Candidate for
Council Member; City of Auburn

I believe the most pressing issue facing the City is Economic Development. There are many other critical issues facing the City such as roadway and infrastructure maintenance and police and fire protection but each of these issues are tied back to the City's economic health. With a strong economic development strategic plan the City can attract new businesses which will increase revenues. The increases to the revenue side will allow us to fix out roads, pay for our public safety personnel and maintain a balanced budget. Sierra Economic Development Corporation is currently working with the city to develop a strategic plan for economic development. This plan needs to be embraced by the full Council and implemented.

Economic Development As a candidate and as a Planning Commissioner, I am currently working with the Economic Development Committee and SEDCorp on the development of a Economic Development Strategic Plan. This document will define a blueprint for economic growth for Auburn. This is not the first effort of this type to be undertaken by the City. The previous efforts did not gain momentum and support for various reasons. This plan must be different.

Fixing our Roads The City Council has determined that is takes $500,000 dollars a year to maintain the 68 mile of public roads within the City. In the past three years we have significantly underfunded the maintenance needs of our roads. This deferral of necessary maintenance has a compounding affect. It is 32 times more expensive to rebuild a road versus maintaining that same road with slurry sealing. Our failing roads will affect our ability to attract new businesses, sporting events and tourists into town.

Keep our sewer rates low The City Council just approved a 5 year rate increase for city sewer rates. My monthly sewer rates are scheduled to increase 25%. Many in our community cannot afford increases like this. Businesses that are still struggling to recover from the Great Recession may not be able to absorb another cost increase. I will work with Public Works and the cities consultants to ensure that all expenses are justified. The city also needs to be vigilant next year when our discharge permit is renewed by the State. As a civil engineer I am uniquely qualified to work with our Public Works staff to ensure that this permit renewal process does not trigger additional expenses for the City.