Laney Harris, incumbent
Texarkana, Ark., Board of Directors Ward 2
Biographical
Spouse and children: N/A; daughter, 34; son, 28
Age: 55
Years a Texarkana, Ark., resident: 55 Highlight top three degrees and/or educational achievements: Associate of Applied Science in Electronics Technolgy—1981
Economic Deveopment
Strategies—2016
Resilience Training—2016 Gradution of Arkansas High— Class of 1979
Additional 22 hours in accounting and computers at Texarkana College—1981-83
List current job/employer and top three occupational achievements: N/A
Highlight top three examples of your civic or community service: City Board of Directors 1997-2004
City Board of Directors 2009-present
John Jay Jones Sr. Community
Service Award, NAACP Miller
County Branch
Large City Advisory Council, Arkansas Municipal League (2004, 2009-present)
Homelessness Policy Task Force (NLC) 2003
MPO Policy Committee chair
2014-15
Highlight top three examples of your political experience: Have submitted numerous resolutions, ordinances and presentations over the past eight years that has shown that I am attending and put forth issues and concerns on behalf of the residents of Ward 2 and employees of the city.
Political
Why did you run for office? Besides being asked to, to continue to voice the issues and concerns of my ward and make sure Ward 2 gets its fair share of the budget money and city services. Continue the promotion of fresh ideas for the continued economic growth of the city.
What are your top three goals,
if elected? I will continue to make the residents of Ward 2 my top priority and continue to fight for Ward 2 to get its fair share of city service (clean & maintain creeks, alleys and vacant lots in timely manner and money for street and road pavement). Expanding the tax base from a business standpoint.
What are the three greatest issues facing the city? Lack of maintaining our streets and sidewalks, lack of basic service to the community, no paving street plan other than a bond issue.
Lack of new retail business and limited industry development.
Sales tax rate at 10.25 percent compared to 8.25 percent and the groceries sales tax.
How should these be addressed?
Bring back dial-a-truck, buy a street sweeper at no additional cost to the citizen. This could be paid if the city does away with car allowance. There shall be more efficiency of department operation, stronger standard of accountability and responsible spending. Start to seal and maintain the street with a tar sealing immediately. Put the same concern on public work employees as other departments, increase the public work street personnel. The FedEx Distribution Center is a start, but there shall be a more aggressive approch for retail business and industrial development. Go after them rather than waiting for them to come.
The Issues
Would you support a tax increase to keep Arkansas-side police officers’ and firefighters’ salaries commensurate with those on the
Texas side? Why or why not? I will continue to support the will of the people. The question now is shall any increase be in the hand of the voter as it initially was, with the passing of the 1/4-cent sale tax by the citizens or the Texarkana Board of City Directors. Parity of the tax base will help with parity pay of police and fire department.
If elected, what would you do to protect Texarkana’s water rights
and resources? I will continue to take a proactive role as I did when I invited Bill King, former TWU director, to the Board of Directors meeting on Sept. 21, 2015, and explained the $28 milllion requested by Army Corps of Engineers to the city of Texarkana, Texas, and how it will affect the residents of Arkansas, if so.
What is city government’s role in maintaining good relations between police and the community? The city shall be leading the direction and treat every day as if it was the (police and the residents) National Night Out setting. It starts with how the police officers are trained; the training needs to be revised, the police are trained to engage with citizen from a breach of wrongdoing rather than assisting.
What changes, if any, would you make to the city’s animal control
services, and why? There shall be some type of fee associated with the total cost of operation in reference with the total number of animals, meaning after there are a certain number of animals brought to the animal shelter, then there shall be contributed a certain amount to the operation budget and capital outlay.
How can the two Texarkanas work together better to benefit
residents? Join together resources in trying to attain industrial development with high-paying skill jobs, not because of where you are working, but where you are spending your tax dollars. Promoting Texarkana, USA, as one city in magazines, billboards, online, etc., from a tourist destination standpoint.
What should the city do about derelict buildings downtown?
History has shown they are not going be used for retail as they once were, then the loft apartment concept shall be the direction, as Buhrmann Pharr buildings that I voted for back in 1999. However, there needs to be aggressive push by the city to do something rather than to let them just sit there and waste away.