My platform is based on the core pledges to:
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Protect Private Property Rights
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Practice Fiscal Responsibility
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Foster Community Cohesion
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Protect Charlestown Families and Citizens
Financial Accountability
In my first term I've done all I can to practice sound fiscal management. In addition to creating more time and opportunity for residents to engage with our annual budget planning, I've prioritized projects to solve long-standing problems equitably across all of our neighborhoods. Every year that I've been mayor I've LOWERED the municipal tax rate while still offering top quality services. In three years I obtained over $33 MILLION of grants and special funding - more than double what was obtained in the 25 years before I was mayor. My commitment to financial accountability offers assurance that your tax dollars are being spent equitably, ethically, and in response to your feedback.
Infrastructure
Since 2020 we've made record investments in our infrastructure to repair neglected utilities and prepare for new development and growth. From road improvements to drainage work, from holding Indiana American Water accountable and seeing the construction of a new filtration plant to designing an upgraded Wastewater Treatment facility, I've worked to make sure that our foundations are strong. Moving forward we'll continue to invest in sidewalks, trails, broadband, utilities, and roads to make sure that we grow responsibly and always with our residents' quality of life in mind.
Recreation
Speaking of Quality of Life, we've only just begun to implement projects residents helped prioritize in our 2021 Parks Master Plan. We asked and you answered! We've kept and built upon our long time traditions like Founders Day and Christmas City, we expanded our programming and now include Art, Theatre, and Science camps along with our Sport Camp during school breaks. We created opportunities for families, friends, and groups to play and enjoy time together. We even added an entirely new festival with our Community Days event in September. In the next four years we'll expand options at the Family Activities Park for teens, upgrade our playground at Greenway Park to be fully accessible, add a disc golf course, and build a new Civic Complex at the newly donated 70-acre Shadow Lake Park.
Social Services
I take very seriously my commitment to protect Charlestown residents and families. I believe that an investment in our residents is never wrong. In my first term I've increased funding and support for our police department, created a Community Liaison position so that residents in crisis have access to a licensed social worker to help them identify and navigate available resources, worked with our schools and our senior citizens, and welcomed the construction of Charlestown's first Habitat for Humanity home. I look forward to continuing to introduce programs that will show why there's never been a better time to Choose Charlestown.
Transparency
I want residents to trust their government again. This is why everything we do is performed with full transparency. From day one of my administration we began livestreaming all of our public meetings, posting agendas and meeting materials online, and inviting residents in to open office hours. You have my promise that these things will continue for as long as I serve as mayor. There's simply no other way to do the business of the city!
