The Susquehanna Valley Progressives (SVP) developed this questionnaire in an effort to highlight important topics to perspective Northumberland County voters. This questionnaire has been distributed to all registered Northumberland County commissioner candidates (via mail).These questionnaires are strictly intended to inform voters in regards to candidate positions.
We received responses from the following candidates and their responses are listed below for each question in alphabetical order:
- Kymberly Best (democrat)
- John Burd (Libertarian)*
- Ed Quiggle (Libertarian)*
- Sam Schiccatano (republican)
- Richard Shoch (republican)
* New responses received since candidates’ declaration for office.
- An open government is necessary to ensure the trust of residents and taxpayers; what will you do specifically as county commissioner to ensure a transparent government?
Kym Best:
I will immediately bring back the commissioners’ workshops . These will be publicly advertised, open meetings. Municipal officials, elected officials and department supervisors will be invited to participate in open discussions of matters of importance and/or potential projects .
I will call for a vote on the elimination of the three minute limit for individual comments at public meetings. The public deserves the attention and consideration of their elected officials.
I will call for a vote on varying the location and time of monthly meetings so that more residents may participate and be informed.
John Burd
The short answer is to have the commissioners behave in the way you should expect them to behave. More specifically by holding 2-3 times the current number of public meetings, and occasionally holding them in the evenings when more people can attend.
Ed Quiggle
I will always be very cooperative with Right To Know requests, and encourage citizens to attend meetings or to watch them online. I will explain every vote I make, and every dollar I spend, as a Commissioner on my website. I want to put all ordinances and resolutions on the internet for everyone to see. I will also always be willing to listen to my constituents and will actively engage with them. And I will work to eliminate the illegal limiting of public comments at Commissioners meetings.
Samuel Schiccatano:
I first would make sure all meetings are published. I would move meeting locations to different areas around the county so more people would be able to attend. I would make sure the people’s voices are heard at all meetings in order for them to be able to express their opinion.
Richard Shoch:
The current majority has completely done away with public work sessions, preferring to discuss topics in closed-door meetings between just two commissioners, and they have approved a public meeting schedule that includes only one public meeting each month, as opposed to two public meetings a month that was the practice for decades. Consequently, they have developed a practice of having Mr. Clausi sign agreements or take other official action, and then just ratify it at the next meeting. Obviously, this practice does not allow public input or debate on actions prior to the County committing itself and taxpayer-funded resources to various matters. With a responsible board, I would immediately end this practice, that I believe violates the Sunshine Act, and we would have regular public meetings and work sessions again.
I have also been a proponent of having several evening meetings each year, so more of our citizens can participate in their governmental process. In addition, I would end this board’s common practice of bringing items up under new business in meetings without placing them on the agenda or even discussing them with all commissioners before asking them to vote on them.
- There are numerous industrial and economic development sites in Northumberland County that are currently under utilized or completely unoccupied. In fact, millions of taxpayer dollars have been spent in our county to spur economic development through subsidies, tax deferments, site preparation, etc. with little emphasis on actual job creation and very little transparency or accountability. What will you do to 1) promote these sites for economic development and 2) discourage development in undeveloped areas? 3) guarantee the efficient, effective, and transparent application of taxpayer dollars, ensuring the recipients of public economic assistance be held accountable for its use?
Kym Best:
Expand the planning department to include professional employees with extensive experience in government funding, grants application and acquisition. We are currently under-served in efforts to recruit industry to our community.
Creatively identify existing brownfield sites for up-cycled use. We must then recruit companies with site-specific needs that match our real estate inventory and provide appropriate , safe-guarded incentives. We must be willing to vote on the optimal project, considering long-range goals, not just the less expensive option in the present.
There are no guarantees of performance and/or behavior on the part of business. However, I will work to ascertain the reputation of any business that has an interest in our county. I firmly believe that our constituents have an absolute right to information regarding public funds and economic assistance given to companies. The public will be kept fully informed through public meetings, prompt response to Right To Know requests, and active, open engagement with our local press.
