Economic development for ALL of Castle Rock

In the past few weeks, the Town Council has considered a proposal by the Downtown Merchants Association  regarding a Town loan to support the "Rink at the Rock." This proposal is for a temporary downtown ice skating rink in the winter months of December, January, and February. The Rink at the Rock would theoretically drive business to downtown merchants, as individuals who come for recreation at the rink use downtown restaurants or other downtown businesses. This would be good for the downtown merchants, and would provide another source of pride in Castle Rock's charming downtown.

However, the Rink at the Rock could hurt other Castle Rock businesses. A consistent fact of economic development is that economic growth in one area of a community is often at the expense of other areas of the community. In the case of downtown, when Castle Rock residents spend money at downtown businesses they have less money to spend in their usual northern, western, or southern business locations in Castle Rock.

While I believe that a healthy downtown is important for a community, I would prefer to invest in economic growth that benefits all of Castle Rock's residents and businesses. Such economic growth comes by attracting new money in the community, as people come from outside Castle Rock to generate sales tax revenues and build up local business coffers.

So I propose that we focus less on economic development strategies that pit Castle Rock businesses against each other, and more on strategies that bring in new dollars to the community, thereby providing economic development for ALL of Castle Rock.

Nice article in the Castle Rock News-Press

The current edition of the Castle Rock News-Press has an article about the Town Council candidate business forum hosted by the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce and the Castle Rock Economic Development Council on March 13, 2012. All the candidates from District 2 attended, and the News-Press article highlights a quote from me that conveys one of the key messages of my campaign: the importance of identifying ways to improve value that citizen receive from Town government.

http://www.ourcoloradonews.com/castlerock/news/business-community-hosts-castle-rock-town-council-candidate-forum/article_9a2df599-ffca-5098-b4e0-16bae790bb2c.html

Castle Rock Radio interview

I'll be a guest on the Castle Rock Radio show entitled Castle Rock RFD, on Wednesday March 14 from 1:00 - 2:00 PM. Please tune in on the internet at www.castlerockradio.com. You can listen live to the web radio station from the Castle Rock Radio homepage.

More about my background and experience

Here is a more expansive discussion about my background and experience, and how it demonstrates my high-level qualifications for Town Council. The question was asked in preparation for the Town Council forum next Tuesday, March 13 at 7:30 AM.

How have your background and experiences prepared you for a seat on Town Council?

My experience and education have prepared me well to serve on the Town Council. Specifically, I have eleven years experience as a performance auditor in the public sector, as well as three years of experience as president of my homeowners association board. Further, my educational background includes a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree, and doctoral work in public administration.

I have served for eleven years as a performance auditor, both for the State of Arizona and the City of Denver. Performance auditing is very citizen-focused work; we take as our primary goal finding ways to improve the value that taxpayers get from their government. As a performance auditor, I have focused on the effectiveness of government programs, the extent to which government programs demonstrate efficiency, and the management of staff performance. I have diagnosed ineffectiveness, inefficiency, and poor performance management, and prescribed solutions that offer the taxpayers greater value. As a Town Councilman, I will bring my citizen-centric focus, and skills at increasing value for citizens to the Town of Castle Rock. I plan to meet with department heads early in my term to understand more about their processes and areas of concern, and offer my expertise as an outside party who can offer helpful suggestions for improvement. Finally, I should note that as a performance auditor I have audited a wide variety of programs. This requires me to quickly learn a program as well as the program’s own management and staff, so I can find areas for improvement and offer effective and feasible recommendations. As a Town Councilman, I will be able to quickly come “up to speed” on Town government to offer taxpayers greater value, as well as ensuring that I can provide District 2 residents the correct route for solving problems that they share with me.

In addition to my service as a performance auditor, I served for three years as my homeowners association board’s president. This service gave me experience in setting budgets, reviewing contracts, weighing attorneys’ advice, setting strategic direction for the community, and ensuring the fees were kept to a reasonable level. More importantly, I honed my skill in talking to people about their concerns regarding the community. I plan to bring my expertise in community policymaking to bear on the Town Council. Moreover, I plan to continue my efforts to solicit feedback from district residents, so I can more effectively serve their needs for information, resources, and action.

