a concept worth pursuing. There are obvious positive health and quality of life benefits for Michigan City residents with the implementation of such a project. Regarding moving on the YMCA opportunity in particular, the city should proceed through the due diligence and cost/benefits analysis of the project, including an operations plan to determine the feasibility of the project. Only then can a decision be made on how best to proceed.

Should city employees receive yearly pay raises, and how would you determine whether they should or shouldn’t?

The City Council would like nothing better than to approve a budget with pay raises for all city employees. Our city employees deserve a raise. They have continued to work hard to deliver excellent city services day in and day out. The severe economic conditions and budget shortfalls of the last few years have presented major challenges to approving an operational budget that we can afford. We have managed to avoid widespread layoffs which have been prevalent in other communities; however, the city has not been able to add operational expenses into the budget, and this has meant no pay raises. I know this has had an impact on employee morale at times and certainly on our employees’ families. It is important to point out that according to our riverboat ordinance, there is a cap on riverboat funds that can be used for operational expenses. We have already reached this cap, and for this reason are not able to use riverboat funds for city pay raises. Having said this, I am hopeful that as the economy begins to improve and as Michigan City begins to reap the positive impact of several economic impact projects, that we will be able to grow our operations budget and be able deliver the much needed pay raises to our city workers.

What’s the greatest problem facing the city that you as a Common Council member could address?

Our greatest challenge is to bring new and better jobs to Michigan City residents. I believe this is also our greatest opportunity. To do so, we must leverage the tremendous assets of Michigan City, Lake Michigan, our downtown and surrounding neighborhoods, our commuter rail, our proximity to Chicago and our low business and real estate costs to attract new investors and businesses to choose Michigan City. We must continue to invest in our assets to polish the jewel we have and aggressively market Michigan City as the next best place to live, work and visit. This is how we will help bring new and better jobs to Michigan City residents. Achieving this goal will require vision, strong leadership, a lot of hard work and a resolve to stay the course as we move through each project implementation. Most importantly, it will require a spirit of cooperation for all of us to work together toward a greater good to make a better city for all of us now and for the next generation of Michigan City residents.

Kevin Walsh, 62

Party: Republican

Should the city acquire the former YMCA building to open a recreational center and use riverboat money to fund its operation?

No, the city should not acquire the former YMCA building. There are already adequate and under-utilized facilities in Michigan City. Numerous school gymnasiums are available for kids to use. Let’s not forget the Boys & Girls Clubs of Michigan City. To spend money on mold and possible asbestos remediations is not in the taxpayer’s interest, especially for duplicative services. That property’s future is better spent on the tax rolls. The property is situated in a desirable business location.

Should city employees receive yearly pay raises, and how would you determine whether they should or shouldn’t?

Always is a tough word to use when talking about pay raises. However, “when possible” is a viable phrase. City employees should never go four years without a pay raise. When low morale infects a workforce, city services, and therefore the public, suffer. City employees should receive raises before million dollar splash pads and redundant parks are built. City employees should receive raises before politicians race to the “riverboat cookie jar” to bail out their friends who own mined-out sand quarries which may have environmental soil problems. Perhaps the CPI (consumer price index) can be used to determine basic future pay increases. Beyond that measurement, supervisory input could be utilized to reward superior performance.

What’s the greatest problem facing the city that you as a Common Council member could address?

There is no greatest problem, but there is a confluence of many smaller problems that add up to the current morass. We happen to live in a town that did its best to deny and obstruct its greatest natural asset: Lake Michigan. Michigan City leaders erected monuments to themselves (a city hall and police department) to further confound our visitors to the great Lake Michigan. Even the estimable News-Dispatch followed suit. The city’s absurd traffic flow continues on after the great Franklin Street Mall debacle. Old-timers tell me that you used to be able to see the lake from Ripley Street down Franklin Street. These mistakes were never admitted, addressed or changed. Still today, as I write this, we have municipal agencies planning self-aggrandizing million dollar lakefront monuments to further block the public’s view of the magnificent lake. There should be no new buildings constructed in the park or waterfront, and some structures should be removed. These thoughts are but some of the dilemmas we face. One-party rule has done nothing but drag Michigan City into this abyss. Patchwork spending on non-essential projects have added to our demise. Millions of dollars are spent without rhyme or reason. Streets and curbs crumble, but hey, we’ve got a new park. There is no logic or foresight to the wasted expenditures. Michigan City is the boy putting his fingers in the holes of the faltering dike of problems.

So what has happened? The citizens of Michigan City are not stupid, but they are discouraged. We see the waste, corruption and cronyism, but feel helpless. We shrug our shoulders and amble on saying, “It’s just the way Michigan City operates.” Civic pride is a thing of the past. We need something to brag about. We the citizens are the best ambassadors for Michigan City. No marketing firm in the world could outdo a citizenry filled with satisfaction over the accomplishments of our municipal servants. Tooting our own horns is far better than any amount of marketing dollars spent.

Now for a moment, let’s be honest. More hiking trails are not going to bring corporate CEOs and business owners to Michigan City. But that’s OK because they are already here. Besides the generous business owners and corporate officers that live in Michigan City, hundreds of corporate executives, entrepreneurs and business professionals descend to our area every summer. If we can show these astute business people that positive events are occurring in Michigan City, they, too, become our ambassadors to the rest of the world. And if these positive events do occur, believe me, they will be noticed ... and quickly. Our schools are moving in a positive direction, already noticed on a national level. Mr. Duncan’s visit is proof.

So as a Common Council member, what can I do to address these problems (actually opportunities)? First, there has to be some “undoing.” The council and the mayor have to have common focus of purpose. No more hodge-podge expenditures. When monies are spent, let the purpose be so logical and fitting that explanations are minimal because the end results are apparent and sensible. The use of common sense can have uncommon results.