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> ND 2nd ward council interviews
Southsider2k12
post Apr 26 2011, 11:50 AM
Post #1


Spends WAY too much time at CBTL
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Posts: 16,409
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From: Michigan City, IN
Member No.: 2



http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2011/0...a3160351677.txt

QUOTE
Second Ward City Council Candidate interviews

Published: Monday, April 25, 2011 5:09 PM CDT
Marc A. Espar, 48

Party: Democrat (incumbent)

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

A thorough review of the former YMCA building as to its structural integrity and operational feasibility should be conducted prior to Michigan City taking the property off the tax rolls. We should also review working with the Michigan City Area Schools to make use of its underutilized space and facilities before we burden our taxpayers with another added government complex to maintain. As all city departments must do, the park department makes up almost 12 percent of all city operational expenditures. Before we divert funds away from other projects and economic development opportunities, we should review the costs and benefits of maintaining a recreational center at that site.

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

We should continually review the compensation and benefits package to ensure our employees are always fairly paid. However, just as we all must manage our household expenses based on our income, so too should our local government. We cannot overburden our residents with skyrocketing taxes, or burden our children and grandchildren with debt, because we failed in our responsibility to make the tough decisions we were elected to make. If our employees deserve a raise because our benefits package is no longer competitive, then we must find savings elsewhere in order to provide those raises and retain our good employees.

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

When I took office a little over three years ago, we inherited an operating budget of over $41 million. In part, forced upon us by trying economic times and a county induced property tax fiasco, we have systematically reduced that by over $6 million of savings of our residents’ tax dollars. We are not out of the woods yet, and we as the fiscal body of the city must continue to safeguard our taxpayers’ monies to ensure they are wisely spent. We must continue in our efforts to work with the mayor’s administration to streamline government and capitalize on operational efficiencies, to reduce the burden and taxes of our residents.

John P. Morse, 50

Party: Democrat

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

Yes, it should. It would be beneficial to the city to have a recreational center such as the YMCA to house basketball leagues and offer swimming classes to the youth of Michigan City. Michigan City has had a need for a rec center for some time now, and this would be a good way to accomplish this need. As to riverboat monies being used, they should be used to rehab the property, then rolled into the park department budget to be operated by the city.

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

City employees have gone long enough without raises. If elected, I would not vote to approve a budget that did not include raises for employees. As in any job, public or private, the supervisor should evaluate the person’s performance, then act accordingly. Supervisors should be evaluated by department heads and department heads by the mayor. I believe it is the Common Council’s job to administer the budget and give the people of Michigan City a voice in the city government, not run the city. As to the quality of services, that would be obvious to the people of the ward. They would complain to me, and I would direct that complaint to the head of that department or to the mayor to get the problem rectified.

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

I see the greatest problem to the city as not having enough money to do all the things that everybody would like to get done. We need to work together to make Michigan City grow. I believe that North End development is key to the success of the city in the future. We also have to keep in mind that basic city services such as police, fire, streets, sanitation and water are most important to me and the people of Michigan City. Keeping this in mind, I would work and vote to ensure the quality of these services remain the same or better. We have to be fiscally responsible to all not just individual interests.

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