Jay Schlum
Through continued forward planning and the commitment to staying engaged with our citizens I am confident that whatever challenges we find on the road ahead we will be well prepared.

Improving the success of our local businesses is a great passion of mine. On a daily basis we will be working locally with businesses and the Chamber of Commerce on effort to improve business successes. No more will we hear Fountain Hills is not business friendly. Good businesses will prosper in our Town.

Ongoing enhancements to our Fountain Park are important. The Fountain Park is our centerpiece. Perhaps because we live here and see it daily we don’t appreciate the opportunity before us. Our man-made spectacular namesake Fountain, lake and park drew many of us to Fountain Hills initially. Today we have the same great opportunity to draw more visitors to our town; let’s do so in a coordinated fashion with local businesses and help our local economy spout high.

The publics’ involvement is critical to our future success. Neighbors need to encourage neighbors to get involved. Town leadership has reached out to include more citizen governance over the past several years. It is no surprise, when individuals and organizations from our town are involved in improving our community the results always impress and leave us proud.

There is a need for even greater citizen involvement and I will foster that involvement of our citizens, organizations and businesses. I believe in a citizen focused collaborative approach to leadership and will work hard to take actions that will make your community even better.

With your vote to elect me as Mayor we will move forward into a bright future and yes we will do so together.

Thank you and please Vote for Jay.

Jerry Miles
If I were to pick the single issue which will require special attention for future planning purposes, it would be the issue of town finances.

The Town Council is aware that this is a looming problem, but its attempt to deal with the problem by placing a property tax on the May ballot has not been adequately thought out.

The voters will reject the tax proposal by a large margin.  And when they do, we will be left wondering what to do next. There are valid arguments in favor of a property tax, but this is not the time to place the issue before the voters. Last fall we approved a property tax increase for our schools.

The economy is not healthy and appears to be getting worse. Voters are distrustful of our council. And the council has not convinced the voters that all viable alternatives to a property tax have been explored.

So it will be up to future councils to deal with this problem. It will not be easy. The first step will be to restore the faith of our voters in the judgment of our council. If and when that is done, I believe that we can put together a long term municipal income and expense plan that makes sense to the residents of Fountain Hills.

Beyond this, the needs of our senior residents and our young families are always a major concern. We can’t ignore the needs of those in between, but our younger and older citizens always seem to have special problems which must be given special attention.

Kathie Kelly
At the present time the town has done a good job in considering issues known to be on the horizon.

Accepting that premise, that doesn’t mean that the process is perfect or ever complete. The real challenge is to recognize that even though we think we have dealt with all the issues, things change rather quickly.

The true test of leadership and vision is to be able to deal with issues we haven’t even thought of as they arise. A quote that strikes me, although I don’t know where I heard it, is the following: “What we really need is an exact list of unknown problems we might encounter”.

Mechanisms need to be in place to consider these new issues as they arise. After all, if they had been anticipated, they would have been dealt with.

The best run businesses and organizations, in my experience, are the ones that look ahead and deal with issues before they reach crisis level. Crisis management is usually costly and allows only limited options.

Keith McMahan
I believe the citizen driven Strategic Planning Advisory Commission has done an excellent job of forecasting and planning, so I see few surprises down the road.

I would like to see more citizens from all segments of the community joining SPAC and that the group itself be a permanent commission. Our financial situation is being well-tracked and will be solved long before the projected shortfalls occur.

We have adequate law enforcement and public safety services which are also planning for the future. We have a good school system ready to meet any challenges of the future.

Hey, if we all keep working together and be open and forthright with each other, we’ll do just fine.

Michael Tyler
The pace of change seems to be accelerating from year to year and we need to make sure we keep ahead of it, to the extent that we can; who would have foreseen $3 a gallon gas five years ago?