John Burd
We need to assess these properties and promote their attributes to industry considering moving here. If industry would seek to build within the county, we should first point out to them the existing unused facilities which may suit their needs. It does not serve anyone’s purpose to build a new structure while another languishes in disrepair. “Reduce, re-use, recycle” is as wise a principle for land use as it is for anything else. As for oversight of public funds to assist in private enterprise, I am against this in most every instance. County governance is not intended to subsidize one enterprise, funded by charging higher taxes to the existing tax base, decreasing their competitiveness, and increasing their need for their own special break. It is a vicious cycle. The county’s job is to be an efficient provider of services so that all of its industry can compete without special tax breaks AKA “corporate welfare.”
Ed Quiggle
I want virtually the whole county to be an economic development site, government should get out of the way and just give all businesses a fair chance to open up for business. I believe that government meddling in the marketplace is often the cause of our economic woes, and I will do all I can to just get government out of the way and make it easier for regular people to be able to start their own businesses. I want to help lower or eliminate any taxes which are a burden on small businesses, and try to get rid of any red tape, eliminate or make it easier to get licenses, and change or eliminate all policies that would prevent people from opening or moving businesses here in Northumberland County.
Samuel Schiccatano:
In order to promote our industrial and economic sites in Northumberland County we need to go out and determine what the positive traits of these sites are, we then take them to different companies in an effort to recruit them. We would also need to give incentives for them to relocate here.
Richard Shoch
As a Commissioner, I have, and will continue to work and dialogue with are area chambers of commerce and non-profit groups dedicated to attracting and developing industry in our County. I would like to see us implement a Land Bank strategy as part of our blight remediation initiative in the County, and coordinate with our local legislators to combine those efforts with economic development grant opportunities, to incentivize businesses to locate in areas where blighted structures have been removed. For ecologically sensitive or open space areas, I would be supportive of efforts to protect them and work with groups dedicated to their preservation, as I have been during my first term as Commissioner.
- Northumberland County’s property assessments are outdated and place an unfair burden on certain property owners. Do you support taking a closer look at county assessments, analyzing the cost benefits, to determine whether a reassessment is the best approach for the county? Please explain.
Kym Best
Due to the high costs of the project, I am not in favor of county-wide reassessment in the 2016 term. I would consider reviewing my position near the end of the first term.
In 2009, 1 was the Chief Clerk for Northumberland County when countywide tax assessment was considered. The cost of the assessment far outweighed the value in the near term . Northumberland County is facing immediate, costly projects that demand consideration and action prior to consideration of the tax assessment project.
I continue to have grave doubts about a process that merely redistributes a tax that is not based on ability to pay. I fully support initiatives in Harrisburg to bring reform to an archaic tax system that unfairly punishes senior citizens and the middle class.
John Burd
It is hard for me to be for property tax reassessment when I am against property taxes themselves. If you stop paying your property taxes, the government takes your property. That does not sound like ownership to me. Property taxes essentially turn land owners in to renters from “the state.”
Ed Quiggle
I believe property taxes are a burden on the poor and middle class, and I think that no one should risk losing their home due to taxes. I’m not sure that new property assessments would relieve this burden, but I can tell you that I will do all I can to help people keep their homes and to reduce the burden county taxes place on the people, by lowering or eliminating taxes that negatively effect them. I’m willing to try anything that is constitutional to lower or eliminate property taxes for everyone in the county.
Samuel Schiccatano
I would look at reassessment, but it would have to be fair for everyone. I have a problem with raising taxes for senior citizens who are trying to stay in their homes and just making ends meet. People who might be reassessed four or five times what their house would really sell for just because that would be its replacement value. It would have to be something that would take these things into account.
