“You cannot spend your way to prosperity. You cannot build prosperity by going into debt” -Ronald Reagan
Fiscal Responsibility – continue to restore integrity to the budgeting process by forcing the city to live within its means.
- Hold the Line On Spending
- Keep Taxes Low
- Continue to avoid financing Projects through Debt
- Resist the temptation to frivolously spend the Legacy Trust
I’m passionate about fiscal responsibility. One of the main reasons I was inspired to participate in public service was because as a father I’ve been humbled by the tremendous debt burden my children have inherited just by being born in this nation and community.
To this end, I have been a consistent fiscal conservative. Put simply, I have pushed to fund our neglected core responsibilities, and I have steadfastly opposed frivolous spending. I have supported hiring new police and firefighters, increasing the funding for Parks maintenance, and increasing road/neighborhood repairs.
Great progress has been made. In fact, WalletHub has rated Fort Wayne the #7 best run city in the United States.
Wasteful spending has been reduced. I have been successful in leading passage of over $2.5 million in spending cuts, most with bipartisan support. I fought income tax increases, wheel taxes increases, and food & beverage increases. More than simply saying “no” to the proposed tax increases, I offered common sense alternatives.
In addition, I have been a strong advocate for guarding the Legacy Trust from over-spending, and the Legacy fund retains a healthy balance. I supported Legacy projects that were transformative for the public good, but opposed giving away these dollars to private businesses.