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Candidates urge levies, equipment maintenance and community programs to support fire, police and youth
Summary
Forum candidates urged voters to support levies for fire and police, proposed maintenance and recruitment measures and recommended expanded youth programming, mentorship and community patrols to address teen violence.
Public-safety funding and teen violence were recurring themes. Candidates uniformly voiced support for measures that keep police and fire services funded and operational.
Mary Jo Zorbb said the fire department has a "12%" levy on the ballot and a 5.4% police levy recently passed; multiple candidates urged voters to support those levies. Candidates proposed complementary steps: Susie Wittlessbach and others emphasized maintenance schedules for equipment and hydrants and noted the city was temporarily relying on a neighboring town for an ambulance because of vehicle outages. Brielle Beverly Gaston and Latonya Chichester proposed citizens' patrols or neighborhood watch programs, while Annalisa Clear and others stressed funding and revenue stability as first-order priorities: "Fund them first," Clear said.
On youth violence, candidates recommended increasing structured recreational programming, offering after-school jobs, surveying teens about program preferences and convening meetings with schools, police and legal advocates to hear directly from parents, students and teachers. Several candidates described planned or upcoming community meetings to address teen violence and stressed partnerships between council, schools and community organizations.
No formal actions were taken at the forum; the proposals are campaign commitments to pursue if elected.
