Education funding, city planning dominate discussion at Hoover election forum

August 10, 2016

4:22 AM

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The three candidates for Hoover mayor and 15 candidates for seven Hoover City Council places listen as Heather Skaggs, a writer for the bluffparkal.org website, gives instructions for the election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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The three candidates for Hoover mayor and 15 candidates for seven places on the Hoover City Council listen as a question is read at an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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More than 250 people showed up at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, for an election forum with the three candidates for Hoover mayor and 15 candidates for seven spots on the Hoover City Council.

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The three candidates for Hoover mayor, from left, Frank Brocato, Gary Ivey and Steve McClinton, wait their turn to answer a question at an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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The three candidates for Hoover City Council Place 1, from left, Trey Lott, Curt Posey and Joe Rives, wait their turn to answer a question at an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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The two candidates for Hoover City Council Place 2, from left, Gene Smith and Sam Swiney, wait their turn to answer a question at an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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The two candidates for Hoover City Council Place 3, from left, John Lyda and Arnold Singer, wait their turn to answer a question at an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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The two candidates for Hoover City Council Place 4, from left, Michael Holt and Mike Shaw, wait their turn to answer a question at an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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The two candidates for Hoover City Council Place 5, from left, Dan Ellis and Derrick Murphy, wait their turn to answer a question during an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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The two candidates for Hoover City Council Place 6, from left, Jason DeLuca and Casey Middlebrooks, wait their turn to answer a question during an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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The two candidates for Hoover City Council Place 7, from left, John Greene and Robin Schultz, participate in an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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Candidates for Hoover City Council participate in an election forum at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016.

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More than 250 people showed up at Shades Crest Baptist Church on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, for an election forum featuring the three Hoover mayoral candidates and 15 candidates for seven Hoover City Council seats.

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Photo by Jon Anderson

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Education funding and city planning dominated the discussion at a Hoover election forum in Bluff Park Tuesday night featuring the three candidates for mayor and all 15 City Council contenders.

More than 250 people attended the forum in the fellowship hall of Shades Crest Baptist Church. The event was sponsored by the bluffparkal.org website and Monte D’Oro Neighborhood Association.

Each candidate got a chance to answer eight questions submitted by the public and give a brief statement as to why they should be elected.

But one of the main topics that kept resurfacing was whether the city should provide more funding for the Hoover school system.

Mayoral candidate Frank Brocato, who retired as Hoover’s fire marshal 1½ years ago, said the No. 1 problem facing Hoover is a lack of proper funding for the school system.

“We’ve got to get our school system funded properly,” Brocato said. “It’s the cornerstone of our city.”

Steve McClinton, who took a leave of absence as president of the Hoover City Schools Foundation to run for mayor, said education funding should be the No. 1 priority of Hoover’s elected officials.

Mayor Gary Ivey said he agrees the Hoover school system needs more money. “I’ve never doubted that,” he said.

Schools not broke

However, the school system is not broke, Ivey said. The school board ended fiscal 2015 with more than $68 million in its general fund reserves, which is more than any other school district in the state, and another $22 million in other reserves.

Jefferson County was second in general fund reserves, with just less than $50 million, and Baldwin County was third with $44 million, state records show.

The Hoover school system’s general fund reserves are enough to cover 6.23 months’ worth of operating expenses, which is the second highest in the state, records show. Covington County has almost 10 months’ worth of operating expenses in reserve, but the average system has enough money on hand to cover operating expenses for two months.

By comparison, the Vestavia Hills Board of Education ended 2015 with $29.8 million (5.66 months’ worth), while Mountain Brook had $12.6 million (2.99 months’ worth) and Homewood had $4.6 million (1.34 months’ worth), records show.

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Hoover has five times more than the required one month’s reserves, Ivey said, “so they’re in pretty good shape.”

For Hoover schools to get more money, city services would have to be cut, or taxes would have to be raised, Ivey said.

Brocato said the city, which is experiencing record sales tax revenues, can afford to give more money to schools. Doing so will not affect the operations of the police, fire, and parks and recreation departments, Brocato said. “Don’t fall for that,” he said.

Curt Posey, a candidate for Council Place 1, said the city on average in recent years has had $11 million in excess funds going into its capital projects fund. Some of that money is earmarked, but some of it could be redirected to schools easily, Posey said.

John Greene, the current councilman in Place 7, said he’s been saying the schools needed more money for years, noting he voted against the last two city budgets because they did not include more money for schools.

Jason DeLuca, who is running for Place 6 on the council, noted that the school system’s annual debt payments will increase greatly in the coming years due to the way former Superintendent Andy Craig and the school board restructured the system’s debt to get through difficult years.

Previous funding cuts

The City Council in fiscal 2005 started making serious cuts into its contribution to the school system after Jefferson County decided to borrow $1 billion for school construction projects and doled out $85.6 million to Hoover schools.

City officials said the school system didn’t need the city’s money anymore because of the influx of county money. Hoover school officials since that point essentially have been using the county money to help fund operating expenses and cover deficit budgets, so the reserve fund has been shrinking back down.

New Superintendent Kathy Murphy said the system’s total fund balance should be back down to $80 million at the end of this fiscal year, which is where it was before the county money came.

School officials have been trimming their budget and now either have to find new revenue or make even more significant cuts to personnel and programs very soon, Murphy said.

Arnold Singer, a candidate for Council Place 3, gave one of the most specific answers of the night regarding school funding, recommending a .0025 percentage point increase in the city’s sales tax to raise roughly $5 million more a year for schools.

