New Boston Mayor
JOE DIKE
1. What are your top priorities if elected into office and how do you plan to address them?
New Boston has a leadership crisis. Our veteran Mayor abruptly resigned. The Mayor Protem isn’t seeking re-election. NB could have a new Mayor and four councilmen with little to no experience. As a past councilman and Mayor Pro-tem, I bring 23 years of municipal experience.
NB desperately needs a leader knowledgeable of municipal laws, financial expertise and experience in municipal governance. Top priorities are prudent fiscal management followed by community and economic development utilizing the Type A/B resources of the NB Economic Development Corporations.
Qualifications matter. We should never forget what happened to Bowie County in 2010. A new inexperienced county judge was elected which caused a 36% tax increase. Taxpayers had to foot the bill for a $5 million loan to avoid bankruptcy.
2. What do you plan to do to serve the people of New Boston and make sure their voices are heard?
I will be accessible to the public, encourage attendance at meetings, schedule convenient times, and post informational videos via social media to the public. I will institute a “state of the city” report periodically detailing our financial condition, progress on goals, and present a long-term vision for our city.
3. What is the biggest challenge the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to New Boston and how do you plan to address it?
Our freedom and rights are not given to us by government but by our creator. The role of government is to protect these rights and make sure that one’s freedom does not infringe upon another’s.
I would stay informed of the risks of Covid-19 and disseminate that information to the public. I would encourage each citizen to exercise their right to choose what they do with this information. Those that feel the best choice is to remain at home can do so. Others may choose to continue with extra precautions, and yet others may live life with no change.
We should demand our politicians remove what I believe to be unlawful restrictions that the government has no right to grant or remove. I would encourage NB citizens to use common sense, get flu vaccinations, be considerate of high-risk people, and obey the law… until they can’t.
4. What are your thoughts about the city’s finances and what program(s) would you like to see added or done away with?
The City of New Boston has been on an unprecedented spending spree. In just over 12 months, the newly elected 2019 council has voted to build a multi-million dollar 2nd sewer plant, purchased many new city vehicles, hired an expensive city administrator, hired other new employees and has agreed to pay the water and sewer development costs of a new 40 acre sub-division. Setting this precedent could cost the city hundreds of thousands of dollars as other developers will demand the same treatment.
In addition, the city’s right to sell water in the new sub-division is in dispute with another water entity. However, the city has already commenced installation of the water lines. Every spending decision should be able to stand on its own merits and benefit the entire city and not just a privileged few. I would help foster retail development downtown not evict business owners.
5. Under what circumstances, if any, would you consider raising taxes?
NB is fortunate to exist along I-30 and it’s located in a central hub of commercial activity. With prudent fiscal stewardship and appropriate management of the wet utilities, we shouldn’t need to raise taxes.