Budget statements from Shoreline Council candidates Cafferty and Scully

By Evan Smith

Shoreline City Council candidates Jessica Cafferty and Keith Scully recently sent statements about what each thinks are the most important factors in considering a city budget.

The two will meet on the Nov. 3 general-election ballot for the position that Councilman Chris Eggen is giving up.

Here are Cafferty’s and Scully’s statements:

Shoreline City Council Position No. 2

Keith Scully

I’m committed to making Shoreline a great, livable city. We know we need basic services: for example, sidewalks and safe road crossings, police protection, and road maintenance. For spending in these basic categories, we must be able to justify why we’re doing a particular project now and be sure that we're choosing the most efficient way to get it done. For other budget items, we need to prove that they provide real benefits to Shoreline residents before we decide to fund them. In order to keep Shoreline great, we also have to fund services as diverse as our senior center, environmental protection, local transportation improvements, and a host of other things. But we have to make sure that we really need a service and that we’re able to pay for it within our existing budget before we commit.

Shoreline has a council-manager form of government. Shoreline’s city manager proposes a budget and the council reviews and approves or rejects it. The council’s job is to make sure that every single budget item makes sense and that our tax money is spent wisely. As a lawyer in private practice and a former mortgage-fraud prosecutor, I’m accustomed to closely reviewing financial documents. I believe in working cooperatively and have tremendous faith in the city manager and city staff. But I’m not afraid to make tough decisions and cut or modify programs that don’t provide valuable services. And I’m committed to keeping government lean and supporting taxpayers by spending tax dollars prudently.

Jessica Cafferty

Our City is facing a time when revenues are limited and the demand for services and infrastructure continues to increase. My work as a nonprofit manager and background in public policy has taught me how to balance budgets and run lean and efficient programs. I’ve learned that spreadsheets tell stories – and that strong budgets directly reflect the values and priorities of a community.

In order to fund critical public services we must continue to think creatively to find new ways to grow our local economy. We can do this by incentivizing small business to thrive and by providing more opportunities for residents to spend within our City limits. In addition, regional partnerships will become increasingly important in developing our budgets, as we work to find opportunities for grants and other additional revenue.

City Councilmembers also play an important role in serving as liaisons between City staff and the community. We need to invite and engage the community in the budgeting process, and ensure that City staff has the information they need to direct funds into the areas our residents value most.

Finally, I will work to ensure that both the budgeting process and government spending are transparent and accountable to our citizens. I will also push to continue to cut costs where feasible, while serving as a strong advocate for fully funding critically important social services, infrastructure and resources that hardworking families in Shoreline need most.