Bill Crisp
Occupation: Retired
US Army/retired Auto Sales
District you are running in 6
Campaign Manager: Mr.
William Autry
Daytime Phone Number: 910-864-1669
Address: 3804 Sunchase Drive Fayetteville,
NC 28306
Campaign Email: wjlcrisp@aol.com
Campaign Website: None
List most recent political/community experience (provide
dates):
From 2003 – June 2007, served as Treasurer of Cumberland
County Concerned Citizens, Inc. A
non-profit citizens’ activist group devoted to informing citizens about current
local issues as the issues pertain/impact the lives of city and county
residents.
What business/civic organizations are you associated with
(list leadership roles): I am a
member of the Masonic Fraternity and I have served in various leadership
positions at national and international levels. I am a member of AARP nationally and within the local chapter.
As a candidate, what are your top three policy issues?
- City
budgets that are prioritized and sensible.
- Adequate
pay to enable the city to retain policemen and firemen.
- Fayetteville’s
growth and development and our ability to attract business and industry to
our area.
What specific NEW initiative would you suggest for
economic growth in Fayetteville? How would it be implemented? We must fully fund the CCBC and monitor its
progress through periodic reports to the City Council, yet maintain the
confidentiality of businesses being “courted.” Full funding is an investment in future jobs and revenue. Involve some city council members in
dialogue with prospective businesses.
In short, enlist the assistance of the Mayor and some council members
who are objective to help “sell” Fayetteville.
Can Fayetteville and Cumberland County successfully
consolidate/merge their governments? What would be the benefits/problems of
consolidating the two into one? A merger
is possible; however, until we have further study, we cannot reach informed
conclusions at this time. I do feel we
must push-on for additional information.
At the same time, we must consider the impact of such a merger on the
other municipalities within the county.
The anticipated benefits would more than likely be savings of monies by
eliminating duplication. Cost of such a
merger and impact on human resources is of prime concern to me and these are
but a few of the reasons we “must” further the study, but through donations and
not tax dollars.
What do you believe to be the city council’s greatest
accomplishments and disappointments in the last two years? I think
the change in City Managers was very significant and will prove beneficial in
the long run. There is Festival Park,
the Cape Fear River Trail, the merger of Parks and Recreation are but a few
significant accomplishments, but much of the success of these projects cannot
be solely credited to the council. The
greatest disappointment, in my opinion, has been the “bickering” and in-fighting
on the council and the “my district” attitudes as opposed to concerns for the
entire city rather than “ward” politics.
How should the city best leverage the impact of the BRAC
process? We can best handle BRAC through prior planning and
continuous dialogue with Fort Bragg/Pope leaders. The establishment of a committee to oversee Fayetteville’s
interest is “on the money,” but to date, there has not been enough information
given to citizens. I understand the need
to be circumspect. I hope we have asked
Forces Command and Reserve Command what they need and expect from Fayetteville
and Cumberland County. In the coming
months we must invite the leadership of those two commands to Fayetteville and
gain their impressions of our community.
As they brief us on their needs, we must also brief them on potential
problems. We will need more schools,
more housing and money to assimilate new residents. It is time to ask our US Senators and Congressmen for federal
funds to assist in “revamping” avenues into Fort Bragg. Most of the increased traffic will be a
direct result of DOD mandated BRAC. We
must clean up the city; trash abounds and this must be a continuing process,
not simply once a year.
How the city council and the business community can work
more effectively to build a better workforce? I hope we
can get an early assessment from BRAC as to how many new jobs will be generated
via the moves from Georgia, and more importantly, if job announcements can be
“posted” as soon as possible. In
regards to jobs outside the BRAC umbrella, we must be prepared to give
“reasonable” tax incentives to retain businesses and to attract
businesses. The creation of jobs and
tax revenue must be examined to ensure Fayetteville will profit in the long
run. That is to say, the influx of jobs
and revenue into our community over a period of time must be greater than tax
incentives over the same period of time.
There must be a balance.
What would you do to work cooperatively with the other
members of the city council? Government at the municipal levels
and higher must embrace consensus and concessions. While I must be concerned for my district, I believe the greater
good can be served when the city council is prepared to adopt a collective
posture and attitude which is devoted to what is best for the city as a
whole. This means we must establish
priorities. We must avoid “ward”
politics and we must explain our positions to our constituency. This means constant dialogue with citizens
within our districts. Visit
Neighborhood Watch Meeting, et cetera.
For example every street that needs re-paving cannot be re-paved this
year. Citizens need to know what and
when improvements are scheduled for their neighborhoods. I want to visit other districts with council
members from those districts. I believe
every council member must be well informed about the entire city’s needs and
citizens’ concerns.
