Bill Moritz: Ward 2 City Councilman Candidate

Bill Moritz provided the following information.

Biography: Bill Moritz is a two-term Councilman first elected in April 2007 and is Chairman of the Liquor Committee. Currently, Moritz is on three Arnold Commissions: Budget, Liquor Control, and Aging and Developmental Disabilities. Married wife, Deborah, in 1982 and has two college aged children, Kyle and Daina, who graduated from Fox Senior High School.

What is your plan to deal with the expected budget constraints in the City of Arnold?

First of all, Arnold is in a strong position financially at the moment.  Arnold has just had its bond rating increased from A to A+. We are paying our bills and we are reducing our debts.  Note that cities around us are cutting back on services. St. Louis just announced a lay off fire fighters to meet budget constraints.    We do not have that issue and we have been in the black through the entire economic downturn that began in 2009. As in any budget there are stresses on the budget. I filled up tonight at $3.49/gallon. We have a large fleet of vehicles and equipment and fuel is a huge expense. We have always maintained a balanced budget as state law prohibits doing otherwise. Arnold has 21 years of exemplary performance with respect to its records and reporting of financial reports.  The city department heads work to a budget and meet it. 

What areas of Arnold need to be improved to attract businesses and industry and why?

The area north of the Jeffco Blvd/141 intersection is one of the oldest commercial districts in Arnold and it is challenged economically and has been so beginning with the completion of I-55 back in 1965.  Yes, I was here then as a child and remember it well.  That section of Jeffco was once the main North-South throughway and held Baker’s Restaurant, Brouk Ziegler and Johannes Hardware. It no longer has those businesses or that traffic.  The Arnold Hometown plan was put together to address the challenges now experienced there. It is the older part of town as well as one of the most travelled by anyone going to or near Fox High School.  The last member of the former majority voted out in the last election voted no on the vote to implement the Hometown plan.  I feel that speaks volumes about our challengers, who are supported by that group.  I feel the revitalizing North Jeffco is a challenge the city as a whole should step up to this session. We need to create incentives in addition to the façade improvement plan we have in place with one of our banks to help businesses who wish to improve the storefronts along North Jeffco.  We need to create an improvement district to support those incentives.

What are your priorities in office and why?

For my priorities, 314 Arnold households are not connected to the sanitary sewers. 158 are in Ward 2 due to the rocky terrain.  We must connect more homes and get them off septic tanks. We also must reduce the average amount spent for treatment and pursue new revenue sources so we may construct new sewer lines. I will continue to protect the rights of property owners. Eminent Domain is right of the government to seize private property for public use in exchange for fair value. It is not for generating private profits. The current council enacted a property owners’ rights bill by unanimous vote to signal our clear intent that we will not use ED in that manner. The prior majority, who supports my challenger, never would do so despite their rhetoric.  I intend to maintain that goal as that is what the voters expected me to do after the 2007 election.

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