Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; (D&C 98:10)

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Long-Term Debt: An Unsustainable Future

Long-Term Debt: An Unsustainable Future  A very clear and easy to understand presentation regarding national debt.

From the Peter G. Peterson Foundation

 

Friday, August 9, 2013

Who I am voting for in the Surprise City Council Election

UPDATE Aug 26, 2013
I changed my vote.  I voted for Lou Provenzano. At the very least, I want to make sure that there is another opportunity to hear them both and vote again in the fall.

I like that Lou hasn't taken public union funds for his campaign. A bond measure might be better fiscally than a general property tax increase.  A bond is meant for a particular purpose and then the tax goes away.

I hope the best candidate wins.

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There are three people running for the election of Surprise city council in district 6.  I am voting for Todd Tande because he is the most qualified and is a fiscal conservative.

Here is an exchange he and I had on Facebook Thursday.

Richard Alger Are you committed to a level revenue stream? Would you vote to reduce the city property tax rate as home values rise again? 
Todd Tande Because I know that the property tax assessed values are going up, and that the assessed values lag two years, I am confident I can make an argument to the other councilors that the levy rate could go down (even keeping the revenues level) and that would be my intention. I will strive to have the City achieve savings and efficiencies. I will be cautious until I see the risk management issues (some very large potential issues) the city is dealing with and I will ask for a better long term forecast of finances (something the City I think may just beginning to get a handle on) before I commit to something like level revenue (especially as the City grows and service demands increase). Not allowing to cover for the City growth demands in service could cause a severe self imposed crisis. I have made bold decisions to fix things fast, but I want to be able to ask the hard questions before arbitrarily setting a policy without all the facts. If you look on my issues section of the website, I have listed my goal of having the City Measure performance and hold regular structured operational reviews (I am hopeful that I can get enough votes to have the city manager do that).... getting enough votes to have an actual impact is a very important role for a councilor.... I have experience from a STRONG STAFF position of getting unanimous votes of 29-0 from a very divided partisan council on big and complex controversial initiatives that successfully were implemented. 

Todd Tande

http://www.surprised6.com/
FB Campaign Page
Endorsement Cover Letter
Priorities Flyer
Most Qualified Leader Flyer

Randy Miller 

Lou Provanzano