WHO WILL YOU VOTE FOR - DISTRICT ONE COUNTY COMMISSIONER

*Updated to reflect only the candidates in the run-off Tuesday.

The Hill Spirit has been to two forums to listen to the candidates, late in April and May 19. It is important to know what they want to do if elected.  We have a chance to choose whom we think will be our best district county commissioner.  This isn't just about roads; the commissioners function as our county government. This post is a combination of the two forums The May 19 forum wasn't a debate but a lightening round (30 seconds) question/answer format.  

Candidates


• Stanley Hill, Republican, Athens.



• James Shannon, Republican, Ardmore. 

April Forum - held at Public Library in Athens
Hill Spirit made notes in bullet points for this one

How would you increase funding for roads?
*Shannon: grants, job development

*Hill: increase revenue; invite legislators to visit county (field trips); lobby Montgomery

Do you agree with past county commission decisions or what would you do differently?
*Shannon: No, would only buy property if there was a plan for its use; work with others better

*Hill: only buy real estate if it is next to other county land and facilities; hindsight is 20/20; government shouldn't buy land just to have it

Are there plans to cut the budget - what would they be?
*Shannon: Haven't seen budget so I can't make those decisions at this time;have lots of experience with the school board and its budgets

*Hill: Won't cut road budget; need additional funds

May 19 - held at Athens State
  
Video of forum

Question: Biggest issue in district?

Hill: I’ve been out in the district campaigning and one of the biggest issues that I hear is roads. In the present budget, there is not enough money to fix the roads like people want them. They want them asphalted, and asphalt is really expensive. So, I will have to look further for grants. We currently use ATRIP, which requires an 80/20 match — 80 from the state and 20 from the county. (ATRIP is a state transportation program that pays 80 percent of some of our road and bridge projects.) But, this still is not enough to maintain the roads like they need maintaining. The roads don’t have a base under a lot of them. We need to make sure someone driving a vehicle can drive without busting a tire or whopping a rim on the county roads.

Shannon: I would say the roads, too, but I would also say clean the ditches out. Keep the water off the roads because you can’t build a road unless you keep the water off it. You can patch it; you can do whatever you want to it, but you’ve got to get the water going where it needs to go. We’ve just got to get more money in place — go to Montgomery and different places and try to get the money so we can do something with the roads.

Question: The current fiscal-year budget for District 1 provides nearly $895,000 in general gasoline-tax funds and more than $455,000 in restricted gasoline-tax funds. Explain what methods you will use to ensure taxpayer funds are spent wisely within your district.

Hill: There are a lot of things that need to be done for $892,000. Currently, we chip seal roads off of ATRIP money. We have to take funds out of the $892,000 we have to match 20 percent of the ATRIP program. If you had a $1 million bridge project, we’d have to take $200,000 to match the state money. I assure you that if the money is designated for the roads, then that is where it goes. One of the problems we are facing today is getting water off the roads. Privately owned waterways are not cut clear.

 



Shannon: I’ll agree with him (Sammet) because when you fix a road, you want to fix it right. You don’t go back next week or next month and redo it. I agree we’ve got to go to Montgomery and get with our legislators and get some money in here. There is just not enough gasoline-tax money to cover Limestone County. We’ve got to get money and we’ve got to manage it right. I’ve had plenty of experience with that working with the school system. We have to manage our money. We have to work on that all the time.

Question for Hill: In your opinion, are there steps that can be taken to improve the county’s overall response to disasters after they occur?

Hill: The problem with disasters is they are not real consistent. You never know when they are going to happen. It’s hard to take away money from the budget for disaster relief. I think maybe one thing we can do this time is identifying vehicles. We need to make sure county vehicles are identified like the EMA or County Commission vehicles and that they are free to go at a moment’s notice instead of sometimes the state troopers have to run or sometimes the fire department has to run. To my knowledge, there’s not a lot in District 1 funds for disaster relief. In the whole county there may be money there.

Question for Shannon: As a commissioner, what steps would you take to ensure transparency to the public?

Shannon: I assure you I will work hard to manage the money. Do everything I possibly can and work for the people. You can talk to me about the budget or about the money anytime. I’ll have open books. I’ll tell you how much money I had when I started and how much I have when I finish. None of us wants to pay more taxes. All of us want to manage the money the very best we can. I’ll assure you I have experience in managing money, and I will continue to do that if I’m your district commissioner. 
additional source: Athens News Courier