Richard Shoch
I am always in support of gathering the information needed to make informed, reasoned decisions regarding our County policies. I would support taking a closer look at the reassessment issue, and would want to use that information to weigh the costs and benefits to our County and its citizens in developing a policy with respect to this issue.
- There have been several attempts by former county administrations to destroy the 2,000-acre tract of land known as the Trout Run portion of Brush Valley. In the county’s own natural inventory and greenways studies, it is recommended that this land be preserved. Will you actively work to see this land permanently protected for the purpose of public recreation and ideally a state park or state forest?
Kym Best
I am on record for being flatly against any development of the Brush Valley site. It is my opinion that this location should be protected and enjoyed in its natural state.
John Burd
I remember reading the conflicting claims as to the pristine-ness of the area before the current prison was built. Some claimed that the area consisted of nothing but blighted trees. I snuck out and took a look for myself. What I saw was an area which competes with any nature preserve I have ever been to. Misinformation such as this is why I do not trust the reports regarding the condition of the ‘old’ prison, but I digress. My point is that you need not say one word to convince me that the Trout Run area is worth preserving. I know first hand that it is. The problem is that the land is not owned by the county, it is owned by Aqua America. I would advocate that the property not be developed. I would feel better if the land were in the hands of the DCNR or a non-profit conservation land trust.
Ed Quiggle
I think that lands such as Trout Run should be preserved and open for the benefit of all people. I believe that the county should preserve our public lands, and that the county should return any excess property to the people through homesteading , and not hand it over to the state or the federal government, or to private corporations. The people and the county would lose accountability and authority when a distant government, or a private corporation, is in control. I don’t want to see our public lands closed the next time there is a government shutdown at the state or federal level! I firmly believe in, and will honor my oath to support, obey, and defend Article I, Section 27, “Natural Resources and the Public Estate,” of our state Constitution which states, “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.”
Samuel Schiccatano
Once a natural habitat is destroyed you will never be able to bring it back. I would be in favor of preserving that tract of land for the purpose of public recreation. We are able to find other areas throughout our county that would be better suited to develop for industry.
Richard Shoch
I was recently in the area of this tract of land for the first time while touring the SCI Coal Township Prison. I was struck by its beauty and the size of the area. It was as though, by driving just on the other side of a culm bank in Northumberland County, I had entered the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. My first thought was, “I need to come back and see this in the springtime”. My second thought was, “Now I understand why they want this protected”. I will do whatever I can as a Commissioner to help find a way to preserve this area for the enjoyment of future generations, and would like to have an open and ongoing dialogue with the various groups who are working to that end.
- What is your view of the current administration’s proposal to develop the county prison, and possibly a new courthouse, on the Celotex site in Sunbury? Are there actions the county can take to spend less money on incarceration? If so, please explain.
Kym Best
I am opposed to relocation of the courthouse.
I am open to consideration of a new location for our prison.
I would need extensive information to consider any location , including the Celotex location prior to voting on purchase or building of the prison . I believe that the public should have access to review the same and an opportunity to voice their opinions.
Yes, there are actions the county can take to spend less money on incarceration. As a former Treatment Court Defense Counsel team member, I was intimately involved with alternatives to incarceration. Some of the limitations to alternative sanctions for individuals charged with drug offensives or the mentally ill are staffing in the probation office and our human services depaltments and lack of a daily reporting facility. I will use my professional experience to develop alternatives to warehousing addicts and the mentally ill. Such alternatives reduce the cost of incarceration and medical expenses associated with these individuals.
John Burd
I am entirely opposed to replacing the current historic courthouse. When people think of old buildings they think of enormous heating bills. The current Northumberland county courthouse cost $18,300 for the 2013-2014 heating season*. I do not consider that out of line for a building which is 116ft X 60ft, not including the left rear addition; features nearly 12ft ceilings on the main floor, and 28ft ceilings on the second floor. This could even be reduced while updating the roof and windows.
