The Times this week is continuing its series of questions for Town Council and recall candidates.

This week the candidates have been asked to address “sustainability” as it pertains to the future of Fountain Hills.

Sustainability is a word that has come to have meaning both fiscally and environmentally for government and private industry. What meaning does sustainability have for you? What role do you see for government in maintaining fiscal and environmental sustainability for the community?

Nancy Ordowski

“A 1987 UN conference defined sustainable developments as those that “meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs" (WECD, 1987).

“Economically, we must live within our means today and prepare for the future. The monies received from our citizens in taxes and fees must be used to support and care for the chartered items the town is responsible for (including fire and police services, road maintenance and washes), while setting aside sufficient funds to maintain the things we’ve already built.

“Had we been doing this, money would be available to take care of our roads.

“Environmentally, we have similar challenges.  We have a lake and all our parks and trails that also need care, yet we also need to ensure we are not using too much of our water resources. We live in a desert and need to protect both our natural and available resources.

“We have 121 beautiful acres of parks, Town Hall, Community Center and other things that will need continual repair as years go by. Residents don’t want to see things deteriorate, but they also don’t want to pay more taxes and fees.

“The council needs to work hard to make the difficult decisions to set aside money to take care of these things before adding additional things to this burden. When the residents can see fiscal responsibility from the council, they may be more willing to accept additional taxes or bonds. Only time will tell.”

Cecil Yates

“Sustainability as defined is ‘the capacity to endure.’ In broader terms, it means things run or operate in such a way that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged.

“This can be expanded to our economy, environment and our families. Sustainability, here in Fountain Hills, means we all maintain the quality of life we moved here for, without additional taxes or fees to subsidize our town’s operation.

“This can and will be achieved. Our local government’s job, with respect to sustainability, is to provide an atmosphere whereby private sector businesses and citizens can flourish in such a way that everyone benefits.

“We will let the market succeed. Working with our partners to bring more people to Fountain Hills means more commerce and business opportunity.  More business and commerce equals more sales tax revenue. The local economy flourishes, and everyone that lives and visits here achieves the quality of life that Fountain Hills is known for.  We can do this.  Go to www.votececil.com to see how.”

Dennis Brown

“Personally, sustainability means having enough continued income to maintain a preferred lifestyle, regardless of economic times.

“Government’s role in being fiscally sustainable is no different: finding continuing revenue sources to support the level of services that meets citizens’ expectations. This task is more difficult today than in past years.  One main revenue source historically, building related revenues (permits and construction sales taxes), has fallen more than 86 percent. The second-largest hit to our budget is state shared revenues, currently down 45 percent and expected to drop further.

“We need to recognize two things: first, we cannot trust the money will be there from the state government.  Second, over the next 15 years, after most of the homes and commercial buildings are completed, the building- related revenue will be virtually nonexistent.

“As your council member, I support our citizen-based Strategic Planning Advisory Commission plan to recruit local retired and active citizens to generate a fiscally-sustainable long-term plan for Fountain Hills.  This plan must be developed over the next two years and implemented immediately upon approval by the citizens.

“Environmental sustainability is something we are currently working toward with the Greening of Downtown, curbside recycling, zoning that preserves views, McDowell Mountain and other parks preservation and management, flood control dam maintenance, low-water plantings and other initiatives. Further economic development will bring jobs to Fountain Hills, and reduce the need for residents to commute out of town. All of these projects have the environment as the catalyst.”

Dennis Contino

“Fiscal sustainability   is a concept that refers to the ability of a government to sustain its current spending, tax and other policies in the long run without threatening government solvency or defaulting on some of its liabilities or promised expenditures.

“Environmental sustainability aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come.

“While sustainable development strategies focus mostly on building and zoning issues, community sustainability takes a slightly different approach to sustainability planning. Community involvement is very important for community sustainability programs and for sustainable development programs to succeed. If everyone is not working towards the goals for community sustainability then long-term success of these programs is impossible.

“Sustainability to me means the capacity to endure. That capacity to endure impacts us environmentally, economically and socially.

“Quite simply, government must carefully monitor spending, work with and partner with its residents to retain the quality of life we all came to expect in Fountain Hills, bring the community together in a responsible, business friendly, thriving community. Sounds like what I have been saying all along.”

Nick DePorter

“Sustainability is an important concept to embrace for our town’s future viability. To me, sustainability means finding innovative and practical solutions to the environmental, economic and social challenges we face.

“It’s hard to argue against ‘sustainability’ as a general concept – the challenge is in the details. The reality is that putting the concept of sustainability into actual practice can be challenging.

“We must protect the environmental beauty and the scenic vistas that attracted us here in the first place, but we must also find a balance in creating business policies that allow us to attract and retain new companies and sustain smart growth.

“One idea to consider is adopting a voluntary green building code, which allows builders (but does not require them) to meet green building standards locally without requiring them to apply for the costly LEED standard.

“Government should play a positive role in sustainability, and understand the economic, environmental and social impacts when making decisions.

“As a community, we have an opportunity and a duty to make our world more sustainable. Solutions to problems created today will have a resounding effect on our quality of life as well as for future generations.”

Cassie Hansen

“Sustainability is the management and stewardship of resources to insure their existence in the future. In the most global sense, it is the stewardship of our planet so it can continue supporting and providing for future generations. In the local sense it is the care and maintenance of our resources both natural and man-made.

“Mindful management of our preserve, washes, parks as well as our municipal buildings, equipment and streets is necessary to ensure the availability of these community basics and amenities for future generations.

