Platform and Record

Taxes and Budgets

In 2008 I voted against a significant property tax increase. I could have supported breaking even every year in real dollars -- meaning small, regular increases of two to three percent in a typical year -- just to avoid the problems of the past. (See below.) But this proposed increase was much larger. I had had a lot of confidence in the current administration to engage in the necessary long-range planning, but it had never materialized. It was also a particularly bad time for a tax increase. Nationwide economic difficulties were growing, gas prices had peaked at $4.13 per gallon, and there was very little sensitivity to many households in the city, where budgets were strained to the breaking point. When working families cannot afford to drive a car or to buy basic groceries, it's a terrible time to increase their tax burden. The increase passed in spite of my voting nay.

In 2006 I voted for a significant property tax increase. There had not been a substantial tax increase in years. Under Utah's Truth-in-Taxation laws, this actually means an annual tax cut of a few percent per year in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars, because the law requires cities to call it a tax increase even if they are just breaking even in real dollars from year to year. Because city councils are understandably reluctant to impose anything that can be called a tax increase, in American Fork these automatic annual cuts had compounded over a period of years to the point that many pressing needs had been deferred and neglected, and the City's ability to deliver basic services was compromised. The only way to address this problem was to increase property taxes.

In the future I will consider supporting small, annual "break-even" tax increases. I will oppose any increase beyond the break-even point, until we have proper long-term plans and priorities in place and are following them. On the one hand, without long-term planning I cannot promise that tax dollars will be spent on the priorities you and I support. On the other hand, careful long-term planning should eliminate the need for large tax increases.

For more information on Utah's Truth-in-Taxation law, see here and here.
A public-friendly budget document, which can be understood by ordinary humans, is something I still want to accomplish.
In its content the American Fork City budget is complete and comprehensive, including all basic public safety and infrastructure departments and basic quality of life offerings. However, many of these areas are under-funded. I do not believe the City needs to offer new programs, but we do need to expand and better fund existing programs such as sidewalks, parks, paramedics, and the library collection. The City is staffed lean; more personnel funding is also needed. I believe the way to do this is not through further tax increases, but by adopting good strategic plans with good public input, then applying revenues generated by new growth to existing programs.
The current City Council has worked to match revenue streams to relevant expenditures, so that impact fees, accrual accounts, user fees, and other revenues are used for their designated purposes. This helps us to avoid hidden costs and to see more clearly to what extent departments and programs are funding themselves. This is an important aspect of transparent budgeting. This work is not complete and needs to continue, including in such areas as recreation facilities and programs and at the American Fork Cemetery.

Public Safety and Infrastructure

We tripled your water bill, tore up all the streets, and borrowed $48.95 million dollars to fund a pressurized irrigation system. And we're proud of it? It was the right thing to do. True, the City should have begun the project at least ten years earlier and saved tens of millions of dollars, instead of waiting until our water supply was actually failing. But pressurized irrigation was still cheaper than the alternative, building a treatment plant and rebuilding the existing culinary water system. Pressurized irrigation conserves our culinary water, which is abundant enough for American Fork even when we reach "build-out" sometime in the future, as long we don't use it to water lawns, and it takes advantage of our abundant supply of irrigation water. Construction is scheduled to be complete in the fall of 2009. The system will need a watchful eye through coming decades, to make sure that revenues from the water rate structure are spent as promised, to fund maintenance and repair of the system and to prepare for the system's needed replacement in 50 years. If future city councils will see to this, we will never again see a year like 2006, when the City was out of water and had no money to solve the problem.
Road repair has been inadequately funded in American Fork for at least ten years. Now the problem is urgent. In 2008 I voted against a tax increase which included increased funding for road repair, because city residents were already reeling from a poor economy, and because simply raising taxes is an inferior substitute for proper long-term planning. I believe that with proper planning, by employing new and more efficient road repair technologies, and by exploiting future growth-related revenues, we can substantially reduce the need to raise taxes to care for our roads properly. The City Council has ordered and recently received an up-to-date, accurate inventory of all city roads and their conditions and needs, and our engineers are meeting with outside experts to explore newer technologies.
We need to build more roads to accommodate American Fork's growing population and to relieve congestion. We need to widen 900 West, extend 1120 North, advocate a traffic signal at 50 South and 1100 East (a county road), and support an intelligent location for the Vineyard Connector (a state project). I strongly oppose widening State Street through our downtown historic district, as UDOT has proposed. We can better accommodate through traffic by properly developing alternative corridors such as 1100 East and the Vineyard Connector.
Raising police wages was one of the urgent matters the Council addressed in 2006. Because police wages in American Fork were not competitive, we were paying good money to train young officers, only to see them leave for greener pastures. We need to raise their pay again next year, because the problem is starting to recur. In the long run, considering training costs and increased legal liabilities, it is less expensive to retain the best, most experienced officers by paying them a living wage, so they are not forced to leave.
The City Council has approved a paramedic service and the City is beginning to implement it. Paramedics provide the most advanced level of emergency medical care available to the general public outside a hospital. Our residents deserve to know that when they call 911, they are summoning the best care we can provide. The City Council's analysis showed that revenues from paramedic service will be sufficient to pay for the costs. We explored the possibility of outsourcing the service, but found that the cost to patients will be lower with the City itself providing the service. The City must support good leadership, which is critical to the success of this transition.
We need safe walking routes to schools. We increased the sidewalk budget ten-fold. We also obtained federal funds to expand this effort around Shelley Elementary, and we will continue this approach for routes to the city's other schools. More generally, sidewalks are failing in many parts of the city and in need of repair. A program to address this broader problem is in development.

