• Enhance the local economy over the long-term by NOT raising taxes. I am the only City Council candidate who has made a stance at "meet the candidate" events saying "no" to higher taxes, period. Yes, all claim fiscal responsibility and accountability, but their stance when the city gets placed in a corner is unknown. There are other avenues to increase revenues without raising taxes.
   
• Wean our city revenues away from municipal property tax to a consumption-based tax (sales or related tax). There is a misconception in our city (even among several City Council candidates) who believe that as property values increase, city revenue increases, which is not the case. Due to the fact that property tax is revenue-neutral, by keeping our property tax amount where it is today, eventually our property tax revenue will become insignificant (due to inflation). This will encourage a change in focus of our taxation system towards a consumption-based economy or supplementing property tax revenue with taxes/fees that relate to the direct costs to the city. For example, although I am against higher taxes, if the city wants to add a storm drain fee (tax) due to the added costs to the city, I am willing to consider a targeted tax increase as long as there is a corresponding decrease in another tax, such as property tax, to ensure the overall tax burden on city residents is not increased.
   
• Encourage our citizenry to "Buy in West Jordan." If we could shift purchases made outside our city to merchants who sell their products within West Jordan's city limits, we could increase revenues without raising taxes! For example, if each of our 24,000 households were to spend $1,000 annually within the city that historically has been spent outside the city, we could increase city revenues by more than $125,000! Not only would we be able to increase revenues without enacting any additional tax increases but we might be able to provide much needed tax relief to working families in West Jordan over time.
   
• Plan for economic growth along Mountain View Corridor by ensuring higher population densities remain along the corridor. Transportation remains an economic hindrance to major areas of our city. As new roadways are constructed it is important we do not exacerbate these problems by doing business as usual.
   
• Locate another economic center in the southwest corner of the city. The General Plan calls for another major economic center along the proposed Mountain View Corridor. I agree with this proposal and believe it is important we elect a City Council member who will be willing to work with businesses to ensure executives make the decision to do business in our city in this up and coming area!
   
• Lower public works costs by aggressively advertising the newly-formed Adopt-a-Road program.
   
• Enhance our economy by locating commercial property along the fringes of our city, where we will attract purchasers from outside our city to spend their money here! There is a Walmart located near the northwest quadrant of our city, just outside West Jordan! There is a saying that "hindsight is 20/20," and that certainly applies here. There should have been more efforts to locate that specific facility within our city's borders! This situation created a problem in which thousands of West Jordan residents are making purchases in West Valley City, not West Jordan!
   
• Attract business growth through airport enhancements. West Jordan's uniqueness from all other cities in the county (other than Salt Lake City) is that we have an airport. My experience in the aviation industry provides me with a unique understanding of our national airspace system. By working with federal agencies, we can increase attention to resolve problems with our airport, particularly the fact that it is difficult for aircraft to arrive at our airport under inclement weather conditions. When executives and other air traffic want to arrive at South Valley Regional Airport, they must be able to get to their intended destination!
   

Public Safety

• Increase public safety by supporting and fostering more involvement in West Jordan's Neighborhood Watch Program. This program has proven to be effective in many areas and it is through this avenue of community involvement that our police are made aware of problems before or while they are occurring, rather than after the fact.
   

Community Involvement

• Increase community involvement through personal invitation and empowerment. Most of our city committees continue to have vacancies, including the Arts Council, Board of Adjustment, Budget, General Plan, Healthy West Jordan, Parks and Open Land, Sister City, and Water Conservation Committees. Each committee should be empowered to suggest solutions that will directly affect the City Council's decisions. For example, as the Budget Committee reviews opportunities to cut costs it should not have its hands tied with statements such as "this particular area of the budget is outside of your purview."
   
• Increase volunteerism to help offset the long-term costs of parks and park strips throughout the city. I propose that our City Council should consider starting a program for neighborhoods called "Adopt-a-Park." Community pride will increase as churches, scout troops, neighborhoods, and businesses get more involved in the beautification of their own neighborhoods.
   

Transportation

• Work with state legislators to fund projects along our state roads to dramatically improve our transportation corridors throughout the city. One example is a project proposed by Representative Jim Bird (Dist. 42), who has worked hard to raise the intersection at 7800 South and Bangerter Highway. Our City Council should be more active in working with state legislators, both inside West Jordan and those surrounding our area, to expedite these projects as much as possible. Our state-maintained roads that remain heavily congested are Bangerter Highway, 7800 South (from Redwood Road west to 4000 West), New Bingham Highway, and 6200 South.
   
• Cooperate with both the State Legislature and the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) to ensure they implement proposals to stretch Mountain View Corridor as far north as it can go in the short-term. By having an alternative north-south highway on the western part of the city, traffic will be diverted away from Bangerter which will alleviate congestion away from our east-west corridors.