Government & Economics

Ethical Government is the least we can expect and in fact, we should demand it. 

• There have been no ethical controversies on City Council during my tenure.  
• I take this issue very seriously, and I’ve tried to learn what I can about past complaints. 
• I stand firmly on the side of Gov't openness, ethics and integrity.

Email privacy, “open records” requests, and Council Member communication with residents

• This is an area of personal interest to me. I've published peer-reviewed research on online identity privacy and security. I highly recommend reading it if you have trouble sleeping.
• I supported the initiative to modify the MO State law that required municipalities to reveal private citizens’ private information in response to Sunshine requests. 

Wildwood Economic Development 

• Wildwood's low population density presents a challenging environment for businesses.
• Economic Development is one of the pillars of our Master Plan. 
• I believe the City should support local businesses and actively promote Town Center.
• Properly managed, such efforts can cost-effectively attract and retain desired businesses.

Budget Priorities 

• We're among the very few STLCO municipalities with NO local property tax OR sales tax. 
  •  Sales tax rates in surrounding communities range from 0.5% to 3% higher than ours. 
• Nevertheless, our City has always enacted balanced budgets during my tenure. 
• City revenues are rapidly declining due to reduced utility tax and "Pool Tax" revenues.
• Many City projects in prior years drew on our reserves, but there have been no withdrawals from our ample reserves during my Council Service.
• I would generally support well justified one-time reserve expenditures to benefit our City.  

City Parks & Trails sales tax 

• Everyone loves our parks, events, and services. Nobody likes taxes. 
• I'm willing to consider seeking voter approval for sales tax support for our outstanding park & trail system. State law may require that such effort includes storm water controls. 
• Alternatives may be grim: not in reductions of "cool new stuff" but in deferred maintenance, reduced city services, fewer events, and other painful cuts. 
• Perspective: A family spending $1,000/month of their hard-earned dollars in Wildwood would pay $5/month for a half-cent (likely less) dedicated sales tax.That's solid value.