The Press asked Councilman Dave Gallaher and Mayor Mark Stoner, who are running for Northwood mayor, questions to give voters a better understanding on where they stood on the issues facing the city. Here is what they had to say:

What is the biggest issue facing Northwood, and how would you address it as mayor?

Mark Stoner
The biggest issue facing Northwood is the economy. That is why I have personally met with 19 Northwood businesses. We need jobs to grow our economic base, which will grow our tax base. We need to generate more employment opportunities without an increase in our individual income tax rate. Most of these businesses were optimistic that they would increase jobs in Northwood. In 2011, Norplas is expanding and so is NAMSA. We must continue to promote the city and be proactive in our economic development. We can increase revenue with new jobs, which translates into more money available to the city to increase our public service to our residents. With more money, we can do more road repair and increase the quality of life in Northwood.

Dave Gallaher
The biggest issue facing Northwood is our finances. Federal, state and local grant money that we relied on in the past is no longer available. According to our 2010 comprehensive annual report, our outstanding city debt is over $2.5 million. Between 2001 and 2004, the city averaged debt of about $500,000. And the recent lawsuit naming the mayor and the city has the potential to create tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees. In order to deal with this drop in revenue, in the last year council had to modify allocations for the capital improvement and replacement funds. This allowed more money in the general fund for the operation of the city. In the coming years, we have to control spending as much as possible and focus on economic development in the commercial and industrial sectors.

Name one idea that you initiated that you were able to successfully implement?

Mark Stoner
There have been so many. Ranger Park and the pond and the railroad overpass project. The railroad overpass project started back when I was on council. I don’t remember whose idea it was, but I went to Columbus to lobby for its completion when $5 million in funding was taken away. Now, initial construction is underway. Probably the biggest issue was that I, along with my department heads, put together a plan to guide the city through the worst economic crisis in its history, with no increase in taxes, no change in the reciprocity tax, no garbage fees. The citizens voted on an income tax, and it was soundly defeated. Unfortunately, there were some cutbacks, but quality city services were provided, and the city escrowed $900,000 for its share of the railroad overpass project, which will go to bid in December, with a start date in the spring of 2012. Hurray!

Dave Gallaher
I empowered our citizens to effect change at little to no cost to the city. For example, using no city money, we established Veterans Appreciation Days and erected a Northwood veterans’ monument funded 100 percent by private donations. We joined Make a Difference Day, collected food and supplies for disaster relief, and planted trees donated by VFW Post 2984, at the high school football field entrance. I chaired the volunteer committee that is recommending changes in the city charter. I first posted audio minutes of council meetings on my website so that residents know what the mayor and city council are doing, and encouraged the city to follow suit. I proposed a plan to donate vacant city-owned property to Wood County Habitat for Humanity, allowing the construction of new homes, raising property values and returning properties to the tax rolls. And I still believe in the “Buy Northwood for Northwood” campaign encouraging residents to buy local.

Offer one idea you thing would help attract new businesses to Northwood?

Mark Stoner
Meet with business leaders, promote Northwood, network and keep the lines of communication open. I listened to their concerns and compliments, how easy the city is to work with, and, for the most part, their praise of our police, fire, and streets department. I believe if our business leaders are happy in the city, they will tell others through networking channels and would tell another business contact that they should look at Northwood to locate.

Dave Gallaher
Because Northwood does not have a traditional “Main Street” business district, the perception of our commercial corridors is critical, especially Woodville Road and the Oregon/Wales Road intersection. Perception is reality, so we must alter the way others see us.  To attract new businesses, we need to be viewed as a place where people want to live, work and shop, and where businesses want to locate. In real estate this is called “staging,” making minor adjustments to make a place more appealing to potential buyers. We can shape Northwood as a livable community that appeals to new businesses by encouraging strategic investment in our commercial corridors through effective and appropriate zoning and signage laws, by providing technical assistance to new and existing businesses to help them survive this economic downturn, and by encouraging our residents to support our local businesses.

If you were limited to a single term as mayor and could accomplish just one thing, what would it be?

Mark Stoner
I would like to increase our economic base. If we could grow this, it could lead to a solid revenue stream for the city for years, which would allow the city to provide for more quality of life options like better roads, safety services, park improvements, and Advanced Life Support (ALS) equipment. More jobs equal more money for individuals to spend in area businesses.

Dave Gallaher
I would give the city administration some direction by working with our citizens to create a five-year strategic plan that allows everyone in the city – employees, residents and businesses – to understand our goals and how we can achieve them in every department in the city. This will allow the administration and department heads to effectively plan for the future based on taxpayer input, and it would provide direction for our next mayor. A new mayor will not have to “start from scratch,” but would have the opportunity to review a plan developed jointly by the citizenry and the administration with realistic goals for improvement. A five-year strategic plan can be easily updated as needed. To my knowledge, this has not been done before.

Do you support an Advanced Life Support system in the city that promises 24-7 paramedic coverage for residents?

Mark Stoner
Yes! I believe that we must take the necessary steps to achieve this. Our residents need and deserve ALS. We can achieve this now by the reallocation of funds. Increasing our economic base and revenue stream will pay for ALS in the future. This will most likely occur in a series of steps, not as one big leap. We must keep our eyes on the prize and keep moving forward. One step should be to get to Basic Life Support (BLS), then ALS. We need to get more paramedics trained so that our fire department can cover ALS 24-7.

Dave Gallaher
The ALS program is a great concept, but it is expensive and the city cannot afford it. In the last two years, the mayor has laid off or not filled positions in nearly every department, making drastic cuts in the EMS program and freezing hiring in the fire department. By his own admission, he did not realize the consequences of these cuts. The proposed ALS program is a reaction to public criticism of those decisions. What we need is an analysis of the root cause of the problem. I’m aware of no other community the size of Northwood that has instituted its own ALS system. If an analysis determined an ALS system would be beneficial, it makes more sense to develop a regional system that benefits several communities and reduces the costs to all.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed