Government efficiency, Flock cameras, and fiscal distress were among some of the topics discussed during the Radford City Council candidate forum hosted by Cardinal News Thursday night.
About 50 people attended the event at the Radford Library to hear four of the five candidates respond to questions: Jonathan Stewart, Doug Kanipe, Charlie Meeks, and Bill Kovarik. Chad McClanahan did not respond to Cardinal’s invitation to participate.
City voters will be electing two new council members with no incumbents in the race.
The candidates were asked about the city’s financial woes, driven by underestimated revenue projections and its reliance on enterprise funds to balance its general fund budget.
“I think the city is starting to drive in the right way. There are certain things they’re doing right now that’s making me happy,” Meeks said.
He worked for the city’s public works department for 14 years, he said, adding that what the city is spending on processing its own trash is “a little much” and suggested that the city outsource it, pointing to Blacksburg and Pulaski as examples.
Kanipe, with 24 years of mechanical engineering experience, said that he understands how the city arrived at its current financial situation but that it is important to establish a process that will prevent it from happening again.
“Being an engineer, very process oriented, when I was a director of customer support, we had a daily report that told me how much revenue we got, and what our budgets were, and if things weren’t going right, those things would be course-corrected immediately,” Kanipe said.
He added that he would to limit costs and continue the hiring freeze the city has.
In agreeing with Kanipe’s assessment of the city revenue overprojection, Kovarik, a Radford University school of communications professor, questioned when a set forensic financial audit will be finished and released publicly.
“We were expecting to get a forensic audit report by now. It was due out in August. I haven’t seen it,” he said.
As Cardinal News previously reported, the audit was contracted with certified public account firm Brown Edwards, and a report is expected sometime this fall, according to Radford Mayor David Horton.
Stewart, a self-described blue-collar worker with an outside perspective, said the city’s focus should be increasing the number of medium and small businesses as a viable tax revenue stream.
“We also have to figure out a way to stop losing properties off the tax revenue. That’s the biggest thing of losing properties and businesses with the revenue that comes into the city,” he said.
The evening followed with other questions including candidates’ opinions on data centers and Flock-automated license plate reader cameras.
On whether Radford should consider data centers, Stewart began candidate responses with “I have a short answer, and that’s no.”
While Kovarik and Kanipe provided longer responses that shared Stewart’s position, Meek’s response left room for considering the financial impact data centers could have.
“As far as financially wise, I don’t think anybody could really know it,” Meeks said. “I think everybody you talk to thinks it does bring money into your town. And like you (Kovarik) said, it doesn’t create many jobs, but it could bring some income in.”
Meeks systems such as Flock cameras are important for matters such as Amber alerts, but he said the amount of time they stay on should be limited.
Kanipe said he personally saw the benefits of the cameras in helping his son recover his stolen car in Martinsville. but ultimately has concerns about the security of the information that is stored and which law enforcement agencies could have access to — a viewpoint later shared by Kovarik.
Stewart said his decisions on the technology would reflect the consensus of his constituents.
“If the citizens don’t want them, that’s who we’re representing,” he said.
Forum attendee Annette Camacho Vasquez, a long-time Radford resident, said that while she was thankful for the opportunity to hear from the candidates, not all of her concerns were addressed.
“Not at 100%, because we don’t have solutions. We don’t have an audit yet, so we don’t have a full idea. But we need new blood, we need new ideas, we need new strategies.”
Election day is on Nov. 3 and early voting runs through Oct. 31. The five Radford candidates are running for two seats. Current Councilman Seth Gillespie is vacating his seat to run for mayor. He is unopposed.