“Prior to incorporation there was no centralized entity to address the sustainability of the community in light of diminishing developer involvement and Road Districts being tied up in litigation that precluded the paving of dirt roads. Incorporating as a town created such an entity with the necessary mechanisms and authorities to address the current and future needs of the community. Bonds were passed, roads were paved, preserve land was purchased, parks and community buildings were constructed, a fire department acquired, school system completed.

“In one respect, local government contributed to the sustainability of the community by providing improvements and enhancements that attracted more people to move here. The role and challenge for local government going forward is to prudently maintain and manage what has been created.

“This can only be done through a positive partnership and open dialogue with our residents to determine equitable, bearable and viable ways to support and sustain the many resources that make Fountain Hills a great place to live.”

Mary Nickum

“The concept of sustainability is based on the premise that people and their communities are made up of social, economic, and environmental systems that are in constant interaction and that must be kept in harmony or balance if the community is to continue to function to the benefit of its inhabitants, now and in the future.

“A healthy, balanced community is one that can endure into the future, providing a decent way of life for all its members. Sustainability is an ideal toward which to strive and against which to weigh proposed actions, plans, expenditures and decisions. It is a way of looking at a community in the broadest possible context.

“Although it adopts a broad perspective, in practice the pursuit of sustainability is fundamentally a local endeavor because every community has different social, economic, and environmental needs and concerns. And in each community the quality, quantity, importance and balance of those concerns is unique and constantly changing.

“Each principle on this list of six ‘principles of sustainability’ has the potential to overlap and inter-relate with some or all of the others. A community that wants to pursue sustainability must try to:

“*Maintain and, if possible, enhance, its residents’ quality of life.

“*Enhance local economic vitality.

“*Promote social and intergenerational equity.

“*Maintain and, if possible, enhance, the quality of the environment of the community.

“*Incorporate disaster resilience and mitigation into its decisions and actions.

“*Use a consensus-building, participatory process when making decisions.”

Linda Kavanagh

“When most politicians use the word ‘sustainability’ in the fiscal sense, it is a code word for tax increase. I oppose that kind of ‘sustainability’ because the taxpayers’ wallets cannot sustain those types of ‘tax and spend’ policies. However, if by fiscal sustainability you mean only committing government spending to programs that taxpayers want and can afford, then count me in.

“Fiscal sustainability also means that as the economy comes back, we do not automatically restore spending to every program and position that we had previously cut. The fact that government is still functioning, after dramatic spending cuts were made at both the state and local levels, suggests that some of the eliminated programs and positions were never really necessary and need not be restored.

“Environmental sustainability’ is often used as another code word to mask government mandates for the use of expensive, not yet perfected and unreliable energy sources that sometimes do more harm than good, such as ethanol. The manufacturers of these inefficient and expensive products are better lobbyists than energy producers. I do not like that sort of sustainability.

“I support all forms of clean energy. However, I oppose forcing consumers to buy expensive ‘sustainable’ energy that cannot be produced without the help of large government subsidies and tax breaks and would not be purchased without mandates on the consumer. I will look out for the fiscal sustainability of my constituents and not the profits of special interests hiding behind the cloak of environmental sustainability.”

Henry Leger

“Sustainability encompasses a wide range of topics. In simple terms, for me it means the capacity to support and maintain a desirable outcome. Sustainability requires a long-term commitment to the future and encompasses the concept of stewardship.

“I believe the role of our local government in achieving fiscal sustainability is to continuously review its financial position, practices and policies, and take action to develop appropriate short and long-term strategies. These strategies should reflect the community’s core mission and priorities such as those identified in the town’s community-driven strategic plan. The ongoing goal is to manage revenues as carefully as expenditures and to foster financial stewardship and cost containment.

“During my time on council, the town has maintained a balanced budget, healthy general fund reserves and has retired much of its debt, all contributing to our fiscal health. However, the road to future fiscal sustainability requires long-term financial planning to maintain basic infrastructure and the service level expectations of our residents. This can be addressed by diversifying our revenue portfolio to include increased commercial development, enhanced economic vitality and tourism, job creation and targeting new revenue streams…all active roles that government can play.

“With respect to the role of local government in environmental sustainability, I turn again to the community’s priorities outlined in our strategic plan. The plan identifies a number of actions the town can take and model to preserve and protect our natural environment. One recent environmental initiative was the implementation of town-wide curbside recycling.”

Rich Rutkowski

“Sustainability – the ability to sustain, continue, or preserve the present situation or practice, while anticipating predictable challenges and even unforeseen circumstances which may arise.

“For me, the concept of ‘fiscal sustainability,’ as it applies to government, raises the questions: Does the government have the funds or revenue sources to function and fulfill its specific and accepted obligations under the authority given by its citizens?

“Does the government do this with the full understanding that it is the citizens’ money which it is spending?

“Does the government apply all reasonable methods of efficiency and cost-containment before looking to impose new or higher taxes or fees upon its citizens?

“Does it focus on the ‘must-haves,’ the definite obligations of government, especially during economically-tough times, before pursuing the ‘nice-to-haves?’

“Does the government anticipate future expenses and provide a reasonable and acceptable mechanism of funding those expenses?

“The phrase ‘environmental sustainability,’ as it applies to our town government, projects the idea of maintaining and preserving the resources and qualities of Fountain Hills that drew us to this town and which should be managed and promoted in a way to attract visitors and future business.  The natural beauty of our surroundings and the small-town atmosphere are valuable assets to us now and are vital to our future, and to the ‘fiscal sustainability’ of Fountain Hills.

“As voters consider how to mark their ballots, one element of their decision will be which candidates are best able to assure fiscal and environmental sustainability of our town.”