Mayor Charlie German and Councilwoman Robin Whatley, the two incumbents seeking re-election to the Camp Verde Town Council, chose not to attend the candidate forum held July 31, citing safety concerns and fears that the questions were setting them up for an ambush on the town council’s record.
In their absence, the five candidates sitting on stage at the Philip England Performing Arts Center — longtime town councilwoman and mayoral candidate Jackie Baker, former judge Joe Butner, former councilwoman Carol German, local business owner and write-in mayoral candidate Alex Goetting and retired police officer Bill LeBeau — leveled criticism of the council, with no one there to defend its record.
“I hear from a lot of people who don’t come to meetings because they don’t think they’ll be heard,” LeBeau said at the forum. He tied his candidacy for the council into a desire for change in how the town government does things, and a desire to get voices that are left out of the process into it.
“I am one of those people who felt they weren’t listened to by the council, and that’s why I’m running,” Goetting said. “If you don’t think you’re listened to, go run.”
Several candidates agreed with Butner’s suggestion for a town message board that would allow residents to submit criticisms and suggestions outside of council meetings, and having them taken into account at the meetings.
“I also think that there should be an open door policy with regular office hours so that people can come by town hall and meet with me or other council persons and voice their concerns,” Butner said.
Beyond greater access to the council for the public, the main points of attack on the current town government concerned budget, debt and spending issues. Several candidates complained about rising sewer fees and the possibility of the town buying the water company, which they feared could lead to increased fees for that, as well.
“I think that people can stand a small increase, just like we get small increases in property taxes and things like that,” German said. “But to all of a sudden have your sewer bill doubled, just like that, because they changed they way they were figuring the costs without really true explanation to the entire community, not having public hearings to say we’re changing the way we’re structuring the sewer bill — the people were shocked when they got their sewer bill, and you can’t blame them. A 70 percent increase is a pretty hefty hike, and so I think it needs to be revisited.”
The candidates also took aim at the council for increasing spending on things like the new sports complex, and they worried the town could be taking on more debt than its assets warrant.
“We must learn to live within our budgets right now for sure,” said Baker, the only current member of the council to attend the forum. Baker said the council has been right to support economic development, but that it should do better to do so in a more fiscally responsible way. “We keep being told the debt ratio is fine. I don’t believe it for one second. I think that when it shows that we have less revenue than expenses, I think we’re in trouble.”
Standards & Poors recently gave the town’s finances an AA minus rating. Town Manager Russ Martin has argued that complaints about the debt are overstated, as the high debt-to-asset ratio is a product of the town only owning a small amount of public assets, though the construction of the library and sports complex are set to increase that.
All five of the candidates at the July 31 forum agreed that in the ongoing search for a new town marshal, it is vital for any prospective candidate to be a resident of Camp Verde. This was an issue recently as Cmdr. Brian Armstrong, who is serving as acting marshal while the town is searching for a permanent choice to hold the position, was under serious consideration for the position despite living in the Village of Oak Creek. Armstrong withdrew his candidacy due to a desire not to be seen as an exception to the law requiring Camp Verde residency.
The candidates at the forum agreed in insisting that the marshal position be an individual that is part of the community, and that if the law requiring residency is in place, there should not be exceptions made.
Jon Hecht can be reached at 634-8551, or email jhecht@larsonnewspapers.com
