D4

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2015

CHRONICLE-TRIBUNE, MARION, IND.

Election Guide
Republican
Candidates

Q A
At-Large Council Candidate

BY BEN QUIGGLE
bquiggle@chronicle-tribune.com

LEWIS: Republican Herschel

Lewis graduated from Marion High School and then
attended Indiana University.
After working for General
Motors for 25 years he came
back to Marion and rediscovered his love for the city.

HOMER: Republican David

Homer has been a resident
of Marion for 53 years, and
his children and grandchildren grew up and attended
Marion schools. He serves
as president of the Save Our
Stories, a historic preservation organization in Marion.
He retired from the Marion
Police Department after
serving for 20 years, and he
served as the chief of police
for eight years.

LUZADDER: Republican Brad

Luzadder has served on the
city council for the past eight
years. He is also a teacher of
17 years. He is determined to
get the council back together
so they can make changes
within the community. He
says it is time for positive
thinking in Marion.

Independent
Candidate

RAYMENT: A graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University,

Libertarian Chris Rayment has
lived in Marion since he graduated. He has been involved
at Marion Civic Theatre since
2000, participated as chairman
of the Grant County Players
and served in his Chapel Pike
Wesleyan Church as a worship
leader and childrens director.

A questionnaire was
sent to all Marion at-large
council candidates asking key questions going
into Tuesdays election.
The at-large race includes
three Republicans, David
Homer, Herschel Lewis,
and Bradley Luzadder;
three Democrats, Adam
Binkerd, Lynn Johnson,
and Joselyn Whitticker;
and one Libertarian, Chris
Rayment.
What priorities would
you like to see focused
on if elected to the council?
Whitticker: I would
prioritize the development,
implementation
and follow-up with a
comprehensive strategic
plan that will work on the
financial indebtedness of
the city, with the mayor
leading the charge toward
transparency and stability. Prioritize basic services and infrastructure
with a focus on the crumbling streets, the potholes
and the roads. Help attract economic development that will grow the
city, and the economy, by
making our city an attractive place to live, work
and do business in.
Binkerd: Priority one
will be restoring the relationship with the Mayors
office, as this sets the tone
for the significant changes that are necessary for
Marions success. Priority
Two will be establishing
a realistic and conservative budget that will allow
Marion to pony up on its
commitments, setting the
stage for new endeavors.
Homer: Obviously the
finances. I would also
like to begin the discussion on the citys insurance plan and how we can
lower that payment. The
current insurance plan
has financially strapped
the city and has done so
for the last several years.
We also need to work
with the new mayor and
his staff to come up with
a strategic plan for our
citys infrastructure. It is,
and has been, failing over
the last 12-14 years.
Luzadder: I want to
work on a plan to fix our
roads and streets. I would
like to continue to eliminate abandoned structures
and blight. I will also
continue to create an environment where we are
attracting new industries
while allowing current
businesses, and industries, to grow and expand.
I also want to work on
quality of life issues to
ensure that we are a place
that people will want to
make their destination.
Lewis: The reason I
choose to run for office,
and my priority in doing
so from the very beginning, has been my desire
to work for the betterment
and prosperity of Marion.
I believe the most important piece to this is to
establish and set a clear
and unifying vision. This
would be a multi faceted
approach, but I am someone who is willing to
work with everyone and
anyone in order to get the
job done.
Rayment: I want to see
us work on a plan to get
out of debt. In order to do
that we need to take a hard

COUNCIL

How about cuts?

Continued from D3

Luzadder said he couldnt

speculate on how any of the
financial concerns will be
addressed.
Without first knowing
who the new mayor is going
to be, and who will be on the
council, I cant really delve
into whether cuts will be
made or how we might ap-

We need to thoroughly
research how we use those
tools, said Rayment. The
council needs to be completely informed of the financial impact of these tools
before making decisions.

ELECTION DAY BALLOT

2015 Candidates
Marion Mayoral Candidates
Republican

Democrat

John Lawson

Jess Alumbaugh

Marion At-Large Council Candidates

Republican

David Homer
Herschel Lewis
Bradley Luzadder

Democrat

Adam Binkerd
Lynn Johnson
Joselyn Whitticker

Libertarian

Chris Rayment

Matthews At-Large Council Candidates

Republican

James Gross
Kenny Shrontz
David White

Democrat

Harold Biggs
John Disney
Michael Warner

Van Buren At-Large Council Candidates

Republican

Byron Brankle
Jarrett Caudill

Democrat

H. Dean Baker
Tony Manry
Marvin Surber

Independent

Terry Dieckmann

look at the budget, line by

line, to see what is necessary and unnecessary.
The less debt we have the
more cash flow that will
be freed up, allowing us
to handle other expenses
more efficiently.
Johnson: I would focus on repair and maintenance of streets and sidewalks, public safety, and
improving the quality of
life of everyone in Marion. The City Council can
be proactive in presenting responsible financing options to the Mayor.
Development tools used
by Marion should benefit
you and your neighbors,
not just a few friends of
elected officials.
Do you think a payment-in-lieu of taxes arrangement needs to be
made with the utilities?
Whitticker: First, I believe we need to develop
a plan to pay off the existing loan. Second, will this
payment-in-lieu of taxes
(PILOT) be passed on the
citizens as a rate increase
in utilities? Third, have
we talked over the purpose of this arrangement,
does everyone understand
the purpose?
Binkerd: I am not in
favor of privatizing the
Utility department, or a
PILOT While the upfront
benefit is appealing, the
long term implications are
lopsided. Marion needs to
manage what they have,
not look for quick fixes.
The real issue is the way
we budget, manage, and
make decisions, not a
burdensome branch of
city operations.
Homer: I think there
have been ongoing discussions on this issue
and how we can best utiproach the issue of additional fund sources, Luzadder.
Homer mentioned that the
Department of Local Government Finance still needs
to take a look at the 2016
budget, so things could still
change.
The most important part
of this puzzle is that we find
ways to save money, said
Homer. We need to look at

