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The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
See below for questions on
Basic Services,
Budget,
Citizen Engagement
Click on a name for candidate information. See also more information about this contest.
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1. What services do you believe should be considered basic and essential for the Township?
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Answer from Joshua S. "Josh" Gerth:
Basic and essential services are providing fire and police protection and township road, facility and property maintenance.
Answer from Kevin P. O'Brien:
Neighborhood preservation.
Fire and Rescue maintained at the highest level of professionalism.
Roads and sidewalks maintained and connected.
Economic development which provided good paying, quality jobs for township residents and is fiscally responsible.
Answer from John A. Piehowicz, II:
The essential basic services are police protection, fire and safety, road repair and maintenance ( including snow removal), parks and recreation, and senior services.
Answer from Andrew S. Pappas:
Simply, Roads, Fire, Police, Sewers, Snow Removal, Traffic flow and safety.
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2. How would you balance the Township Budget?
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Answer from Joshua S. "Josh" Gerth:
Fortunately we live in a township that has not had to operate in a deficit and has had leadership that have carefully planned for cuts in revenue that we are experiencing now. So, I would certainly follow the examples of past leadership to make sure we continue the tradition of being fiscally conservative in all matters pertaining to our budget as well as be mindful about planning for future expenditures and contracts that could impact our budget. I would also explore new ideas such as trying to get a hotel in the township which not only fills a void, but also generates an occupancy tax.
Answer from Kevin P. O'Brien:
The township's annual spending has been reduced by $6,344,029 (17.2%) in the first 3 years of my term. I will continue to look for ways to reduce spending and encourage township employees to use public funds wisely.
Answer from Andrew S. Pappas:
Simply stay the course, due to foresight of our trustee board, the township has been incurring these cuts from outside sources during the last several years. The township has been finishing under budget the past 4 years. Amazingly, the township has not had a levy in almost 13 years.... Unheard of in today's world. Some say they have had enough of this? I say we need more.
Answer from John A. Piehowicz, II:
I would balance the budget by evaluating and prioritizing the services provided and then examining what areas we can trim wasteful spending or what services we can perform more efficiently than what we are currently doing. In addition, I believe that it is important to identify additional, non property tax based, revenue streams. It is also important to try and encourage new business development which will provide additional revenue and fill the many empty storefronts along Beechmont Avenue.
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3. Citizen engagement is important to the health of local government. In what ways do you support citizen engagement?
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Answer from Kevin P. O'Brien:
The township has 8 citizen committees. I have personally encouraged interested residents to become involved. This effort has seen an increase in participation. Several public board meetings have had record attendance and participation. I established 'Office Hours' twice each month to answer any questions and concerns residents may have.
Answer from John A. Piehowicz, II:
I absolutely support citizen involvement and I believe that it is something that has been clearly lacking in the Township for quite some time. First, I would make sure that the agenda of the Board of Trustees Meeting is published, in advance, online so that the residents and concerned stakeholders in the community are aware of the items being considered at that meeting and have the chance to present their views and concerns. Second I would make sure that the full budget is also available online to anyone interested in reviewing it. Currently, only a summary budget is online and it does not list revenue streams nor does it detail things such as the $1.09 million listed in the "other" category. Third I would encourage all of the citizens of Anderson to become engaged in the activities of the Township by making available committee assignments known and releasing the criteria of selection of a particular committee member.I believe that a volunteer citizen advocate position should be initiated - much like a patient advocate in healthcare - so that any citizen's voice can be heard. Currently the Trustees do not listen to or take into consideration many of the residents concerns or complaints.
Answer from Andrew S. Pappas:
The same way I have been doing for the last 10 years. Get involved. We have a great township government! There are no secrets here, but you have to get involved. I have been going up to the township for 20 years asking questions and getting answers. I would encourage all to do the same. We have great staff and you get answers to all your questions, you just have to ask.
Answer from Joshua S. "Josh" Gerth:
I completely support citizen engagement. That is how we operate the Anderson Park District. From our open meetings with two chances for public input at every meeting to our resident surveys that ask for specific feedback on things people want to see in the Parks, we are a model for citizen engagement and I hope to continue that tradition as a Trustee.
Responses to questions asked of each candidate
are reproduced as submitted to the League.
Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits may apply. See individual questions for specific word limits. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. Please edit your work before submitting. We are unable to provide spell-check at this time.
The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.
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League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