Time marches on at a fast clip. It would not be long before our “new” courthouse would not be so new and would incur its own maintenance costs. At that point we will be sorry to have given up our “OLD” courthouse, with its 2ft 9in thick masonry walls, for a “new” $20 million steel shed. Those who have come before us bequeathed to us a magnificent structure in the Northumberland county courthouse. Sometimes we need to concern ourselves NOT as much with the cost to repair, but how much it would cost to REPLACE, and on that metric, I believe that our current courthouse should be given the TLC it deserves.
Prison:
First off, I would want the new board to conduct their own evaluation regarding re-use of the current prison site. As for the Moran property, I have reviewed both of the APEX environmental studies and I have serious doubts that the capping method proposed would be robust enough to prevent the migration of the contaminants on the site. That said, if I am elected, and I am outvoted, and the Moran site is chosen to be location of the new prison, I will not behave as our current commissioners do, which would be to vote against every single action regardless of its merits. I would work with the board to make the new prison as modern and efficient and thought-out as practical.
Alternatives to incarceration:
There are many actions the county can take to spend less money on incarceration. Not wasting taxpayer resources on victimless crimes is a good start. Also, not imprisoning people who are guilty of non-violent offenses, or those who are in need of mental health services or addiction counseling. These areas need more staffing but what better investment can you make in the lives of our county’s residents?
* Source: http://www.norrycopa.net/documents/planning/courthouse_boiler_year_1_report_10_2014.pdf
Ed Quiggle
Given that the former Celotex property is contaminated, I think it is foolish to want to use it as a place for people to work at, and be incarcerated at. I believe that too many people are incarcerated. After the fire, a significant number of prisoners were given alternatives to incarceration, which raises the question of why they were incarcerated in the first place. I believe that we should not be jailing non-violent offenders, we should utilize things like house arrest, reporting centers like Union County has, and when it is fair, fines and restitution, incarceration should be reserved for violent offenders. We can reduce the number of inmates by refusing to fund enforcement and prosecution of people who violate the marijuana laws. These reforms would not only save the taxpayers money, but would help keep families together and and allow offenders to remain productive working members in our communities. I believe it would be more affordable to restore at least part of our existing prison, and through implementing alternatives to incarceration, we could meet the needs of our county even with a reduced capacity at the prison. I also believe we should preserve our historic county courthouse which our ancestors have left to posterity.
Samuel Schiccatano
If possible, I feel the county prison should be rebuilt in its current location. I would need to see cost figures for all options but I would think it would be much cheaper to rebuild then purchase new land and build from scratch. In regards to the courthouse, I feel we should restore it to its former splendor & glory. It’s a beautiful, historical building and when remodeled and brought up to code would not only last another 100 years but would be a historic landmark for Northumberland County.
Richard Shoch
While I am not necessarily opposed to the use of that site, I believe the County is acting too hastily in committing to it to the exclusion of other options. In addition, we need to incorporate changes to a more progressive method of dealing with corrections in Northumberland County rather than invest in the old way of doing things. It is becoming increasingly clear nationwide that the past approaches to corrections are not working, and are proving to be costly both economically and socially. I have been a member of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania’s Courts and Corrections Committee for the last three and a half years, and have worked with that Committee to lobby Harrisburg to help counties implement more progressive correction methods such as pre-release centers, day-reporting centers and enhanced treatment for drug and alcohol addiction that reduce costs and recidivism rates.
- There is strong support for preserving portions of the existing county prison site for historical purposes. As county commissioner, 1) will you support these efforts; and 2) what specifically will you propose?
Kym Best
Yes. I would love to see the existing county prison used to protect our historical records and unique heritage. I envision a public park, records repository and museum.
John Burd
I would most like to see the site undergo refurbishment for continued use as a prison. If that is found to be impractical I would fund the stabilization of the property and make it available to organisation(s) which will commit to the preservation of the site.
