League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
Hamilton, Clermont, Warren Counties, OH November 8, 2011 Election
	Paulette L Leeper Answers Questions Candidate for Council Member; City of Loveland

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.
Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Questions & Answers

1. What are your qualifications for office?

I served a full term on Loveland City Council (1997-2001) and I am a twelve-year member of the City's Finance Committee (1999-present). I was appointed to Council in February of this year to fill an unexpired term from a field of seven other candidates. These qualifications make me one of the most experienced candidates in this election, and in these tough economic times, experience counts.

2. What services do you believe should be considered basic and essential for the City?

The basic and essential services of any city are those which support the health, safety and welfare of the residents. Certainly, fire and police protection, clean water, sanitary sewer services, trash removal, emergency medical services and road maintenance come to mind. Loveland residents enjoy these basic city services and good stewardship of their tax dollars which contribute to a skillfully-managed, lean budget. Cuts in historic sources of revenue from the State of Ohio in 2013 will make balancing our already-lean budget more difficult than those of many other local governments.

3. How would you balance the City Budget?

The City of Loveland's budget is already lean due to the existing practices of outsourcing, collaboration with other entities, and staffing reductions through attrition. The City has already implemented a number of budget-saving measures like the North East Fire Collaborative, the reorganization of the Tax and Building and Zoning Departments, and outsourcing our income tax collections. The continuation of these cost-saving measures along with the recommendations of the City Manager and the citizens who participated in the Budget Sustainability Workshops are important factors in balancing the budget. These recommendations include eliminating sick-leave sell back, health insurance for part-time employees, tuition reimbursement, and making reductions in the wellness program and continuous improvement training program. On the revenue side, raising taxes is a last resort in my book and I prefer to focus my attention on real growth initiatives such as the Historic Loveland Redevelopment Plan and other initiatives that strengthen our tax base.

4. What actions will you take to support clean air?

I support clean air - it's important and it's already being dealt with at the State and Federal levels of government. The funciton of local government is police and fire protection, safe roads and strong utilities, among other things. In these financially lean times, these issues and others provide a full plate for local governments. With that said, I am supportive of creating jobs in Loveland so our residents can shorten their commutes. In this way, a stronger tax base supports clean air initiatives.

---

Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits may apply. See individual questions for specific word limits. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. Please edit your work before submitting. We are unable to provide spell-check at this time.

Read the answers from all candidates (who have responded).

Candidate Page || Feedback to Candidate || This Contest
SmartVoter Home (Ballot Lookup) || About Smart Voter

---

Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 5, 2011 17:56
Smart Voter <http://www.smartvoter.org/>
Copyright © League of Women Voters of California Education Fund   http://www.lwvc.org
The League of Women Voters neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office or political parties.