{"id":5235,"date":"2011-03-22T11:51:20","date_gmt":"2011-03-22T17:51:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flovalleynews.com\/?p=5235"},"modified":"2011-03-22T11:51:20","modified_gmt":"2011-03-22T17:51:20","slug":"florissant-mayor-candidates-discuss-public-service-city-budget-priorities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=5235","title":{"rendered":"Florissant Mayor Candidates Discuss Public Service, City Budget, Priorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

1st<\/sup> of 2-part Series on Candidates’ Viewpoints<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

By Carol Arnett<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several topics were discussed at the mayoral candidates\u2019 debate\u00a0 on March 9 put on by the League of Women Voters, and sponsored by the Greater North County Chamber and the City of Florissant. This article will cover the candidates’ public service, their priorities for the city and ways they would balance the budget. (see commentary on page 2)<\/em> Another article next week (March 31st issue)\u00a0 will have more from the debate on other topics of importance to voters in the\u00a0 April 5th election.<\/p>\n

All of the candidates have held an elected position, either currently or in the past. When asked what they were most proud of in their years of public service, the answers varied.<\/p>\n

Mark Behlmann, who\u00a0 serves on the Hazelwood School Board, cited his work on the board. He said he was instrumental in the board mandating a service requirement for students. \u201cFifty hours of service are now required for students to graduate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Andrew Podleski currently serves on the city council. \u201cI\u2019ve stimulated conversations,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019ve asked the hard questions that citizens want asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Susan Geerling previously served on the council. \u201cI tried to keep residents informed,\u201d she said. \u201cI published a ward newsletter and had a hotline residents could call.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Spreng previously served as a State Representative. \u201cI worked on legislation pertinent to the city and to north county, including legislation limiting payday loans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Robert Garrett also previously served on the city council. \u201cI was a driving force for improvements of streets in the Old Town grid and preserving historic structures. I also was behind the Cross Keys redevelopment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tom Schneider is currently on the city council. \u201cI\u2019ve worked on Project Liftoff, worked on paving creeks and the\u00a0 creek bridge replacement program,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When asked about their most important priority as mayor, most candidates mentioned the budget and finances and continuing<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to straighten out the budget, format it in a way people can understand, and have all department head report in the same way,\u201d Podleski said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d like to create a sense of pride and a sense of community satisfaction in the city,\u201d Geerling said.<\/p>\n

In addition to balancing the budget, Spreng said he would like to make sure \u201cthe police chief is the police chief.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe budget is the number one priority,\u201d Garrett said. \u201cThere is less margin for error than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPolice protection and promoting programs especially for our seniors,\u201d Schneider said. He said he would promote the Neighborhood Watch program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe budget is the biggest and most important issue in the city,\u201d Behlmann said.<\/p>\n

The candidates were asked how they would balance the budget without dipping into the reserve fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat depend on the revenue income for the year,\u201d Spreng said \u201cI would sit down with the department heads and involve them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d have to look at the budget in its entirety,\u201d Garrett said. \u201cWe must make hard decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to make tough decisions,\u201d Schneider agreed. \u201cThe Police Department is the last place that should be touched.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should certainly not cut the Police Department,\u201d Behlmann agreed. \u201cThere is room in the departments, and the department head need to be accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a big reserve,\u201d Podleski said. \u201cWe need to look at every program and department, and ask city employees to come up with ideas,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may have to make some sacrifices and eliminate what is not necessary,\u201d Geerling said. \u201cIt will be do-able, but not necessarily easy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1st of 2-part Series on Candidates’ Viewpoints By Carol Arnett Several topics were discussed at the mayoral candidates\u2019 debate\u00a0 on March 9 put on by the League of Women Voters, and sponsored by the Greater North County Chamber and the City of Florissant. This article will cover the candidates’ public service, their priorities for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-florissant","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nFlorissant Mayor Candidates Discuss Public Service, City Budget, Priorities - flovalleynews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=5235\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Florissant Mayor Candidates Discuss Public Service, City Budget, Priorities - flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"1st of 2-part Series on Candidates’ Viewpoints By Carol Arnett Several topics were discussed at the mayoral candidates\u2019 debate\u00a0 on March 9 put on by the League of Women Voters, and sponsored by the Greater North County Chamber and the City of Florissant. 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