Some reasons Fayetteville needs a few candidates

If you want lower taxes, more transparent government, protection of our established neighborhoods and parks, affordable housing for our emergency responders as well as our middleand lower-income citizens, and students from less affluent Arkansas communities, then it’s time to consider serving on the Fayetteville City Council. You can also serve by following issues in your area of expertise.

My background is in waste reduction and recycling. Having run a successful small-town recycling program, I know Fayetteville could collect far more recycling and be better stewards of our environment and taxpayer dollars. I was mortified at the amount of money paid to consultants for the “single-stream pilot,” which took place in the ward of an alderman campaigning for re-election. You’d be wise to make note in which wards “pilot projects” occur from now until November 2020.

While it’s advantageous having the under-60year-olds donate their unique talents and knowledge to City Council, it’s also challenging for those working full-time jobs to read and absorb 300 to 500 pages every week. Many aldermen are stretched to simply attend meetings. They often rely on staff recommendations without thoroughly understanding the issues on which they vote. To better balance our council, we need more aldermen with time to study issues deeply, and aldermen who have long-term experience in specific areas.

I’d like to see candidates whose concerns include passing a whistleblower law that protects city staff who feel their only recourse is to go outside the chain of command to alert the public about internal problems. In recycling we need a transparency law. If Fayetteville had had one, we would not have wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on the single-stream issue. Where else are hundreds of thousands of dollars being wasted? LOUISE G. MANN Fayetteville