2017 PBG Council Candidate Forum Synopsis
Posted by PBG Watch on March 1, 2017 · 3 Comments
On February 28, PBG Watch, along with the Palm Beach County Tea Party, the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches, and the North County Democratic Club hosted a candidate forum for the City Council election.
Moderated by WJNO Radio Host Brian Mudd, 9 candidates for three seats answered questions on a variety of current issues. The questions were drawn from a list of 18 in-depth topics that were provided to the candidates before the event.
The candidates are:
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| Mark Marciano | Michael Paolercio | Ron Berman | Kathryn Gettinger | Matthew Lane |
| Group 1 | Group 3 | |||
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| Kevin Easton | Rachelle Litt | Joe Russo | George Wicker | |
| Group 5 | ||||
A Word about the Video
The video of the event, recorded for youtube by PBG Watch, can be viewed in full HERE. The video icons in the table below are links into the full video that start at the question of interest. If you have trouble viewing any of it, you can click on the “youtube” link under the video frame and view it there using the index provided.
Present for the forum was current Councilpersons Maria Marino and Carl Woods, and Former Gardens Mayors Eric Jablin, David Levy, Joe Russo, Mike Martino, Linda Monroe, and Walter Wiley..
The meeting was kicked off by PBG Watch Co-founder Iris Scheibl, who introduced the leaders of the other sponsoring groups including Mel Grossman, President of Palm Beach County Tea Party, Mary Therese Delate, President of the North County Democratic Club, Marilyn Parmet, President of the Republican Club of the Northern Palm Beaches, Fran Hancock, President of the Republican Club of the Palm Beaches and Fred Scheibl, co-founder of PBG Watch who introduced moderator Brian Mudd. Timekeeping duties were performed by Barbara Grossman of the Palm Beach County Tea Party.
Below you will find a summary of the event, with the questions that were asked, and a link to a video of that section of the forum.
| 2017 PBGWatch Candidate Forum | ||||
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| Welcome and Moderator Introduction |  |
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Opening Statements
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| Round One | ||||
| Question: Term Limits Council / Staff Relationship – With term limits, the governance experience of a Council member will be less than in the past, and some say that shifts the balance of power to the City Manager and staff. Sunshine laws also have an effect in that Council members can interact privately with staff but not with each other. Do you see this as a problem and how will you balance a good relationship with city staff against your duty to represent constituents?
Answered by Group 1: Mark Marciano and Michael Paolercio. | |
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| Question: Sales Tax Revenue – The sales tax will provide a 10 year revenue stream to Palm Beach Gardens totaling $35M, that could have gone to existing and forecast capital projects, reducing property taxes. Instead, the current Council opted to borrow $30M against it and spend it all in 3 years on projects that were created above and beyond the existing capital plan. Did you agree with this decision? Why or why not?
Answered by Group 3: Ron Berman, Katie Gettinger, Matthew Lane |
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| Question: Annexation – The city has developed a long-term annexation plan for those pockets of unincorporated PBC enclaves within and around the city limits. Typically, the neighborhoods annexed gain a government but end up paying higher taxes. Some neighborhoods desire to be annexed and request it of the city. Others would rather not. How agressive should the city be in acquiring these pockets of independence, and is it beneficial to grow the city in this way?
Answered by Group 5: Kevin Easton, Rachelle Litt, Joe Russo and George Wicker. |
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| Round Two | ||||
| Question: Community Differences – Palm Beach Gardens consists of both high end, gated, golf course communities and older un-gated neighborhoods of more moderate housing. These neighborhood types have different lifestyles and different expectations from the City Government. Do you see this as a problem, and how would you balance the needs of disparate communities?
Answered by Group 1: Michael Paolercio and Mark Marciano. |
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| Question Council Districts – With the growth of the city, and its spread out west with Avenir, there will be geographic differences within the city that some say would benefit by a district organization. Council positions would either be elected to represent a specific district by the voters who live there, or they would continue to be elected city-wide but be required to live in the district and represent it as is done in West Palm Beach. Do you favor such a change? Why / Why not?
Answered by Group 3: Matthew Lane, Katie Gettinger and Ron Berman. |
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| Question Special Interests – The representatives of business or neighborhood groups, for example the PGA Corridor Association or the BallenIsles HOA, meet regularly with Council and staff and frequently speak in support of council actions at the monthly meetings. How will you weigh this input against the issues and positions that matter to the parts of the city that are less organized and vocal?
Answered by Group 5: George Wicker, Joe Russo, Rachelle Litt, Kevin Easton. |
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| Wildcard Round | ||||
| Question: Political Goals – Ultimately, in politics, what is your goal – what office would you like to achieve politically?
Answered by Group 1: Mark Marciano and Michael Paolercio. |
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| Question: Transparency – Regardless of the popularity of an issue or position, what will you do in terms of transparency, will you promise to always be forthright, engage the community and be accountable to your constituents and the media?
Answered by Group 3: Ron Berman, Katie Gettinger and Matthew Lane. |
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| Question: Catalyst – At what point and why did you decide to run for public office and what is it that you think you can move the needle on?
Answered by Group 5: Kevin Easton, Rachelle Litt, Joe Russo and George Wicker. |
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| Round Three | ||||
| Question: Road Projects – Traffic is a growing concern, particularly with continued development both within and around the city limits. The Beeline flyover, State route 7, the Hood Road I95 interchange and the widening of Northlake blvd, could help but they also have negative aspects. How forcefully should the city lobby the FDOT, either alone or through the Palm Beach MPO to affect if, how and when these road projects proceed?
Answered by Group 1: Michael Paolercio and Mark Marciano. |
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| Question: Growth in Spending – With property valuations continuing to rise, there is less pressure on programs and tax rates. Assuming this continues, how can we prevent the explosion of spending that occurred during the last period of rising property values? With low expected inflation and modest population growth, how do you decide what is an acceptable level of spending growth?
Answered by Group 3: Matthew Lane, Katie Gettinger and Ron Berman. |
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| Question: Inspector General Funding – The voters overwhelmingly approved the Inspector General and Ethics Ordinances and their application to municipal as well as county government. Many cities, including Palm Beach Gardens won on appeal the lawsuit challenging the right of the county to bill the cities for the cost of the IG Office. How much do you value independent IG oversight of Palm Beach Gardens, and how should these PBG specific services be compensated?
Answered by Group 5: George Wicker, Joe Russo, Rachelle Litt and Kevin Easton. |
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| Closing Statements and Audience Questions | ||||
Closing Statements
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| Audience Questions | |
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Good job, Iris and Fred….a real service for the citizens of Palm Beach Gardens…
Great turnout, too with standing room only!
Fran
I didn’t make it, but thank you for providing the videos.
I posted the forum link to our Nextdoor website called Gardenia Gardens. Gardenia Gardens has 317 neighbors linked via Plat 6. I just thought you should know. Although, we are not HOA driven, we still communicate. Our voice matters.🌻 Thanks again for the videos.