News

Bond issue divides City Council candidates

Mayor Barbara Volk speaks during a Blue Ridge Tea Party Patriots.

By Bill Moss, Published: September 20, 2013

Hendersonville City Council candidates differ sharply on the $6 million bond issue for Berkeley Park improvements, with challengers saying they oppose it and three incumbents defending the public vote.

During a campaign forum sponsored by the Blue Ridge Tea Party Patriots last week, the city budget and taxes sparked the biggest disagreements. Challengers said borrowing for a park is unwise at this time while incumbents said a bond issue is the fairest way to decide.
"This is a tea party meeting, and it all started with taxation without representation," said Councilman Jerry Smith. "You cannot get more representation than a bond. So, if the taxpayers would like to fund Berkeley Park then they're going to vote to do it. If they don't want to fund Berkeley Park then they're not going to vote to do it. It's as simple as that.
"You don't get more direct democracy than a bond referendum. And that's why we chose to do a bond rather than vote for it ourselves. I don't know how to put it more in the voters' hands than to offer a bond and give them the chance to turn it down if they don't want to do it," he said.
City voters will decide on Nov. 5 whether to authorize the City Council to borrow $6 million for Berkeley Park improvements that include walking trails, picnic shelters, a "destination playground," memorial tree garden and other amenities. The debt would require a property tax increase of 3 cents per $100 valuation.

City Council member Steve Caraker, meanwhile, said a conversation about who gets to vote on the bond issue on Nov. 5 prompted him to call City Attorney Sam Fritschner to ask whether property owners who live outside the city have a vote. They don't, in a general obligation bond, he said.

"But it raises the issue of whether we could format the bond issue in a way that everybody could get a say," he said. "I don't think it could happen at this time" for the park bond vote. "Moving forward, I think it's a fair way to do it."

Council candidate Jeff Miller said he heard from former mayor Fred Niehoff that the bond issue might allow a vote for all property owners.

"I was told that it might entail every property owner getting a vote and I wanted to make sure it was being done properly," he said. He said he is satisfied with the answer he got. But like Caraker, he said he would want to explore letting all property owners vote if the city had another borrowing proposal.

"I'd sure want to have the discussion," he said. "I want to see how complicated it gets. This country was based on no taxation without representation and when something as big as a bond issue comes along and property owners who live outside the city are affected I think we have to have that discussion."

The bond issue has set up stark differences among candidates for mayor and City Council.

"I am for the park," Councilman and mayoral candidate Ron Stephens said at the Tea Party forum. "I'm in favor of doing it in a different way and over a period of time. I am not for increasing taxes for it. The can was kicked down the road this last year and money was taken out of the reserve fund rather than raising taxes 3 cents."
If the council were to vote next year for the 3 cents to cover debt service on previous borrowing and voters approve the park bond, taxpayers would face a 6-cent increase.
"I think we can look at the budget and hold that increase down to a cent-and-a-half or 2 cents, that may be the best I can do," Stephens said. "I think it can be done."
Mayor Barbara Volk said it's too soon to know whether the council will need to raise taxes.
"We don't know if there is a tax increase next year because we haven't seen the budget," she said. "The goal of everyone on council is no tax increase if at all possible. But we have to fund the necessary services. There's no guarantee that there would be a tax increase, other than if the bond issue were to pass, and that would be the voters themselves choosing a tax increase."
Steve Franks, who is running for mayor, said he will oppose new taxes.
"I'm a no vote on any tax increase, period," he said.
Councilman Jeff Collis asserted that the city's finances are far stronger than challengers are suggesting.

SUBHED:
Collis: City finances strong

"In eight budget cycles I've not voted for one tax increase," he said. "Somebody said we don't have any money. I don't know where that came from. We're required by state government to keep an 8 percent fund balance and we're at about 42 percent right now. In the midst of the worst economic crunch in history in my life we were actually able to increase our bond rating and increase our loan rating." While many cities are struggling "you can be proud of Hendersonville because we're in great fiscal shape."
Jeff Miller, another council candidate, said he would look for ways to delay or block borrowing even if voters approve the bond issue.
"We've got $12 million in debt right now. I don't think we need to add $6 million on top of that," he said. "Just because the bond passes, we need some control in how we would spend the money. The big thing is people need to be educated on if this bond passes what it means. I don't think you borrow money for parks when you've already got $12 million in debt. I checked. There's no time frame on when we really have to do this. The baseball park is nice; it's $150,000 to maintain it every year right now. We just need to pass on this part of the spending now."
Diane Caldwell, a council candidate, said, "I'm definitely not in favor of raising taxes." She said she favored cutting taxes while the economy is down.
Challenger Ralph Freeman did not answer directly his position on the park bonds but said the city needs to invest in things that attract young people.
"Hendersonville is getting younger," he said. "We filled up a parking lot four times this past summer with people who were anxious to come to Hendersonville and have a good time. If you want to stick your head in the sand and say we're not going to spend any money, Sierra Nevada and the ones that are coming are not coming to Hendersonville. They're going to go somewhere else. We need to be thinking forward and spend wisely, we need to invest wisely to get a return on our investment."
Council candidate Guri Andermann said the timing is not right for park borrowing.
"I don't think we should take on new debt until we pay old debt," she said.
Volk and Stephens also disagreed on a city projection that the $14 million wireless water meter reading system would pay itself in seven years. Volk said that it would through more accurate measuring of water use. Stephens said the numbers don't add up. It will take 45 years to pay back the investment, he said.
Collis defended the council's record of investing in the water system. A UNC School of Government report showed that the city water rates are among the lowest in the state of North Carolina, he said.
"You can be very proud of Hendersonville because we have consistently ranked in the lower 5 percent on water rates within the state," Collis said. "We've also done a $20 million upgrade of the system that was from 1960. We prepared for the future and the growth. The economic downturn actually gave us a little breathing time to work on some of these things."