Porter County
Voters will elect a new Center District County Commissioner on Tuesday, Nov.
4.
In the race are
Democrat Sylvia Graham and Republican Jeff Good. The successful candidate
will take the seat currently held by Commissioner Nancy Adams, who lost to
Good in the Republican primary election.
Graham is a retired
family nurse practitioner and is in her sixth year as an at-large member on
the County Council. She said the reason she is running is to give back to
the community by being a part of decisions that will shape the future.
Good is founder and
president of Good Hospitality Services, which manages 25 hotels in five
states. He said the experience he’s gained from running a business
overseeing 450 employees has instilled in him “the skill sets” needed for
the Commissioner position.
Both Graham and
Good are former members of the Porter County Convention Recreation and
Visitors Commissioner, commonly known as the tourism board.
Good is currently
Porter County’s representative on the Northwest Indiana Regional Development
Authority Board of Directors and heads its economic development group, which
he said puts him in the discussions of bringing business to Porter County.
Graham said she is
in favor of attracting sustainable jobs to the county and is glad to see new
manufacturers moving into Portage and Valparaiso. She said she is cautious
on creating tax increment financing districts because it could take money
away from schools and fire districts.
Graham said keeping
taxes low and supporting good schools are the best ways to grow the local
economy. She points to the newly proposed County Foundation as a solution to
holding taxes down, by investing a portion of the sale proceeds from the
former Porter Memorial county hospital.
“That’s Porter
County’s future,” she said, adding she wishes that the County Council would
have started the Foundation years ago.
Good said he is not
in favor of the Foundation as it is proposed because plans are to have
appointed board members who are not elected. He said there should be an
advisory committee made up of finance professionals to guide County
officials on investing the money.
He does agree with
Graham that the County should have the ability to make small interest loans
to municipalities with the hospital interest money so that infrastructure
can be expanded and the County’s nest egg protected.
Both candidates
wish to see changes made to the County’s health care plan to bring costs
down far enough to fit in the General Fund budget without causing a deficit.
They also mirror
each other in that they wish to see the County establish a human resources
department for County employees. Graham said she would only support it if
the County Council can find sufficient funds to support it.
On a related note,
Graham said she would like to see a few policies in the employee manual
revamped and reduce the number of paid holidays workers receive.
Good said he can’t
imagine an employer as big as the county operating without a human resources
department. He said an HR department can protect both the employees and the
County in general.
Good said he would
like to learn more about what an HR department for the County would entail,
but the current Board of Commissioners have not released an audit report.
In regards to a new
fee structure for the Stormwater Management board, to be charged to property
owners in the unincorporated areas of the county, Graham said drainage is a
concern for her but she does not agree with a $10 per month fee for each
equivalent residential unit. She thinks a more fair approach would be to
take into consideration the size of the property’s roof and square-footage
of the driveway and formulate that into a fee.
Good said he would
like to get input from conservancy districts before the fee structure is
established. There should be more open discussion on major topics like fees
and health insurance which Good thinks would soothe the tensions between the
Commissioners and the County Council.
“Let’s start having
these holistic discussions, get all the issues on the table and not be
critical of each other,” Good said. “We can do things more efficiently, more
service-oriented and less politics.”
Graham said she has
good working relationships with her peers on the Council and can have open
communication with other County Commissioners.
She also stated
that, if elected, she will be a full-time commissioner and will return phone
calls to constituents. Other projects she hopes to get accomplished during
her time in office are to plan for a new county Animal Shelter, and the
Raise the Barn center at Sunset Hill Farm.
Good said public
service is something he enjoys. One of his ambitions is to see the County
create a three-year plan, forecasting what revenues will be coming in, so
officials can make better decisions on spending and investing public money.
Members of the
Porter County Board of Commissioners earn a salary of $35,411 per year and
are eligible to take part in the County’s health insurance.