Gene Smith, the current councilman in Place 2, said a $5 million fix is like putting a Band-Aid on an amputated leg. The school system needs a well-thought-out long-term plan to address its funding issues, Smith said. The City Council needs to work with the school superintendent and community to find out how much the community is prepared to pay for schools, Smith said.

Former Councilman Trey Lott, who is trying to get re-elected to Council Place 1, said Hoover schools don’t have a problem now but will in the future if something is not done.

The city can’t afford to increase its contribution to Hoover schools, so some type of additional funding will be required, Lott said. He favors a 1 percentage point increase in the city’s sales tax, which is estimated to raise about $20 million a year, but he wants to get input from the school board and the public and would favor a citywide vote on the matter, he has said.

McClinton said education seems to be a low priority in the city’s budget, and he would work with the City Council to reprioritize allocations to pump up dollars for education.

“Being OK is not what makes Hoover great,” McClinton said. “Doing more is what is expected.”

Casey Middlebrooks, a librarian at Spain Park High School who is running for Council Place 6, said he doesn’t like the way things are headed in Hoover schools. Teachers and programs already are being cut, he said.

“We have a very good school system, but good is the enemy of greatness,” Middlebrooks said. “We need to be great.”

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City planning

Numerous candidates tonight emphasized the need for the city to have and adopt a long-term comprehensive master plan.

Both candidates for Council Place 4 — Mike Shaw and Michael Holt — have made this a central part of their campaign.

Shaw tonight said Hoover is the only city of the 10 largest cities in the state that has not adopted a comprehensive plan. “A great city needs a great plan” so city officials can be proactive with their decisions instead of reactive, Shaw said.

Holt said city leaders need to know where they want to be in five, 10 and 20 years down the road. Such a plan would include ideas for public safety, education, parks and recreation and economic development, he said.

Ivey said the city does have a comprehensive plan even though it has never been adopted formally. “This plan is used on every major project we have,” he said.

City officials have not wanted to adopt it because once you do, you have to go by it, Ivey said. What’s good for the city today might be terrible for the city in 10 years, he said.

Brocato said in his 40-plus years with the city, including the last seven as fire marshal, he never saw a master plan. “We will have a master plan if I’m elected,” he said. “We’ve got to have it to know where we’re going.”

A master plan doesn’t box you in; it can be changed as necessary, Brocato said. A master plan helps the city identify neighborhoods that are vulnerable to improper zoning and take proactive steps to bring about change, he said.

McClinton said he, too, has never seen a master plan for Hoover but definitely would favor having one. It wouldn’t be his plan, or the seven council members’ plan, he said.

“It would be your plan. If you don’t have buy-in as a community, you won’t believe in the plan,” he said.

Candidates also were asked whether they would support the creation of a Shades Mountain Preservation District. Most candidates said they would. “Absolutely,” said Robin Schultz, a candidate for Council Place 7. “It’s a treasure to the city. It’s a treasure to the state.”

But Councilman John Lyda said while he appreciates efforts to preserve undeveloped parts of the mountain, he also respects the rights of private property owners to do what they want to do with their own property. Lott agreed with Lyda.

Diversity in government

Another questioner noted that no women and only one minority are running for an elected office in Hoover and wanted to know what candidates would do to make city government more inclusive and more diverse.

Joe Rives, the current councilman in Place 1, said the city needs to do a better job of making its city boards more diverse and making sure people know about openings when they arise.

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Derrick Murphy, the only black person running for office in Hoover (Council Place 5), said he would work to create more opportunities for people to know what’s going on in the city but said filling vacancies on boards really should be about finding the best talent available.

Dan Ellis, another candidate for Council Place 5, said there are no barriers for women or minorities to get involved. If they wanted to run for office, there’s nothing standing in their way, he said. “If you want something, you take action.”

Sam Swiney, a candidate for Council Place 2, said he would work to make everyone in the city feel welcome.

Audience observations

Bluff Park resident Patrick McLendon said he came to Tuesday night’s forum undecided about whom he would support for mayor and after the forum, he had narrowed it down to two candidates — Brocato and McClinton.

Ivey doesn’t seem like he is very engaged and acts more like a part-time mayor, McLendon said. Hoover has grown to the point where it needs a full-time mayor, he said.

Hoover’s new school superintendent went way out of her way to seek public comment on important school issues, and he wants to see more of that from elected officials, he said.

The city’s elected officials seemed to take the reverse approach with the approval of an $80 million sports complex, not telling the public about it until the last minute, he said. “It was forced on us,” he said.

He has heard stories of elected officials scolding school board members for getting the “pesky citizens” involved in decisions, and that should not be their attitude, he said.

“We’re not people who need to be ruled and taken care of and coddled,” McLendon said. “We’re professionals who need to be pulled into the conversation and not have something pulled over on us.”

Lori Redding, another Bluff Park resident who came to the forum, said she thought there were a lot of good questions and she was glad to see the candidates actually answer the questions for the most part.

However, “I think there are some that are a little disconnected of what’s important to residents,” Redding said.

She, too, said she is still undecided on the mayor’s race but will not be supporting Ivey. When she arrived, she was undecided on two council races but was able to make up her mind about those after listening to the candidates talk and watching their body language, she said.

Hoover’s city election will be Aug. 23.

Another election forum featuring the mayoral and City Council candidates is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 16, at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel. That forum is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. and is being sponsored by the Hoover Sun, Hoover City Schools Foundation and Hoover Rotary Club.

The public can suggest questions by emailing Jon Anderson at janderson@starnespublising.com or filling out this online form.