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City Council at Large Candidate Questions for Lisa Whitehead, Libertarian

By Bonnie Marrocco

There's a lot of concern from city residents about activities on Jackson and State Street. Do you consider those streets problem areas and if so, what should be done about them?

I’m sure that the dedicated officers of the Batavia Police Department are aware of problems in these areas and are doing all that can be legally done. As a council person, I would support an increased police presence (city and county) and any other efforts as long as they are good for the community at large.

What level of code enforcement do you favor to deal with seemingly problem properties?

I don’t see it as a code issue but more of a pride issue. If the resident is owner of the property, we need to find out why they are not keeping up with their property. Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances that need to be addressed. Educating them on programs that are available through the city, county and state that would help them financially or through volunteerism to upgrade their residence is the answer. If the problem property is a rental, it needs to be considered a business and as such must comply with public safety codes. If the owner refuses to bring their property up the appropriate safety codes, that business must be closed. No business should put its customers needlessly in harm’s way. As far as non-safety codes, we need to find a way to enforce these evenly throughout the city. For example, we should not cite one landlord for long grass and completely ignore others with the same issue.

How should garbage collection be handled in Batavia?

I have always said that I was okay with Batavia getting out of the trash business and as far as I can tell trash collection is being handled efficiently and effectively. What I was not happy with was the way that the trash collection issue was presented to our community. It was as if city government was trying to force us to accept their solution without giving us the opportunity to examine it. Then there was all the talk of mass piles of garbage in the city – obviously just scare tactics. These are the same tactics used by State and Federal lawmakers when they want to pass legislation that may not be well thought out.

What should be the city's role in economic and job development be in Batavia?

The city’s role should be to lower property taxes to make city structures appealing to potential new businesses and look for ways to reduce other impediments to business. One area where we may be able to make improvements would be in the building code. There may be items in those codes that are outdated and may be removed.

If the choice came down to either A) raising taxes and maintaining the city's own police department and/or fire department; or, B) consolidating police protection with the city or going to some form of volunteer fire department, which option would you choose?

Consolidating government resources is a proven way to reduce taxes and improve services. As a Council person, I would have to carefully consider any consolidation proposal to ensure that it is in the best interests of the community at large.

Are you satisfied with how the city is run? Are there changes you would like to make? If you were going to change one thing about how the city operates, what would it be?

I think we can always do better. We strive to make every aspect of our lives better for ourselves and our children. Why not city government? The one thing I would change in city government is I would make it a requirement that each ward representative have a "Town Hall" type meeting twice a year within their wards to see what their constituents are really concerned about. Also, have the At-Large representatives be required to attend one meeting in each ward. Residents need to know that the vote they cast in November elected someone who will listen to what they have to say, not just for someone who assumes to know what they believe.

Why have you decided to run for City Council and why should people vote for you?

I have decided to run for City Council at Large for a couple of reasons. First, I have never liked it when someone complains about something and isn’t willing to speak up for the issues that bother them. I have grumbled about things going on in the city for a while and now I am willing to say that I think I can help this city. Second, I think we need people on council that will ask the questions needed to find out if there are other ways to solve our issues. I don’t want to cast a no vote for the sake of saying no. We really need to think about how to help our residents and the city itself. I have lived in Batavia for 15 years and even though I didn’t grow up here, Batavia is my children’s home and my home.

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