This is my introduction and reasons why I am running for Peachtree City Council Post 1.
My wife and I have been married for 14 years and we have two children. My career, which is in the Information Technology (IT) industry, has spanned more than 30 years in sales, development and delivery positions responsible for growing multi-million-dollar revenue streams and achieving budget productivity objectives.
My family and I enjoy living, working and playing in Peachtree City. We have lived here for almost six years and want to make certain that Peachtree City stays the unique and great place to live, work, raise a family and retire in that it is. This is why I am running for Peachtree City Council Post 1.
When my wife and I made the decision to move our family from the Chicago area to the Atlanta area six years ago, the following objectives were what we focused on for selecting which community to live in:
· Home values
· Quality of life for children, adults and seniors (especially a safe and crime free community)
· Sustainable village plan and model for the future
The above items were based on our experiences, both good and bad, that we had lived through in other communities. I believe these same objectives are why others have chosen to live in Peachtree City as well. These objectives are my guiding principals.
Should I become the new Peachtree City Council Post 1 member I will use these guiding principals in the implementation of my duties not because they may be politically popular but because they are what motivate me personally.
Are we better off now than we were two years ago with our home values, quality of life and our village plan and model sustainability for the future?
Do we live in a safer community with less crime, especially violent crime, now than two years ago?
I believe the answers to both questions is no. Eric Imker’s position when he was running for Peachtree City Council two years ago was ”Imker will gladly accept only two years to help straighten things out” (2/17/09 edition of The Citizen). Well, he has had his two years and things haven’t been “straightened out.”
Since Eric Imker began his tenure at Peachtree City Council Post 1 there have been numerous instances of his statements and his actions that have negatively effected Peachtree City:
• Eric Imker’s deriding Peachtree City’s employees soon after he took office (poor leadership);
• his votes to de-fund the Development Authority of Peachtree City (negative effect on Peachtree City business development);
• his voting to significantly raise taxes (it’s not your money, Eric, it’s ours);
• he sided against Mayor Haddix concerning Haddix’s plan to opt out of Atlanta Regional Commission which helped keep Fayette County in the Atlanta Regional Commission (high probability that Fayette County will be a “donor” county when it comes to the potential Atlanta Regional Commission taxes with no ability to control our own destiny);
• during the July 10, 2011 council budget planning meeting, Eric Imker put his notebook over his head when he wasn’t getting his way with Mayor Haddix (unprofessional);
• he voted to censure Mayor Haddix because he disagreed with some of his comments (negative effect on Peachtree City as well as going against the American principal of free speech and the right to publicly disagree).
It’s time for a change from the political games and posturing, as well as from the wrong actions and votes.
As your Peachtree City Council Post 1 representative, my primary focus will be to work on the issues affecting us today and the issues that will be affecting us tomorrow.
Two years ago, during the election campaign, little if any references were being made to the importance of new business revenues for Peachtree City.
I recognized that a key component of our village master plan (work) was not being focused on. I have written several articles that have been published over the last two years on the importance of focusing on new business growth. I am glad it is now being frequently discussed in a positive manner.
In addition to new tax revenues for Peachtree City, new businesses bring in additional jobs, disposable income that can be spent in Peachtree City, additional tax revenues, increased demand for our housing, etc. All good things.
I will work to promote new business development for Peachtree City with the appropriate entities that can help us in this effort.
One of those entities is the Development Authority of Peachtree City (DAPC). Prior to Eric Imker being on the Peachtree City Council, DAPC was actively involved with business development activities in Peachtree City. Had Eric Imker voted to properly fund DAPC and work with them in an effective manner, DAPC would still be an active partner working with Peachtree City in pursuing new business.
This was the wrong thing to have done. I will vote to properly fund DAPC and work with DAPC to promote new business development in Peachtree City.
What Eric Imker did vote for was to create a new Peachtree City payroll job, Economic Coordinator, which was implemented over a year ago and has not been beneficial to Peachtree City.
I will work to have this position analyzed as to its benefit, if any, to new business development and to the Peachtree City village concept and make a decision based upon the findings as to the viability of that position.
As it stands now, Peachtree City residents, because we live in Fayette County, are no longer able to control our own destiny with regards to potential Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) imposed taxes.
To make matters worse, it looks as though we will be a net loser or “donor” county in what we will be getting back from these ARC taxes if enacted.
When Mayor Haddix attempted to opt out of ARC, Eric Imker sided against him. This was the wrong decision.
Instead, Fayette County had no choice but to accept ARC’s terms. I will work with Peachtree City Council members and Fayette County commissioners who will fight for our taxpayer rights when it comes to ARC.
In addition to ARC taxes, ARC will bring with it significant development and congestion for Fayette County just like it has for other counties (DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett). Part of our home values and quality of life comes from the areas surrounding Peachtree City, which today are mainly low density and rural land use.
What will the surrounding areas of Peachtree City look like in five or ten years? Will they remain low density and rural land use, or will they be heavily developed areas with heavy congestion and all the problems that go with it? What effect will heavy development and traffic congestion on our borders have on our home values and quality of life within Peachtree City’s borders? They will have a negative effect.
We need to start thinking about this now before development and congestion starts increasing. I will work with Peachtree City Council members, Fayette County commissioners and, if possible, Coweta County commissioners on land use plans for our surrounding border areas for the benefit of Peachtree City.
Peachtree City’s budget spending and who benefits from it are always being debated. First and foremost, the residents of Peachtree City, who pay our taxes, need to be the primary beneficiaries when it comes to receiving the services from these taxes.
Nonresidents of Peachtree City should have to pay fees commensurate with the cost of those Peachtree City services they want to use. I will work to make certain that Peachtree City residents are not subsidizing nonresidents who use our facilities and services.
Our budget spending needs to be driven by our village concept master plan in order to protect our home values, quality of life, safe communities and, sustainable village plan and model.
Services need to be ranked in importance such as police, fire and EMS having the highest priority with other services being prioritized behind them. However, our budget spending should never lose sight of our master plan objectives.
We need to work on productivity improvements, like a business, where we can provide our services for lower costs in order to balance our budget.
Are we taking advantage of innovations that can help us accomplish this? Do we even have productivity targets identified in the first place to work toward?
I will work with our city management and I will back decisions that are made for the right reasons to improve productivity and balance the budget. I would expect that our city management should know what is the best way to manage their departments to achieve both the services and costs objectives required to achieve a balanced budget and be measured on their results.
I would also expect that I, as well as the rest of the City Council and the mayor, should be measured on results as well.
Improving our home values, quality of life, safety and the sustainability of our village plan and model, as well as reducing crime, especially violent crime, are extremely important to me and are the issues I am running on.
I believe these issues are what I, along with the rest of the Peachtree City Council and the mayor, should be measured on when voters cast their ballets for electing someone to office or removing them from office.
As your Peachtree City Council Post 1 representative, my decisions, actions and votes will be focused on positively affecting these issues. I ask for your vote for this election.
Thank you.
Steve Allen
Peachtree City, Ga.
