THE ISSUES

Jerry Bean is a proven manager in fiscal responsibility. He is the candidate with the skills and experience needed to solve the city’s financial problems. And he knows Redlands well after living here for 24 years.

Our city government is in financial crisis. Well meaning and good intentions by nice people on the council have done little to prevent the current financial problems. New leadership with the necessary skill sets and deep experience in tough financial matters will be imperative to work our way out of this situation.

Jerry Bean is such a candidate.

Jerry’s primary goals are:

1. Solve the city’s financial problems — The city has had big revenue increases over the past several years, but it has increased spending even more, resulting in the present financial crisis. With 30 years of senior management responsibilities, Jerry already knows how to ask the hard questions and expect the right results. He will demand efficiencies and cost reductions at nearly every level of city government while being fair to city employees and to the taxpayers.

2. Attract desirable commercial development — In addition to expense reduction, the city must continue to have steady annual increases in other revenues to grow its way out of its financial problems. The city must pursue desirable tax-generating commercial businesses — especially retailers — through stepped-up commercial economic development.

Adding the wrong kind of revenue — such as increasing sales tax rates — could actually make the problem worse. Increased sales tax rates tend to push businesses away, and consumers may respond by taking their business out of town.

3. Keep Redlands vibrant, beautiful and safe — City financial priorities have taken some of the luster off the Jewel of the Inland Empire. Our streets, parks and even our city cemetery are suffering through lack of maintenance and infrastructure improvements. Jerry will work to restore our infrastructure and keep Redlands the special city it has always been, while maintaining the public safety and civic vitality of the city.

This cannot be done with the current state of the city finances. Therefore, the first priority for the new council will be to solve the city’s financial problems. Support the candidate with the credentials to fix the problems—Jerry Bean.

More issues will be presented on this web site in the future.