Questions Answered I Was Never Asked: Are you in favor of expanding the services beyond the current three?

As my way of trying to disseminate as much specific information as possible, I have undertaken the task of trying to answer, in these blogs, as many questions as possible that were asked by citizens during the campaign forums that were not addressed to me so they know how I would have answered them and can formulate an opinion on my response. My first response will be to the question: Are you in favor of expanding the services beyond the current three?

The short answer to this is no. In fact, in one of my initial campaign mailers, I said I would vote against any attempt to expand services during my four year term and I stand by that promise. However, like most things in government, nothing is simple.

Saying we are for just three services is easy. It shows commitment to a limited government, it keeps things simple, and it fulfills what we said during the initial campaign. And, as I said above, in the short-term, I stand by that 100%. In the long-term? I hope I stand by it as well because that means Gwinnett County is providing us these other services at the best quality and cheapest cost. However, I fear that may not always be the case.

Gwinnett, not too long ago, face a $30 million budget shortage. They, like almost all other municipalities (although not nearly as severely), took on alot of obligations, made a lot of promises, and has exposed itself to some risk during many of the better economic days. Now, in an economic downturn, they are faced with the challenge of cutting costs. While I believe our newly elected commissioners, Lynette Howard and Charlotte Nash, have done a tremendous job in the face of some difficult circumstances, their ability to wipe clean some of the costly obligations facing Gwinnett is still limited, due to legal reasons, financial reasons, and sheer numbers.

For that reason, I fear that, like nearly all other established municipalities in this country, things will get worse well before they get better. There are too many long-term obligations to support them at the current quality with the current tax rates. That is why, much as I believe happened in our area with residential code enforcement, at some point in the future, residents of Peachtree Corners are going to have to face the question of whether they want higher taxes or lesser services.

At least, that is the question they used to have to face. Now, due to our ability to add city services through a council vote AND a popular referendum, we have another option, which is to take over the service form Gwinnett. And while that phrasing naturally brings alot of trepedation, it doesn't necessarily mean the city would do it ourselves. Non-safety services can be outsourced to private companies that can do much of this work, likely in a more responsive fashion, at a lower cost, and would be forced to be more in-tune with the specific needs and wants of Peachtree Corners residents. Also, if we did ultimately take over a service we are paying Gwinnett County for, we would get that tax revenue back so residents and businesses wouldn't be paying twice for the same service.

As part of my 12 point plan for Peachtree Corners in 2012, I have said that I'd like to see us audit our own services every year so we know the actualy per resident cost of each service. I'd also like to send out RFPs to vendors for all the other services, even the ones the city council is not currently authorized to provide, so we can get a sense of what these services could cost us if we were to take any over and then contract them out. I'd like to make as much of this information public as possible so then residents can compare the numbers and see if there are ways to save money or improve service quality, either in the services we currently provide or by adding additional services.

Again, to make clear, I have no interest, repeat, no interest, in expanding services during my term in office. However, a future city council might decide its the best option, perhaps for reasons beyond their control, and I think we aren't doing our job properly if we aren't always checking all our options, seeing what ways there are for cost savings or quality improvements, and circulating that information to council members and citizens alike. Once we have it, if there is an advantage to be had by adding additional services, we will have the background information and will be able to move forward in that direction at that time. But with all that is on our plate in getting the city started, I would not support any expansion of city services during my term in office.

If you want to see more of my views, visit my website and if you want to get a better sense of myself and how I think on my feet, see my answers to questions posed at the February 6 Forum.

Scott Ehrlich

Candidate, Peachtree Corners City Council

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scott@choosescott.com

www.choosescott.com