by Dorothy Markulis

Reporter

Hudson -- The two most recent Council presidents presented differing views on fiscal responsibility Oct. 10 to the Rotary Club of Hudson Clocktower as they race for the Ward 1 Council seat, to be filled by voters Nov. 6.

Brian Daley, Council president since 2005, is seeking re-election to Ward 1, which includes the center of town. George Roth, who was Council president for four years until he lost his at-large seat in the 2005 election, is challenging Daley.

Roth, who served on Council for eight years, said cuts of city employees in the last two years, including the economic development director, is not the path to fiscal responsibility.

"We can't save our way into prosperity," Roth said.

On the other hand, Daley, on Council for four years, said the cuts in city spending are saving the city $2 million annually since 2005.

"I ran for City Council in 2003 because I was dissatisfied with the fiscal management of the city," Daley said. "In 2005, we were projecting a deficit. All that's been changed."

Roth, who spoke first, said he "felt compelled" to run for Council.

"I strongly believe we deserve a change. The residents need a choice," Roth said.

Roth said he thought City Council, under Daley's leadership, was not investing funds in repairing the city's infrastructure, not pursuing economic development and ignoring safety concerns, contrary to the intent of voters who passed Issue 3 in 2004, which doubled the city's income tax from 1 percent to 2 percent.

Daley refuted that claim, stating the city was making infrastructure expenditures while instituting new city services like leaf collection.

When discussion turned to economic development, Daley pointed to the creation of the all-volunteer economic growth board one year ago as an entrepreneurial approach to economic development.

Roth said the economic growth board had "good folks" on it, but said the city needed to add a staff member to handle economic development duties.

"I'm proposing a full-time [economic development] director and possibly an intern," Roth said.

Daley said he had figures which indicated that from 1999 to 2005, while the city had paid economic development personnel, the city's property tax revenue declined by 8.9 percent. He also pointed out that city communications and economic development manager Jody Roberts was at that moment in Columbus at a conference on economic development.

Daley and Roth also disagreed on whether the city has properly addressed storm water and sanitary sewer problems, illustrated by the flood in 2003 that killed two residents.

Roth said Council, under Daley's leadership, had failed to adequately fund storm water and sanitary sewer system work in the city.

However, Daley said the city had funded storm water containment programs and said even though there were "very, very heavy rains in August," there were no significant flooding problems.

The Rotary Club of Hudson Clocktower plans to have other candidates in the Nov. 6 election speak at future meetings. It meets Wednesdays at noon at the Country Club of Hudson.

E-mail: dmarkulis@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3143