A MESSAGE FROM ME ABOUT THE ISSUES FACING OUR CITY

As we approach the mid-point of this Council Term, I will continue to address those issues I campaigned on:

COMPREHENSIVE MASTER PLAN
The process of updating and re-writing the City’s Comprehensive Master Plan has been completed and the City has now hired the same firm to "re-write" Mandeville's Comprehensive Land Use Ordinance (CLURO).  I currently have 3 ordinances making their way through the process before debate and vote at the Council, all 3 address issues raised during the Succette saga.  

Although the CLURO is just about to undergo a rewrite, I felt it important to get these specific issues on the table for individual debate in Planning & Zoning and with the Council.  If these ordinances are passes, I will push hard to make sure the provisions contained within will be included in the updated CLURO.
 
A WAR ON OUR HISTORIC DISTRICT
Make no mistake about it…Our Historic District is still under attack.   There is a group in the City seeking to dismantle the Historic District, and the Commission that oversees it, claiming it’s unfair to regulate development, design, and construction among our historic properties throughout Old Mandeville.  If you support that position, I’m not your candidate.  I will continue to fight those attempts with all I have and will fight to preserve and protect our Historic Old Mandeville for us and for future generations.  
 
SHORELINE PROTECTION
As we focus on shoreline protection, an issue concerning an entire City, are we going to commit to natural solutions in restoring and protecting our Historic Lakefront such as returning to a living shoreline, bringing back trees and vegetation, and exploring offshore solutions to provide protection while maintaining our status as the only community in the area with such a direct physical and visual connection with the water? Are we going to succumb to gray solutions such as walls, pumps, and levees?  I will continue to fight for the former.  
 
MAINTAINING OUR FINANCIAL STRENGTH
Mandeville is one of, if not the most, financially stable, 100% debt free municipalities in the State.

Are we going to continue to grow fund balances to unheard of levels while not being able to spend the money we collect?  The city’s budget is comprised of a “General Fund” plus five “Restricted Funds” and the “Enterprise Fund”

 

• General Fund - pays most of the City’s recurring operating expenses and capital projects and non-drainage or street related expenses and capital projects.
   

• The five “Restricted Funds” - these Funds dedicated to pay for expenses primarily related to streets and drainage
   

• Enterprise fund - Sewer and water services to the city.

 

Money from Sales Taxes goes into the General Fund and all five Restricted Funds in percentages defined by ordinance and approved by the voters.  Since 2018, the General Fund Balance  has dropped from 21M to 14M, the total of all of the Funds “General, Restricted, and Enterprise” grew from $49M to $67M.  Out of that total, the “Restricted Funds” balances have grown by $23.4M, or $3.4M/year where the General Fund balance has fallen $7M.

 

The City DOES NOT have an income problem, it essentially has an accounting restriction problem in that it cannot spend the taxes it has been collecting, and continues to tax the citizens and essentially “stick it in the mattress” while fighting to cover operating expenses out of the General Fund with recurring revenue that goes into the General Fund.  

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I continue to challenge the rest of the Council to tackle fund income distribution before raising millages, making department or police cuts, or reducing city paid benefits to employees…because the city is already collecting $3.4M per year more on average than it spends.

 

Side note - This year's operating budget is 3% less than the operating budget that was proposed and passed in last year’s budget (FY 25) and the City is ended up under budget on operating expenses last year by approximately $2M (FY 25, to be confirmed in the current audit).

 

Sales taxes account for approximately 90% of the City's income.  Over the next 5 years, these sales taxes will either expire or have to be renewed.  The question is ... are we going to keep doing the same thing over and over expecting different results?  Are we going to renew these sales taxes without rededicating what they can be used for so the taxes we collect can actually be spent where needed?...or are we going to continue to collect taxes from everyone that spends money here and "stick it in the mattress" by continuing to grow excess governmental fund balances over $100M?

This needs to be addressed by this Council.

OUR SMALL BUSINESSES
How are we going to support our local, family owned, small businesses that are so critical to the character and quality of life in our town?  Are we going to seek ways to help our local small businesses flourish or are we going to encourage growth and large-scale development that make it difficult for them to survive?  I am 100% committed to our local, family owned, small business and will continue to fight for ways to aid in their success.  

PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS
Over the six years, the Mayor and Council have worked together to purchase numerous tracts of land and properties throughout the area to preserve and protect natural drainage, maintain green space, expand our cemetery, and maintain our quality of life.  I’m proud to have worked with Mayor Madden and Council Member McGuire with these acquisitions and am committed to continuing that effort.  I remain committed to exploring additional opportunities to acquire properties for the purpose of retaining and expanding our canopy and greenspace, recreation, and drainage.

ELECTRONIC SIGNAGE AND BILLBOARDS
 
At the beginning of my first term, our Council was presented with a proposal from Councilman Danielson to extend the period of time to phase out completely electronic signage, message boards, and billboards within the City limits.  This issue has a long history with the citizens of Mandeville, expressing passionate opposition to allowing these types of signage, not wanting our town to look like many areas on the Southshore.  It was presented as an attempt to hold off the phase out of these while we re-evalutated the ban and types of electronic signage that might not be so bad.  I saw this as an attempt to undo what had been previously done, decided upon, and phased out per the will of the people.  As such, I aggressively fought this proposal.  I still suspect that wasn't the last time this issue will arise...I believe the people have already spoken on this matter.