League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
Hamilton County, OH November 3, 2009 Election
	Andy Kalb Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Saint Bernard

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What are your Qualifications for Office? (50 word limit)

As a new homeowner in St. Bernard, I am investing in the city, and ill bring a new perspective, and new ideas to city government. My energy, commitment, and service to the community makes me an excellent choice for Council-At-Large.

2. What plans do you have to address your top three priorities? (100 word limit)

The old ways of running city hall through political appointments is holding the city back. We need to study the need of a city manager, as well as look into combining our two financial departments into one. I feel that these two changes will make St. Bernard a more professionally ran city with these very important positions not tied to politics. Work with the CIC to redevelop Vine Street and bring new business into the city as well as continue to update our city's housing stock.

3. What two actions would you promote to enhance city revenue or decrease city expenditures in order to balance the city budget, given the current economic conditions? (100 word limit)

St. Bernard has been lucky so far and has not seen a revenue drop but that does not mean that we can't run the city more efficiently. I believe the city needs to have an efficiency study done of all the departments to study areas where the city can save some money. I would also like to see the city get a City Manager. A qualified City Manager would be able to run the city more efficiently as well taking the local politics out of the decisions that at times cost the taxpayers money.

4. What steps should the local government take to ensure that the quality of rental property meets minimum legal standards? (100 word limit)

St. Bernard has an excellent building department that includes a full time HIP inspector. I believe by working the HIP inspector and giving him the resources he needs to keep rental property up to code. I would also like to look into the building codes to see if there are any areas we can update. We also need to realize that these are tough economic times for many people and these improvements might be a huge financial burden on families. As a city we need to find alternative funding through grants and low interest loans to help reduce this burden.

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Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits apply for each question. Direct references to opponents are not permitted.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 1, 2009 16:57
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