Town and Country Candidate Q and A: Qualifications and Issues

As of last Friday, there is now one contested race in Town and Country.

Former Town and Country alderman John Hoffmann filed as a write-in candidate to run against current alderman and Board President Tim Welby for the Ward 2 alderman seat.

All week, Town and Country-Manchester Patch featured Q and A's with candidates in Manchester's contested board of aldermen races and today we have the Town and Country contested race Q and A.

Patch asked each of the candidates two questions. They responded via email. Town and Country-Manchester Patch is posting their responses to both questions, which were edited only for clarity.

Question 1

What makes you a better candidate for alderman than your opponent? 

Answers:

A critical piece to my success, in both my public and private life, has been my ability to work through consensus, earn respect, and listen with an open mind. These are very important characteristics needed to successfully serve Ward 2 and Town and Country. In my two terms as Ward 2 Alderman I have had the privilege to chair several commissions populated by Town and Country residents. The purpose of each commission is to identify areas of improvement in the city and make recommendations to the board of aldermen. My priorities, as chairman of a commission, are to make sure the commission is an active and not a passive commission, engaging all members, and communicating back to the commission with an outcome when a recommendation is proposed to the board of aldermen.  Over the years the commissions I’ve chaired have made many recommendations to the board of aldermen and every one has been adopted. In April of 2010, I was elected by my board of aldermen colleagues to serve a one-year term as president of the board which I am honored to do. I am responsive to communications from my constituents and work diligently to address their questions and concerns in a timely manner. I don’t bash my colleagues or fellow residents and truly believe Town and Country is a great place to live and raise a family.

To sum up what makes me a better candidate than my opponent: I’ve earned respect in the community and from my Aldermanic Colleagues, I listen to people and they listen to me and I get things accomplished in a professional manner.

-Ward  2 Alderman Tim Welby         

I have far more experience working in government than my opponent. I have a combined 30 years in law enforcement and public safety, including positions as a police officer, police detective, fire and arson investigator, police supervisor and an assistant police chief. I understand the public safety field which represents the largest expense of the Town and Country budget. I  worked closely for four years with the FBI post 9-11 in Washington, DC, developing informants on Homeland security issues. I have written instructional articles for police officers and firefighters, taught fire investigation, criminal and regulatory investigation at police academies, for states, Federal government and for universities. While living on the East Coast I also did transportation planning while working for the Public Works Department of Montgomery County in Maryland.

As a department head and unit head for city and county governments I wrote department budgets, policies, legislative bills, handled personnel issues, was in charge of public records and supervised front line personnel. I have a detailed knowledge of how to plan for and deliver municipal services.

Besides being involved in the operation of government, I was a Washington Correspondent covering Congress and the Department of Justice for a number of public safety management magazines for 11 years. I have also covered city halls and politics for local websites. I have written over 200 articles on government topics and issues.  

At the end of the day I have 33-years experience and training dealing with the health, safety and welfare of the public.   

I know government and I know wasteful spending.

-John Hoffmann, alderman candidate Ward 2

Question 2

What do you see as the primary issue the board of alderman must address for the good of the city in the next year?

Answers:

Clearly the most important issue facing Town and Country is the loss of revenues from sales tax and licensing fees. In 2010, the city received the least amount of tax revenue in the last 12 years. The city would have seen a deficit in 2010 if it had not been for an unusual one time only $510,000 payment. We are projecting more than a $2 million budget deficit in 2011.

In November of 2009, the board of aldermen passed a spending bill providing $10,000 in grants to private subdivisions including the Bellerive Country Club Grounds for landscaping projects. At the time I was an alderman and voted against this spending. At the same time, the city told three employees they would be laid off. I have no problem with reducing the work force due to economic conditions, but only before fat is cut from the budget. I found $140,000 in additional money that could be cut from the 2010 budget. My revised budget was defeated 6-2.

Later in 2010 the city laid off two more employees, both police officers, but gave raises to department heads. There are a lot of small items in the budget that need to be eliminated before police officers are laid off. 

The city opened a new dispatch center at the city hall for three cities, in an effort to save money. That includes dispatching fire trucks and ambulances in Frontenac, but we are paying $330,000 to a dispatch center in Ellisville to dispatch fire trucks and ambulances in Town and Country. This is nuts!  

In recessions like this one, unnecessary spending must be stopped. That includes expanding parking lots at and funding special interest projects.   

-John Hoffmann, alderman candidate Ward 2

There are several issues the city faces with the top priorities focused on the budget and deer management.

With the impact from the economic downturn in 2008 and relying heavily on sales tax revenue (we currently have a zero percent property tax rate), we have the same struggles as any other business with declined revenues. We need to continue to seek out ways to reduce expenditures while serving our community effectively.

The deer population continues to be an issue. The past two years we have had a level of success with the deer management program, however we lack a long-range deer management plan. In 2011, we are developing a long-range deer management plan that should map out the necessary steps needed to achieve the goals that will be set.

-Ward  2 Alderman Tim Welby         

Be sure to check Town and Country-Manchester Patch all next week for your complete election coverage, including up-to-the  minute election results Tuesday.

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