Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Both agree the city should study a home rule charter.
By LAURE CIOFFI
VINDICATOR PENNSYLVANIA STAFF
SHARON, Pa. -- It was standing room only in the city's council chambers for the only debate between the two mayoral candidates before the Nov. 8 election.
Mayor Dave Ryan, a Democrat who is the Republican Party nominee, and the Democratic nominee, Councilman Bob Lucas, debated everything from property taxes to economic development in the three-hour session sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
The debate became heated when hot-button issues like the completion of the Oakland Avenue Viaduct came up and during a dispute over the city's finances.
Lucas takes partial credit for jump-starting work on the viaduct with the initiation of Project Build Our Bridge in the spring, while Ryan said he worked quietly behind the scenes with the county commissioners to get the project back on track.
Both agreed the bridge, which is owned by the county, has become a "political football."
Projects
The candidates also agreed that the sewer plant is one the biggest projects facing the city.
The plant is under federal mandate to make millions of dollars in improvements. City council is now pondering whether to keep the plant or sell it to Aqua Pennsylvania.
Ryan said in either case, sewer bills will double in the next few years.
He said there are still not enough facts available for him to decide to sell or keep the plant.
Lucas said he is also waiting for a study to determine if the plant is an asset or a liability to the city but said if the city does retain it, the plant will have to stand on its own and not be subsidized by city funds.
Ryan disagreed and said the plant can't survive without the city's financial help.
Lucas wants to revitalize downtown by marketing it more for office space than retail.
Ryan wants to follow an established downtown revitalization plan already under way and said there is an apathy among downtown business people. He would like to see more events like the now-defunct Bavarian Fun Fest, which brought thousands of people to the city annually.
Fiscal situation
The two mayoral candidates disagreed over the state of the city's finances.
Ryan boasted that he took the city out of fiscal deficit and had a $200,000-plus fund balance this year.
Lucas said the city is borrowing money from the collected wage taxes to balance its budget.
"It's a false economy. You can't borrow money to balance the books," he said.
Lucas contended that money is not the city's to use. The city only collects it to send to other communities where the workers live.
Ryan says borrowing money from the wage tax fund is legal and the only way the city can survive. He said the cycle started in the early 1990s when the city funded the sewer system for seven or eight months before it was fully funded on its own.
Both candidates agreed that the city should look at a Home Rule Charter to change the form of government, even if it means eliminating the job of mayor. They also agreed that the city should look more closely at the idea of consolidating with Farrell to provide better services and cut costs.
cioffi@vindy.com