lize those dollars. This is

certainly an area that the
mayor can take a lead
role in and work with the
utility director on. Create
a method of repayment
to the utility on what we
owe them and use the balance to address our failing infrastructure needs.
This would free up other
monies in the budget to
be utilized elsewhere.
Luzadder: I would not
support the sale of Marion Utilities; I believe that
it is a great asset to our
city. I believe that since
the city owns the utility
that we should be able to
work together to resolve
differences. I believe that
since the leadership at
the utilities has changed
that relationships are being re-established and
mended, and I see that
relationship being a very
positive move in the right
direction.
Lewis: I am not in favor
of there being a PILOT
arrangement. The reality
is that the only source of
income the utility receives
is from the customer, so
if the utilities are forced
to pay taxes this will undoubtedly cause a rate increase. Federal mandates
are always being set and
compliance is a necessity.
Where does the money
come from if they are to
meet federal mandates?
Rayment: We know
that Marion Utilities is
doing well as a business.
They are the most efficient government entity
we have locally. If there
is a way that the citys
general fund could receive some of the profit
from this business, then I
would like to see this happen. The caveat would be

as long as it doesnt hurt

the Utilities in any way,
or stops them from being able to perform their
duties, including maintenance of systems.
Johnson: No, at least
not yet. The city owes
money to the utilities and
should pay that back before a payment-in-lieuof-taxes is considered
with Marion Utilities.
PILOTs, which are donations to a local government from groups that
otherwise wouldnt be
paying taxes to the city,
should only be used as
a last resort to increase
revenue. Theyre not a
substitute for responsible
budgeting by Marion.
Are you concerned
about the amount of reserves the city has, and
do you think we need to
focus on saving more?
Whitticker: I am concerned because we need
to know our estimate income and expenditures,
and then build a budget
that reflects a positive
reserve for emergencies
that could arise.
Binkerd: I am always
in favor of reserves.
From a personal finance
perspective this should
be 3-6 months worth of
expenses once debt obligations have been met. I
would employ a similar
strategy to our city budget. Reserves are important, but need to be kept
reasonably small until
outstanding obligations
are met.
Homer: I am not sure we
have a real reserve. The
current state of finances
is always fluctuating. I
think we have been utilizing monies from newly
established budgets yearto-year to pay bills for the
previous years expenses.
This is a no-no. We cannot continue to do business this way. We must
begin the process of getting ourselves out of debt
and trying to create a true
reserve that we can count
on in the event of some
unforeseen matter or expense that may arise.
Luzadder: I believe
that a budget is a work
in progress. I think that it
needs to be an ever evolving document that is set to
meet the needs of the city
at the time. I am open to
looking at the budget and
working to make our budget better all the time. We
need to make sure our departments have the equipment that they need to
do their jobs, while also
protecting our citizens.
I believe that we have to
continue to seek out new
ways of doing business as
a city.
Lewis: It is the recommendation of the (Indiana
Department of Local Government Finance), and
most major municipal financial advisors that cash
reserves be a minimum of
15 percent of your operating budget. The general
fund is roughly $19 million, meaning that the
City of Marion should at
the very least have $2.8
million in cash reserves.
I would propose a short
term goal that the council
work with the administration to reach this goal.
Rayment: We always
need to save more. Many
call their savings a Rainy

different options for insurance, maybe join a group

plan that will save us money.
Johnson said the most important thing is making sure
the citizens of Marion dont
feel an changes in their paycheck.
I dont want to see any
new taxes, said Johnson.
We need to see if we can get

what we want first. There is

a lot of intricate work ahead
of us to see if we cant lower
that debt by being more responsible financially.
Binkerd mentioned that he
feels there is no extra revenue to be had through taxes.
There might be some creative revenue sources, said
Binkerd. But Marion is just
going to have to tighten the

Democrat
Candidates

BINKERD: Democrat Adam

Binkerd graduated from Indiana Wesleyan University
with degrees in Counseling,
Business and Organizational
Leadership. He chose to get
involved in Marion because
he has a passion for the community. While he has no experience in city council, he says
it might take a new perspective to restore the community.

JOHNSON: Democrat Lynn

Johnson was born and
raised in Marion and studied finances at Ball State.
She has worked for 35 years
in the service industry for
Marion and has previously
worked as an accountant.

WHITTICKER: Democrat Joselyn Whitticker has served

on the council for three
years, and she currently
serves as the president of
the council. Whitticker also
worked as a teacher for 16
years, and worked in administration for nine years.

Day fund and rightly so. I

am 100 percent sure that
there will, at some time, be
rain in the forecast. Its almost a guarantee. We cant
let these kinds of circumstances sneak up on us.
Id love to see us have at
least a 3-6 month amount of
reserves. Of course in order
to save, there is a process.
We dont just save without
having a plan. We cant
have a plan without having
a set amount of cash flow
per month. We cant have
that cash flow until we start
free it up by attacking the
debt.
Johnson: Our reserves
are short the amount necessary to cover three months
of expenses for the city. We
should work to build up an
emergency fund, reduce
expenses where were able,
and ensure taxes are being
used for benefit of the entire public in the most efficient way possible. Once
that is complete, we should
build reserves for the future
of Marion.
belt. That may include some
cuts, at this point I dont
know, but we are definitly
going to have to be more
fiscally sound with our budgets.
Election Day is Nov. 3
and polling locations will
be open from 6 a.m.-6 p.m.
If you are registered to vote
please dont forget to cast
your ballot.