Ed Quiggle
I believe that at least a portion of the prison should be repaired, and through the utilization of alternatives to incarceration, the whole prison would not need to be repaired. The unused portions of the prison could be preserved for historical purposes. The county prison and courthouse are part of our heritage, left to us by our ancestors to posterity, and I do not believe we should allow them to be torn down.
Samuel Schiccatano
First and foremost I am for rebuilding the prison on the present site. If that is not economically feasible, I would certainly be in favor of making it a historical site for people to enjoy.
Richard Shoch
I do support these efforts. If the old prison is not retooled for continued use as a prison, I would be in favor of selling the property with specific deed restrictions that would require the preservation of the historically significant aspects of the property.
- Energy costs are projected to rise over the next several decades; in an effort to eliminate unnecessary spending of tax dollars and cut energy use, will you support energy efficiency measures in the county? If so, please explain.
Kym Best
I will support efforts to have electronic alternatives throughout the county departments.
I want to look into solar energy and energy efficient windows and building products for new and existing structures.
I want to lead by example by putting recycling receptacles in each facility. As a former Acting Court Administer in 2009, I initiated and organized the first e-waste recycling drive.
John Burd
Energy audits ought to be preformed ie heating and cooling use analyzed, and those results compared to the anticipated heating and cooling demand. It is very common in any commercial building for equipment to be found malfunctioning and running in a far less efficient ‘back-up’ mode. This significantly raises operating costs, and needlessly consumes our energy resources. I also have no problem in funding smart, long term investments in energy efficient systems. Lighting, heat pump, and other technologies have come a long way and make a great investment in many applications. I have made many energy efficiency upgrades in my own home and would do so for the county as well.
Ed Quiggle
I believe the county should work to be as energy efficient as possible, not only for the environmental benefits, but to help save taxpayers money. Where feasible and economical, I will support efforts to increase the energy efficiency of our county operations.
Samuel Schiccatano
I would support energy efficiency measures anywhere in the county, the same as anyone would do in their own home. There are always innovative energy efficient products to save on energy costs and I think everyone should take advantage of them.
Richard Shoch
I would support energy efficiency measures in the county. As we renovate our buildings from time to time, I think we should be looking to do so in ways that will increase their energy efficiency. To the extent other opportunities are identified to conserve energy, and thus tax dollars, I would be open to exploring those, as well.
- Would you support the work of the Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project in their effort to bring a community college to the area?
Kym Best
ABSOLUTELY! I am on the board. It is my passion to turn this project into a reality. I am firm on the center of the future college being in the City of Sunbury, with branch classroom facilities throughout the County and the Susquehanna Valley.
John Burd
The Luzerne Area Community College has already made an investment in the area by opening a satellite campus in the Shamokin Community Arts building. How would Sunbury feel if Shamokin would say “We want our own Triangle Tech campus.” Or “We want our own McCann?” The investment in a community college has already been made. The county should work to see that the greatest use is made of these investments. One thing the county might do is try to facilitate transportation options for these campuses. No one campus can afford to provide transportation for their students, but perhaps if we can get all three of them talking we can tie the result in to the LATS system.
Ed Quiggle
I think the county should make it easier for colleges, technical schools, and businesses to open up in the county. It would be great if we could offer training for our public officials at such a college. I think the county should do whatever it can to get out of the way and allow it to happen.
Samuel Schiccatano
I think anytime you can better educate your citizens it is a great benefit. As an educator for 30 years I know that more educational opportunities promote better jobs and a more informed and productive community.
Richard Shoch
Absolutely. I was recently asked to be the President of the Board of the Susquehanna Valley Community Education Project, and I was involved with it for quite some time before that. It is a great opportunity to bring educational, cultural and economic opportunities to our County and its citizens.
- So many of Northumberland County’s residents lack access to affordable transportation, making it difficult to travel to doctor appointments, shop for food or other essentials and even get to work. Would you support investing in an improved public transportation system for the county?
