LInda Wilson: Sugarcreek Village Council

  • By Kyle Valentini
  • October 25, 2011
  • 309
                        
Linda Wilson: Sugarcreek Village Council Personal info Office sought: Sugarcreek Village Council Age: 54 Family: Husband Walt- married for 36 years, Sons, Jon (Lynne), Brent, Seth (Amanda), two grandchildren, Kendrick and Mackenzie Education: 1975 graduate of Garaway High School, APCO instructor certification for emergency medical dispatch, American Heart Association CPR instructor certification, State of Ohio EMT certification Hometown: Sugarcreek Occupation: Tuscarawas County Central Dispatch (911 dispatcher) 1994- present Political party affiliation: None Previous elected offices: Sugarcreek Village Council 2008-2011 Applicable experience: The last four years on village council has given me experience in village government. I have gained knowledge in how the different departments are run and in the general operations of the village. Previously I had worked for my parents Sugarcreek business for 24 years. There I gained knowledge in accounting and sales. I have experience in public service through my current job at 911 dispatch and previous service with Swiss Valley Ambulance district. Questions What is the primary reason you are running for this office? Why should someone vote for you? I want to continue to serve and represent the residents of Sugarcreek to the best of my ability. I feel that I am honest, fair, trustworthy and frugal and make good informed decisions. What is the biggest problem(s) facing your community? How do you propose to solve it (them)? The budget and communications are the biggest problems. I believe that we will have to tighten up finances, continue to remain in the black and try to not increase our debt load. We need to keep a close watch on the spending in the departments and decipher whether their requests are a want or a need. We need to continue to upgrade our infrastructure, pursue economic development and maintain our safety services as funds are available. We need to improve our communications between council members and also with the citizens. I truly believe that the ideas and opinions of the residents are important and I will continue to get their input on issues. As for council, there are two types of communication- listening and speaking. We need to be quick to listen and slow to speak to have good communication skills among us. Limited only to the office you are seeking, where specifically would you cut budgets if needed? As funds become less, we could cut each department’s budget by a given percentage. Every area of expenditures needs to be reviewed such as utilities, gasoline usage, insurance, cell phones and mileage reimbursement. We should take a good look at if we really need a village administrator or should go back to the board of public affairs. Why are you running for public office? Why do you think you can make a difference in your community? I want to continue to serve my community. I can make a difference by continuing to make my decisions based on the information given to me, my own research and input from the residents. I want to continue to listen to what the residents say are their concerns and opinions. I am familiar with the operations of safety services that need to be addressed. My knowledge of those services would be beneficial. How can local cities and towns work together to improve the entire area, rather than just do what’s best for them? Swiss valley Ambulance district is an example of villages and townships working together to provide ambulance services to the residents. I proposed this year to explore the idea of forming a fire district within the araway school district to help resolve manpower issues in the fire service in sugarcreek, surrounding villages and townships. With more local government funding cuts coming shared services will become much more important. Mayors, councilmen and township trustees along with county and state officials need to collaborate to possibly keep e


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