Chad R. Allen for Harrisville May
Chad R. Allen decided to run for Harrisville City Mayor because he loves this great City and wants to see it move in the right direction. He feels there is a need to secure the financial future of Harrisville by establishing and maintaining strong businesses for Harrisville City. He believes that businesses can be increased while also maintaining the rural feel Harrisville is known for. He would accomplish obtaining strong business for Harrisville by forming a team of local business leaders, along with City council members, planning commission members and staff. Mr. Allen feels that, “We must fix the budget and look long term for the City.”
Last year, Mr. Allen looked for ways to save money for the City before raising taxes. He did this by asking the City to get a bid from the Weber County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) to contract their law enforcement.
One issue that concerns Mr. Allen is the budget and raising taxes. In 2012, a 104% tax increase was proposed. Instead of passing the increase, the city department heads were asked to trim their budgets, which resulted in a$48,842 savings. This year a 100% tax increase was proposed—mostly for employee raises. While he agrees that employees are underpaid, he feels that the burden should not be passed onto the citizens who are also struggling in this recession. The City council decided to pass a 75% property tax increase, with Mr. Allen being the only city council member who voted against this tax increase. He believes this will hurt future plans to bring in more businesses to Harrisville, and may cause businesses to leave Harrisville. He stated, “The tax increase is a temporarily fix, when insurance, retirement and other benefits go up for employees next year, we will have to look at raising taxes again. I feel this is not an option and will do everything I can to prevent this from happening.”