Kym Best
I will put great effort to returning Northumberland County Transportation to the public sector. I do not underestimate the difficulty of effort. I recognize the need our residents have for this service and their dissatisfaction of our current contractor.
John Burd
To continue from the last question, I hope to see all of these education facilities work together to form a small fleet of student shuttles. I would like to see these shuttles be made available for use by other rural people for trips to locations such as grocery stores or hospitals or any other destination for which there is sufficient demand. Perhaps the use by these students can provide the ‘critical mass’ necessary to make such a system for our rural communities cost effective.
Ed Quiggle
It would be great if the county would encourage services like Uber to operate here. The county may want to look at working with other counties to find a way to address this problem. This is a serious problem that many people in the county face, and if elected, I will work hard to find positive solutions to fix things.
Samuel Schiccatano
I think there is a need for affordable transportation, especially for our senior citizens. I would definitely look into finding an economical solution to make this happen. It is vital that not only senior citizens but all of our people have access to transportation for food shopping, hospital visits and for employment.
Richard Shoch
Absolutely. I was very publically critical of the prior administration’s abandonment of our County transportation department. What I found out from discussing the matter with the state is that the state would have worked with the County to help turn the program around, but the County would have had to turn over its books and records to the state, which it refused to do. The result is that the service is now provided by a municipal authority that was formed to serve York and Adams counties, and we have no real control over how the service is provided. We should be looking to enter into a regionalized transportation system with some of our neighboring counties.
- Explain how you, as county commissioner, will collaborate with surrounding counties in an effort to consolidate services, improve programs and save taxpayer dollars.
Kym Best
Establish a civil working environment that conducts itself with respect and decorum. I will consider regionalization of services, such as 911 with our neighboring counties. Joint efforts could consolidate services, lower costs, and safeguard our ability to be responsive and helpful to our residents. At the same time, we cannot, in the name of cost-cutting, sacrifice oversight and accountability.
John Burd
The decision to regionalize should be based on the result of an analysis of the “efficiencies of scale”, which will be different for every project. Take Union’s county’s prison for example -they do not have one. My understanding is that they do not have enough inmates to warrant maintaining their own facility, so they decided to contract out Snyder county’s jail (in a sense, ‘regionalized’) at $72 per day per inmate. Whereas with 200+ inmates, Northumberland county should maintain its own prison facility. The 911 call center is a different story. From what I hear, the Northumberland Co call center does not process many calls during a shift. That function seems ripe for cost savings by “regionalizing.”
Ed Quiggle
I think the best way to improve services is to allow competition, and I am also a little weary of regionalization. I think it is important that we address county problems within the county, and that the county retain it’s sovereignty, authority, and accountability to the people of Northumberland County. Regionalization does not guarantee savings or efficiency. When you regionalize a service that government has a monopoly on, the county loses it’s ability to have full oversight of the program. I am completely in favor of working together with other counties on some very important issues such as opposing the use of law enforcement drones over this region’s skies, protecting medical marijuana patients, and other important issues. I will try and cut as much unnecessary spending as possible, such as cutting a lot of the expenses of the commissioners office and the prison.
Samuel Schiccatano
I would be open to working with all surrounding counties if it would be a benefit to our people either financially or by providing a better service.
Richard Shoch
While our surrounding counties have been understandably reluctant to involve themselves with the current administration, I have forged good working relationships, and some close friendships, among our neighboring counties’ Commissioners. Regionalization discussions among the counties of Union, Snyder, Montour and Columbia have already begun, and I am the only Northumberland County Commissioner to be invited to participate. If the citizens of Northumberland County choose wisely in the upcoming election, we will be welcomed into the fold with those counties in efforts to regionalize many of our services to the economic benefit of all participants.
Susquehanna Valley Progressives is a nonpartisan organization united for the betterment of the whole community. We envision a community that empowers individuals to be engaged in and educated on the democratic process; promotes equality and appreciation of diversity; improves the living and working standards of all that live in Susquehanna Valley and actively protects our natural world.