Economic Development

Promoting economic development allows the City to increase its budget to meet current and future needs without relying solely on tax increases. The desired effect is to increase the size of the City's revenue pie instead of dividing the same pie into smaller pieces. When I ran for office in 2005, I called for the City to fund an economic development director and to create an economic development plan. During that campaign the City hired an economic development director. In 2007 I helped her to produce the plan, and the Council approved it. At my blog you can read the entire plan.
We must market American Fork's strengths to attract high-quality employers. We must recruit businesses from all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing and high tech, not just retail. Retail jobs are important, but high-tech and manufacturing jobs tend to be more stable and more lucrative.
We must continue to build American Fork's reputation as a good place to do business by improving the City's professionalism and courtesy at all levels in relating to businesses and the public generally.
We can also make American Fork a more attractive place for employees to live by attending to important quality of life issues. (See below.)
The Mountainland Association of Governments has just begun a Main Street Vision study on American Fork's behalf. American Fork's Main Street has been the economic center of north Utah County for the past hundred years. Today billions of dollars are being spent in major transportation projects around this corridor. The City should support the study and must respond with appropriate measures. The City will want to consider streetscape improvements, public parking in the downtown area, and possibly even architectural requirements. It is critical that the City speak with a strong voice in transportation planning surrounding downtown. We must work to develop viable alternative traffic corridors to accommodate the inevitable growth of traffic, which will otherwise overwhelm Main Street.

Quality of Life

Improving the quality of life in American Fork helps to stabilize our neighborhoods, enhances economic growth, and encourages civic pride and public involvement. Well-chosen offerings in the arts, parks, recreation, and library help make American Fork a great place to live and raise a family. These are areas where the private sector cannot adequately meet city residents' needs. These offerings, combined with keeping our neighborhoods safe and clean and providing well-organized and meaningful volunteer opportunities, improve the lives of city residents and help them want to stay for a lifetime.

Philosophically, I believe in a hierarchy of needs that puts public safety and infrastructure first, followed by quality of life issues. I believe it is proper for local government to subsidize recreation, parks, a library, and arts programs, but this subsidy should not overwhelm the budget and should be supported by plenty of donations and public volunteerism.

Parks funding is dedicated to parks bond payments until 2012; until then we will not have substantial revenues for further park improvements. In 2012 I will advocate completion of ball fields, picnic pavilions, walking trails, and restrooms, according to our existing master plan.

Library usage and donations are high, reflecting American Fork's high percentage of young families and college degrees, as well as the economic times. We need to increase the library collection budget substantially. Currently, it is about half as large in American Fork as in other comparable communities in Utah.

We need to perpetuate American Fork's excellent tradition in the arts, which exists thanks to our schools. Arts are good for our community and for society as a whole; they help make American Fork an excellent place to raise a family. We need to broaden opportunities for all age levels and socio-economic groups.

When I took office in 2006, the American Fork Arts Council was unstable. It now has paid leadership, by-laws, a charter, and an excellent governing board. We are presently working through the process of creating by-laws and operating policies for each program. When this is complete, we hope to be able to expand the number of classes and activities available to people of all ages.

I am not leading the charge for an Arts Center. I think current programs are well-housed in City Hall, the Fitness Center, and the amphitheater, and through cooperation with the public schools. However, programs are growing and will eventually need expanded facilities. I will support an Arts Center in the future IF:

donations offset construction costs;
the facility will support the artistic vision of community;
the facility is small but hard-working, top-quality, and state of the art;
the City can show revenues or establish an endowment to support ongoing operations and maintenance; and
the City can convince me that there will be quality management.

Through my efforts, American Fork is now officially a Tree City.

We are cleaning up nuisances. The city looks better today than it did four years ago. Neighborhoods are cleaner and safer. I have supported ordinances needed to facilitate this.

I have worked hard to engage the public in its government. I have always consulted with interested stake holders before voting on an issue. I have supported the work of volunteer boards and committees. I have helped the City to expand and improve its newsletter and upgrade its Web site. I use my blog to keep constituents informed about issues and City activities.

For comparison, here is my 2005 campaign platform.