Published: August 13, 2008 08:13 am      

Sixteen file for Berea City Council

Sixteen candidates have filed to run for Berea City Council, including all eight incumbents.

Incumbents Glenn Jennings, Chester Powell, Violet “Vi” Farmer, Greg Lakes, Denise Hagan, Howard Baker, Virgil Burnside and Truman Fields are vying for another two-year term on the council.

A total of eight challengers filed to run, including J. Donald “Don” Graham, Troy VanWinkle, Hubert Chasteen Jr., Ronnie Terrill, Billy Wagers, Jerry Little, Robert “Peanuts” Johnson and Glenn David Johnson.

One issue that may have prompted a number of candidates to file was the council’s 2007 decision to raise property taxes, as well as the vote to impose an insurance premium tax and a 3 percent restaurant tax.

“People are upset, and most of them are upset about the taxes and utilities,” said Terrill, who noted that he supported an increase in some taxes, but he did not approve of how much and how fast they were raised. Instead, Terrill said the city should have explored options to cut spending. “I think the city needs to crack down on the way they manage their money.”

Some Berea residents also are upset with the fact that while the city is raising taxes, the council also is making purchases that go seemingly unquestioned, including the acquisition of a new office building on North Broadway St., Terrill said.

“There are a lot of things that go on that people (council members) say ‘yes’ to instead of asking questions,” Terrill said. “They need someone who will do that.”

One-term Berea City Council member Denise Hagan acknowledges the council had to make tough decisions, but she said because the city has virtually doubled in size, and because of the changing manufacturing economy, the city needs to find alternate sources of revenue to insure it could pay for services in the future.

Before the property and insurance premium tax adjustments, two-thirds of the city's revenues came from the occupational license fees. Hagan suggested if the city loses manufacturing jobs, it also loses the ability to pay for services if it doesn’t have other revenue streams.

“We agonized about that decision,” Hagan said about the tax increases. “It was hard thinking about one tax increase let alone three. But I think in the end we made the most fiscally sound decision. You have to go with the numbers where they are. We can't live on our savings.”

The council is facing another potentially controversial decision when it considers a plan to increase water, sewer and electric rates.  

A study by a utilities consulting firm concluded that some of those rates had not been adjusted in decades, and that rates had to be increased to fund needed infrastructure for electric, sewer and water services.

“We have to be fiscally responsible,” Hagan said. “It's easy to sit there and not do anything about it.”

Mayor Steve Connelly welcomed the upcoming race, noting that the dialogue between incumbents and challengers will be instructive for the public.

“I think contested elections are good. It shows the vitality of our community interest. I think it's positive that people want to participate and be a part of building a better Berea,” Connelly said.

When asked if the city council should have held off on the decisions on the tax hikes and utilities adjustment before an election year, Connelly said absolutely not.

“I think the hallmark of the current council is that they have been responsible and they have met the needs of the community. They have planned for the future.”

Connelly noted several accomplishments of the council, including buying industrial park land he thinks will help attract new employers, facilitating the creation of a vocational school that could potentially educate local citizens for high-tech jobs, working to expand the city's recreational park, building the Berea Bypass, and funding other projects like sidewalk construction and road improvement.

In the meantime, the city's surplus has increased slightly to $5 million, a safety net that could safeguard the city against a prolonged economic downturn, Connelly said. Citing those accomplishments, Connelly said he ranks the current council in the top three in the history of Berea.

“This council has an amazing record to stand on to justify where they have been and where they are taking the city,” Connelly said.