The nation's mayors send their ideas for Obama

Indiana

Clarksville, IN
Pop. 21,400
Paul Kraft, town council president
Clarksville, like many local communities, is finding it harder and harder to provide services due to increased costs over which we have no control. Two specific areas that could be addressed are insurance and unfunded mandates.
The federal government should investigate rising costs for all areas of insurance to determine if they are justified. Oversight of the industry may be necessary to control costs.
Also, the federal government should fund any mandates given to state and local governments, such as storm water regulations, and not pass the cost to local government.

Evansville, IN
Pop. 116,000
Jonathan Weinzapfel, mayor
1. The federal government should proactively solicit input from cities when making decisions about where to build or locate federal facilities. Local planning and community development goals should be given significant consideration. For example, a new Veteran’s Administration clinic is planned for our community. Both city and county government and local veteran’s organizations wanted the clinic located in a vacant medical facility in downtown Evansville. That facility had been recently modernized and is centrally located. Giving this facility new life would also fit into our ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Evansville. Despite letters to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and substantial community support for a downtown location, the VA ignored local concerns, and decided to build the new clinic on a greenfield in suburban Evansville.

Shelbyville, IN
Pop. 17,951
Scott Furgeson, mayor
1. I believe the first thing that needs to be addressed from our cities standpoint is earmarks. We are in favor of earmarks and have recently received one for some new radio equipment for our police and fire departments. I know that we have heard the stories of the misuse of earmarks, but I believe with better oversight this is a valuable tool for local governments.
2. The second is we should look at term limits for Congress. I fell that we have people on both sides of the aisle who have been there too long and are only there to serve their own interest.

Iowa

Jefferson, IA
Pop. 4,626
Craig Berry, mayor
1. The major concern that I have with the current national situation is how the strong possibility of the continuation of the economic decay will affect my community and its citizens. Not only with the actions of the local government, but with the citizens' personal lives. A reduced spending capacity will be detrimental to people on fixed incomes.
2. I also have a concern with 'unfunded' mandates. These can either be on the national level that filter down, either directly from the federal government or through the state. These items will limit our ability to give our constituents the maximum 'Dance-for-your-Dollar'. I have no problem with mandates, just how does an already strapped entity pay for them?

West Des Moines, IA
Pop. 55,791
Steven K. Gaer, mayor
1. Restore and enhance funding of federal law enforcement programs: Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), including funding for hiring; Byrne Justice Assistance Grant; and COPS Interoperable Communications Grant.
2. Support and provide funding for critical infrastructure projects in West Des Moines, which serves as the crossroads of Interstates 35 and 80, including reconstruction of the Grand Avenue interchange on I-35, the southerly entrance into our community and an area ripe for development; and construction of 105th Street from I-80 down to the bridge over Raccoon River. 105th Street will be a major artery facilitatiing extensive mixed-use development along its length.

Kansas

Lenexa, KS
Pop. 40,238
Mike Boehm, mayor
1. Top priority will be addressing the economy and the nation's increasing debt burden. We must reign in spending and live within our means. Like cities, the federal government needs to have a balanced budget and begin reduction of the national debt.
2. Bridging the gap between ideologies. Again, the nation is nearly evenly split with a 50-50 popular vote. The nation must come together to work for the good of the nation.

Manhattan, KS
Pop. 44,831
Mark J. Hatesohl, mayor
1. Stabilize the credit market, so people will feel better about borrowing money and banks about lending it. This also affects the ability of municipalities to finance improvements and quality of life issues.
2. Cut taxes so that people have more money in their pockets to spend on their necessities and to help out the less fortunate.

Kentucky

Bowling Green, KY
Pop. 49,296
Elaine Walker, mayor
1. Main Street Stimulus Package. This proposal has the possibility of kick-starting the national economy in a way no other plan can by providing revenue for public projects that have been designed but are languishing for lack of funding. Since they would need to be completed within the 2009 Calendar Year, the impact on the local economy would be dramatic, creating construction jobs building the roads, public housing, green incentives, etc.
2. Second, Congress has passed, and the President has signed, the Energy and Environmental Conservation Block Grant Program, yet it has not been funded. This $2 billion annual allotment for five years would provide cities the size of Bowling Green with the ability to take major steps to create green jobs, provide incentives for green buildings and green initiatives, and to develop a comprehensive plan for our local community to reduce our carbon footprint.

Hartford, KY
Pop. 2,571
Charlotte Hendricks, mayor
Hartford is home of 2,000 happy people and a few soreheads. We just this year celebrated our Bicentennial. Did our founding fathers fathom what issues we would face?  We are in rural Western Kentucky. At one time coal was big, now gone for all practical purposes. We have the same problems as big cities, but don’t have the same weight in obtaining funds. We are in the process of a $3.5 million project to rehab sewers in our town. Some are as old as the town! Our population is over 50 percent low to moderate income. How do you raise water/sewer rates to $75/month on a resident who gets $500/month social security? Perhaps the president-elect should visit the real small towns, the heart of this great nation.

Lexington, KY
Pop. 260,512
Jim Newberry, mayor
1. The administration should take a Manhattan Project approach to dealing with environmental and energy problems. The federal government should provide funding to Lexington to enable our city to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (recently identified by Brookings as the nation's worst), to recycle more, and to improve water quality. These initiatives will generate new "green collar" jobs that will spur our economy while addressing environmental and energy problems.
2. Our nation should fund our rail and mass transit system expansions and airport and highway improvements. Our transportation infrastructure is crumbling. Simultaneously, we should aggressively expand mass transit facilities to provide superior service so that citizens will prefer mass transit over use of private vehicles. Such action will enable Lexington to preserve our farmlands while mitigating traffic congestion in our increasingly dense urban core.

Louisville, KY
Pop. 694,000
Jerry Abramson, mayor
We need Washington to step up and help America's metro areas create jobs and economic growth by passing an immediate Main Street Stimulus, not a bailout but an investment.
Bridge and road improvements: We have nearly $4 million in needed repairs to small bridges on our two-lane roads. Transit: Increased demand for transit is outstripping our ability to provide it. Washington could invest money to put 10 hybrid buses and 20 more vanpooling vans on the roads of Louisville. Drinking water: We have miles and miles of lead pipes that provide drinking water to our homes that need to be replaced. Floods: Need millions of dollars to upgrade our floodwalls and flood protection infrastructure, such as the Western Pumping Station along Southwestern Parkway that was put in service when Harry Truman was president. Housing: We need to invest $25 to $30 million more to modernize public housing projects like Avenue Plaza and Bishop's Lane.

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