Kosciusko County Council candidates Tony Ciriello (L) and David Lewis pose for a photo before their portion of the Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce’s election forum began Tuesday night, Oct. 25, at Warsaw City Hall. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Lauren Zeugner
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Candidates for Kosciusko Council Council District 3 were the first to debate in a community forum held Tuesday night, Oct. 25.

The forum was a partnership between the Kosciusko County Chamber of Commerce, InkFreeNews, The Times-Union and Kensington Digital Media.

Republican Tony Ciriello and Libertarian David Lewis each had 60 to 90 seconds to answer questions.

The first question asked of the candidates was regarding county legal fees which have risen over the last two years. Both candidates were asked if they believed the increase in legal fees was reasonable.

Ciriello noted over the last two years there had been a lot more work for the county attorney to do such as contracts for road construction projects, grants and Freedom of Information Act requests. He said he was not currently on the county council so he would have to do some research to see if the increase in legal fees was reasonable.

“Should we be increasing funding for those types of things? Probably not, ” Lewis said. “What we do for county government is a public service.” He referred to former county attorney Chad Miner doing work on behalf of the county and not billing for all of it in the name of public service and said the current county attorney should follow Miner’s example.

The candidates were asked to name a county department or service they believed was underfunded.

Lewis said it was easy to talk about the road system and the conditions of the county roads. He pointed out the wheel tax was supposed to help with addressing those needs, yet eight years later there hasn’t been much improvement. “We need fresh ideas in addressing this situation.” He said the county needs to find ways for more community buy-in and increasing taxes was not the answer.

Ciriello noted the county highway department is responsible for 1,200 miles of road to cover and it is probably underfunded, just based on the cost of paving which he said was approximately $1 million per mile. He pointed out the county highway department just recently completed a project on Old SR 15 between Leesburg and Milford. “They’re doing the best they can,” he said, noting while the wheel tax does help, the county also depends on state funding and sometimes that funding falls short. He recommended doing an assessment and prioritizing road projects.

The candidates were then asked how the county could find new ways to save money.

Ciriello stressed the county has to save money since experts have said a recession is coming. “With a recession, tax dollars don’t come in,” he said. He suggested taking a hard look at the budget to see what can be reduced without affecting public services. “We need to work as a council with the department heads on this,” he said.

Lewis agreed with Ciriello that a line-by-line process be taken with the budget. He also noted the council would need to take a hard look at what it can do better to eliminate waste in the budget. He said he separated from Ciriello in believing not all public services would need to survive.

The fourth question continued on the subject of roads and infrastructure with both being asked about their biggest concern about funding road projects.

Lewis noted bonds and tax abatements were a concern. He said again there needs to be more community buy-in. Funds from bonds should go into an infrastructure fund to help offset the costs. He did point out infrastructure was more than roads, mentioning the county needs a shot in the arm when it comes to access to high-speed internet. He suggested collaborating with business organizations on these matters.

Ciriello said, “We have to have people get from point A to point B safely.” He stressed building infrastructure at a rate the county can afford. He noted Kosciusko REMC is currently rolling out high-speed internet to rural areas of the county. Another concern was the possibility for the need of a countywide sewer system and how to cover the cost of it. “We need comprehensive plans for the future,” he said.

The last question for the candidates was what economic development action needs to be taken.

Ciriello said the county already has good economic development in place with Kosciusko County Development Corp. The county needs to attract business and tax abatements are an intricate part of bringing business to the area. He noted tax abatements are not eliminating taxes for a business but tax on a sliding scale. “Economic development is hard anywhere with rising costs of construction, labor and housing,” he said.

Lewis said he agreed with alot of what Ciriello said. He said there were two major needs, including housing is at a crisis level for lower-income households. He pointed out the council can be an ambassador to private equity to encourage contractors to build houses blue-collar workers can afford.

The other major need he mentioned regarded township trustees, who are set up to assist those having difficulty paying for housing. He pointed out one township trustee paid out approximately $240 in housing assistance while working with a budget of $2 million. “We need to do better to keep people in their homes,” he said.

To view the entire election forum online, click on the city link here.