Finally, my educational background has given me significant insight into the ways in which public officials and public managers can be effective. My bachelor’s degree is in political science and history, while my master’s degree is in American history. Further, I am finishing my doctoral degree in public administration, and will graduate in May 2012. The area of focus in my doctoral studies has been urban policy, and I concentrated on small and mid-sized cities – similar in size to Castle Rock – in my doctoral dissertation. This academic experience strengthens the portfolio of skills and expertise that I will bring to the Town Council.

Castle Rock News Press profile

The Castle Rock News Press provided some information about the District 2 candidates on March 8. Here's a link to the article.

Please contrast in particular the three candidate answers to the question of the most pressing issue for the Town of Castle Rock. While the other two candidates focused on economic issues, I was the only candidate to identify the issue of multi-generational importance -- securing long-term water resources for today's children and their children as well.

http://www.ourcoloradonews.com/castlerock/news/three-vie-for-district-seat-in-castle-rock/article_609b63b0-d0d9-5eff-8fa4-4cf4c24091ce.html

Answer I submitted for upcoming candidate forum

I will appear along with the other District 2 candidates at a candidate forum sponsored by the Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce. Please come out so you can hear the candidates and you can get a chance to meet my wife, Deb.

The forum will be held on March 13 at 7:30 AM until 9:00 AM. The location is 4700 Castleton Way, in a property listed by NavPoint Real Estate Group, one of the sponsors of the forum. The property is downstairs, using the west entrance adjacent to Arapahoe Community College. In preparation for the forum, I was asked to answer three questions. Following is one of those questions.


Given the current difficult economic environment, if elected are you in favor of raising taxes or fees or cutting expenses (services) to ensure the Town's fiscal responsibility?  

As a performance auditor, I have consistently seen opportunities to improve the value that taxpayers receive from their government through efficiencies that save money. My first priority as a Town Councilman will be to find ways to save taxpayer money by increasing the value that we extract from current services. Once these methods are exhausted, I would look equally to evaluating services to be cut and to raising fees (rather than taxes). Every Town service aids some important constituency, but during difficult economic times we must sacrifice to make ends meet. Every household makes sacrifices, and they are right to have the same expectation of government.

In addition, I would look at whether fees have been set at the right level. There is a fine but important distinction between fees and taxes. Fees are paid by the users of a particular service for that service, while taxes are paid by everyone for services in general. I believe that it is more equitable to look first to the costs generated by consumers of specific government services, and ensure that these citizens are paying their fair share of costs. However, government should not be in the profit-making business, and should not be charging more than the cost of providing a service. This helps to ensure that government does not grow larger than is necessary for the important, basic services it provides for our mutual benefit. 

Should Only Homeowners Be Able to Run for Town Council?

Recently someone came to me with an objection expressed by a friend that I was not a good choice for Town Council, because I rent my housing rather than owning a home. The objection was based on the idea that people who don't pay property taxes should not decide what to do with property taxes paid to the Town.

However, in my view, the Town is not well-served by having a Council that is limited to individuals who pay property taxes. Here are some facts that support my position.

While property taxes are one source of income for the Town of Castle Rock, it's important to note that property tax income will be less than one percent of the total funding estimated for the Town in 2012. By contrast, sales tax revenue is 28.5 percent of the Town's estimated 2012 revenues. 

Further, if the standard of "who pays" is applied to Town Council candidates, then very few people would qualify to serve on the Council. For example:

·  Impact fees produce seven times as much revenue for the Town as property taxes. However, impact fees are paid by developers, not residential property owners. 

·  The Town takes in about three times as much revenue from motor vehicle taxes as from property taxes. Motor vehicle taxes are paid by individuals who buy a car in Castle Rock.

·  The Town brings in about twice as much revenue from franchise taxes as from property taxes. However, only utility companies, such as the cable companies, pay franchise taxes.

If the objection raised above is taken to its conclusion, who could run for Council? Only developers who own a home, who own a utility company, and who bought a car in Castle Rock in the past year? I hope that sounds as absurd to you as it does to me.