Editor’s Note: Realfrisco.com sent out a questionnaire to all of the candidates that filed for a place on the Frisco City Council. The questionnaire is intended to help give residents a more intimate look at the gentleman running for council. A different questionnaire will be placed on the site every few days. The next candidate is Jim Joyer who is running for Place 4.
What is your current occupation? I have been a Dr. of Veterinary Medicine for the past 31 years. I owned a large multi-Doctor practice in Carrollton until 2003 when I semi-retired and sold the practice to one of my associates. I currently fill in at several local Veterinary Hospitals doing relief work to keep my hands in the profession that I love.
What made you run for a place on the Council? After serving on the City Council from 2003-2008, and Mayor Pro Tem in 2007-2008, I always knew that there was a chance that I would want to get involved again in the future. There have been many things that have occurred lately on Council that concern me. I would like to bring back some experience and vision that I believe we need to continue the course that has made Frisco the great city it is today.
What experience do you feel that you have that makes you a good fit for the position? I think the easiest way is to just list some of my past involvements in the city.
-Frisco City Council 2003-2008
-Frisco Mayor Pro Tem 2007-2008; Council Governance subcommittee; Frisco Budget and Audit subcommittee; Public Improvement District (PID) Boards 1&2; Frisco Square management Board.
-2002 Frisco Bond Committee chairman, Frisco 2002 Bond PAC Chairman.
-Frisco Community Development Corporation (CDC) 2000-2003. Elected vice Chair in 2000, elected Chairman 2001 & 2002.
-Hike and Bike Trail Master plan committee 2001; Parks and Rec. Master Plan Committee 2001-2002; Library Facility Master Plan Committee 2002; Frisco Economic Committee.
-Leadership Frisco Class of 2001-2002; Frisco Citizen Police Academy 2002.
What key issues are you campaigning on? Continued fiscal responsibility while maintaining the forward vision that has made Frisco the great place it is now. We need continued support of the local arts and the Arts of Collin County. I want to continue the progress that has made Frisco’s housing and business community attractive to new resident and businesses that help keep our tax rate one of the lowest in the North Texas Region. Continue updating our master plan which, during my previous two terms on Council, led to one of the lowest tax rates in the north Texas area. Leadership is about recognizing our responsibility to make things happen for our citizens and business community. I will continue to look for those “win/win” opportunities, and to look forward toward the future, while incorporating lessons learned from the past.
What issues would you like Council to address? Traffic bottlenecks in advance of expanding road projects, Eldorado and Preston is just one example. Continue to allow our infrastructure to catch up to our growth. While Frisco is not about East versus West, we must remember that 40% of our population lives in Denton County, and we need to work more closely with Denton County to advance and strengthen Frisco’s agenda. Continue pressure on TxDOT to complete Main Street to Custer and 423 along the western border of our city. We also need to continue to fight toll roads, as we on Council did with 121, which our state government continues to foist on our citizens. We also must continue to work on environmental issues such as batch plants, the issues with Exide, our creek and watershed preservation, and the Grand Park to preserve open space for future residents. We also must continue to encourage and support tourism with its associated tax dollars that keep our tax rates low.
What would you like to change about the Council? I would like to see less politics and more working together towards building consensus so that the vision that is Frisco is not lost in these highly politicized times in Washington. I would like for some of them to stop trying to find ways to allow alcohol sales closer to our schools, churches, and daycares, and listen to our citizens that want to keep Frisco a family friendly place to live!
What would you like to stay the same about the Council? We need to continue the strong sense of Community Spirit and Service shown by this Council and continue to strive for complete openness and education when it comes to our citizens.
What will you do to ensure that the Council makes fiscally responsible decisions? This city has long been known for its low tax rate and controlled spending. We have a very fiscally conservative city management team. I would continue to practice the same fiscal conservatism as I did when I last served on the Council. That means spending wisely on items that bring a measurable return to the city and its residents. That would be infrastructure, amenities, venues, roads and public safety that bring new businesses and residents, and their tax dollars, to our city. Fiscal responsibility does not mean saying no to everything, and allowing the city to stagnate. While continuing the reputation of Frisco to be the best planned community, always be cognizant of the tough economic times that our citizens are facing. We must continue to work closely with our Economic Development Corporation to bring more jobs to Frisco so that our citizens may live here, work here, and thrive here!
What do you feel is the most important issue facing Frisco? The economy and how we handle it will be the most difficult issue we have to deal with for at least the next year. Many of our businesses and citizens are having a tough time right now, and we must do all we can to support them through this rough patch.
Are you for and against raising taxes and why? Please let me know if you have any candidates that actually say yes to this question! Taxes are a fact of life, but no one wants to make the decision to raise them. I have lived in Frisco when taxes have gone up, and also when they have gone down. Tax increases are sometimes necessary to ensure that the city continues to function as our citizen’s desire. Our citizens helped us decide the tax rate when they voted for specific bonds. While on Council we always made sure that we kept the tax rate below what the citizens were told when they voted for these bonds. If taxes are artificially kept too low, then the future taxpayers must fund the massive upkeep resulting from deferred maintenance. That all being said, increasing the tax rate is a viable option only after all cost cutting measures that don’t damage the city are made. I also think it is important to give tax relief when the times are good again, as well as to our senior population. While I was on Council we tripled the property tax deduction for our seniors, and I feel it may be time to do more along that line again. Frisco still has one of the lowest tax rates in the region, even with all we now have, and we must strive to keep it so as to continue Frisco’s attractiveness to growth industries.
What would you like to accomplish while in office or what would you like to be remembered for? I would like to be remembered as someone that served Frisco for the pure joy of the job. I want to be remembered as someone who listened to our citizens, studied issues, sought answers, and made the best decisions for the city as a whole. I want to be remembered as someone who kept true to the family values that Frisco is now known for. I want to be remembered as someone who promised to serve them and was dedicated to keeping that promise. And lastly I want to be remembered as someone who loves living in Frisco and who helped, along with many others, make it a better place for families to live, work and play.
What are your accomplishments and other organizations that you are involved in? I currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Museum of the American Railroad located at Fair Park. We are in the process of bringing this world class museum here to Frisco. I also serve on the Frisco Library Foundation to help the Frisco Public Library bring education, entertainment, and literacy to our children and citizens, although conflicts have kept me away from the board for too long. I am also a member of Frisco Citizens on Patrol, working with a great group of dedicated Frisco residents whose only goal is to make Frisco a safer environment for its citizens. This volunteer group spends endless hours patrolling our streets in the dead of night to act as extra sets of eyes and ears for what has to be the greatest Police and Fire Departments in the country. Of course there are my two children Grant, a 21 year old Specialist in the Army infantry, recently back from Iraq, and April a 17 year old junior at Liberty High School, who has spoken out on issues and served the city on the Mayor’s Youth Council. My wife of 24 years, Sheila, and I are the proudest of them. Thank you for the opportunity to tell you a little about myself.
The Frisco City Council will meet this evening to discuss, among many things, the 2010 proposed budget. 