The Strategic Planning Advisory Commission, of which I am the current chair, will be examining certain key areas that will impact us in the next 5-10 years; areas such as increasing Valley congestion, transportation issues, changes in demographics, aging infrastructure and environmental impacts will all impact us in different ways. Making sure we understand the possible consequences now will allow us to better handle them when they become reality.

Lina Bellenir
As people age, isolation becomes a growing problem, and access and mobility become increasingly critical needs. Affordable, reliable transportation options are essential.

 Public transportation in various forms provides:

• The ability to live independently.
• Access to medical and social services.
• Contact with the outside world.
• The feeling of belonging to the community.

Meeting the most basic needs of our older residents requires enhanced mobility. Remember, a car is not the only travel option.

I believe that isolation and mobility are quality of life issues for our aging population. Isolation is a growing problem that severely affects our seniors’   ability to take care of basic needs and function as contributing members of society.

Studies show that, as people grow older, isolation—in the form of lack of transportation access and mobility—becomes increasingly acute.

Many public transportation agencies are expanding services in exciting new ways.  Valley Metro System has replaced 80 percent of its entire bus fleet with low-floor vehicles to ease access for older persons. In addition, the system is introducing state-of-the-art information technologies that automatically announce bus stops   and identify the route of the bus for waiting passengers.

The system is also introducing neighborhood circulator services using small vehicles to allow older   users to travel safely between home and busy activity centers and major street and highway corridors. And because Fountain Hills is somewhat removed from the rest of the valley, we need to encourage more bus routes times throughout the day.

Transit investment must include improvements in community design to increase ease of access to transportation alternatives and community services, particularly when we develop the “state trust land.”

Coordination of services and joint investment between transit providers and other human service and community service programs must be encouraged and   rewarded, not frustrated or discouraged.

Dennis Contino
What is the culture of Fountain Hills? Simply, what is the “theme” of Fountain Hills?

The council seems to be in a rush to “finish” and “set” things before the next council is elected. It appears to be an act of desperation. Hurry up and hire a new Town Manager, hurry up and set the downtown development, hurry up and approve Ellman’s development plans, hurry up and get the property tax on the ballot.

We need to stop, and identify where we want to be. Is this a town built around the tallest fountain, it’s sure not running that way now. Is this a town of natural beauty? Is this a town friendly to the environment? Is this a town that is appreciative of the arts? Is this a town that is appreciative of the talents within? Are we a destination for the tourists? Are we warm and inviting to our residents with our parks, shops, library, and community activities? Are we financially stable? Are we meeting the needs of the community?

We must empower citizens and businesses to have greater input and ownership on issues facing our community. We must insure that our budget, financial and taxation issues are understandable and clearly disclosed.  I don’t think we have been properly and openly informed and this is imperative.

Cassie Hansen
I would not necessarily use the term “looming”, but there are some issues that should stay on the council’s radar screen.

During the strategic planning process, 91-percent of the survey respondents rated low crime rate as very important/important when deciding to live in Fountain Hills and the second top reason to stay here.  At the Town Halls, public safety was ranked as one of the top seven, most repeated “value statements” identified by the participants and maintaining a “safe atmosphere” was identified as an important core value.

Our public safety needs are currently served through long standing, successful contracts with Rural/Metro and the Maricopa County Sheriff Office.

We are lucky to have many dedicated firefighters, EMT techs, deputies and detectives serving our community. Many of these individuals, some of which are residents, actively participate and contribute to service groups and educational programs within our community.

Knowing that public safety and its benefits to our community were identified as a priority during the strategic planning process, it seems that this component should be incorporated into the council’s annual goals and review.

From fiscal year 04/05 to 07/08, the contract for law enforcement increased by almost one million dollars. The council should carefully monitor cost, level of service and resident perception of the “safe atmosphere” priority.

Will there come a time in our future when funding our own departments is more cost effective?  This can only be determined through periodic evaluation and analysis.

Another issue identified during the strategic planning process was planning for adequate parking in the downtown, especially during events. With the shared parking model recently approved by the town council, this issue should also stay on the radar screen.