Getting to Know the Candidates: Robert Howey

Robert has lived in Trenton for over 40 years and was a graduate of in 1980.

He has a bachelor's of arts in architecture at Lawrence Technological University.

He worked in Auburn Hills and lived in Oakland County for nine years, but moved back to Trenton and opened up a business, R.J. Howey, Inc., Architects, in the Downtown area.

Howey is a two-time president of the Trenton Hockey Association and a member of several city organizations including the Trenton Rotary Club.

Howey is married to his wife and has three children.

Trenton Patch editor Nate Stemen asked each candidate the same three questions. Howey's answers are as such:

Why run for the position you are running for? What can you offer that no one else can?

I am running for a seat on the Trenton City Council because I firmly believe that I have the ability to make a difference and have a positive impact on our community.

I would bring to the council my strong leadership skills, tireless work ethic, fiscal responsibility and common sense approach. Additionally, I would bring my vision for a vibrant residential and business community. I believe that my experience, skills, and dedication would make me a strong and effective city council person during this very challenging economic downturn. The difficult financial decisions we face today will not only have short term implications but long term consequences for future generations to come.

What do you think is the number one problem facing the city of Trenton? How do you intend to resolve the problem?

The number one issue/problem facing the City of Trenton, as well as other communities across the state is the combination of limited revenue along with rising expenses. Lansing has continued to reduce our state shared revenue and, accompanied with our shrinking property tax base, it has become very difficult to offset the rising costs (employee wages, healthcare costs, retirement benefits/pensions, etc.) associated with providing quality services for our residents.

I believe that this is a multifaceted issue that cannot be resolved singlehandedly. It will require various strategies and will take a concerted effort by everyone in the community.

First, we must develop a plan to increase our shrinking property tax base. We need to encourage new businesses and families to move into our community. We must offer incentives for new businesses to move into our city thus creating a new and/or additional tax base. This would also create more jobs for our residents as well as bring in additional customers to support the local businesses. We can work with state and county officials to try and streamline and/or assist potential businesses with existing programs that are available.

Secondly, we need to further explore opportunities for shared services. For example, shared services and bulk purchasing power could occur between the city and the school district. If the city can offer/provide assistance or services that will save revenue for the district, it would be a win – win for both the city and the schools. Our relationship with Trenton Public Schools is very important to the success of the city. Strong schools provide a healthy residential market, which will in turn develop our property tax base to help offset the increased annual expenses.

Additionally, we have been very fortunate in Trenton to benefit from a high level of quality services for many years. However, neighboring communities have had to eliminate and/or scale down their level of services. As we face these difficult economic times we may also have to scale back some of the services that we have been accustomed to in order to balance the budget. We will have to continue to do more with less revenue. We need to continue to find ways to provide quality services in an efficient way to help reduce our expenses.

With the budget getting more and more difficult to balance each year, what are you willing to cut to keep the city’s budget balanced? What aren’t you willing to cut?

With limited revenues and rising expenses we need to challenge each and every budget line item. We need to continue to reduce our expenses through attrition where it makes sense and/or rearrange employee responsibilities.

First of all, I would not be willing to make cuts that would have a direct impact on the health, safety and general welfare of our residents, which would include first responders.

Finally, I believe that it is very important to continue to fund the maintenance of our city assets and infrastructure. Delaying repairs and/or replacement of our storm sewers, sanitary sewers, water mains, roads, sidewalks, buildings, etc. will result in unnecessary increased future expenses. We must continue to budget for capital improvement projects.

Look for the final two candidates Thursday and Friday on Trenton Patch.