Oh my gosh.

All right, we're gonna get started, hopefully right on time.

I want to congratulate you guys for all these questions.

It shows a great interest in your city.

We'll do what I can.

There are a lot of questions here, but I think the questions that we already prepared will cover some of these.

And as you know, you can always talk to your candidates after the meeting, call them up, go to their website, email them if you don't get it answered tonight.

Okay, I'm Nikki Nelson from the League of Women Women Voters of Davis County.

I have to look at the mic here to project here.

Everybody welcome to this Meet the Candidates event for Syracuse.

The League of Women Voters is nonpartisan.

We don't support candidates or political parties.

Our mission is to inform all citizens and encourage their involvement in our political system.

For more information about the League of Women Voters and information about upcoming elections and issues, we have a website, LWV Davis.org, and we also have a lot of information in the back.gov.gov slash clerk, which is your county clerk website, and our league website, vote for one one dot org.

You can register to vote, I believe, in all those places.

And you vote for two.

They're seated in the order in which they appear on your ballot.

The way the panel works is that each candidate will have two minutes for an opening statement, after which we'll proceed to a series of timed questions, and then we'll give each candidate one minute for their conclusion.

We'll rotate through the candidates so that each candidate will have at least one chance to answer the question first and last.

Candidates should answer the question from the point of view of the office they're running for, either mayor or council member.

Um I think you already know volunteers are collecting questions.

Um, but if anyone else has a question, raise your hand.

And I think we have a member that will bring you a three by five card.

We only take written questions.

And our timers are Peggy, Carako, and Nancy.

Something their league members thank them so much for being timers.

And the candidates you'll see uh for two-minute questions, you'll see 60 minutes, 60 seconds, 30 seconds, and 15 seconds, and then a stop.

And remember, you can definitely complete your train of thought in 15 seconds.

And ask the audience, please hold your applause till the end.

And we're ready to get started.

And we'll start with Brett.

Okay, Brett, you have two minutes to introduce yourself.

Tell us why you're running for office and your commitment to your constituents.

What relevant skills and experience do you have?

What are your top two priorities for improving Syracuse?

Great.

Thank you.

First of all, I appreciate everyone being here.

It's nice to see this room filled up.

We don't always see it that way.

Uh my name is Brett Cragan, as mentioned, I'm running for mayor.

I'm a current member of the city council.

I've been on the council now almost two years.

So I've had a little bit of time there and been able to see uh from that perspective how things work.

Uh, between 2017 and 2021, I was a member of the planning commission.

I've lived in Syracuse now for about 20 years.

Uh, I care about this community.

This is home to me now.

This is home for my family, and it's important to me to see uh what's happening here.

I'm an attorney.

Uh good or bad, whatever you think.

Uh that's what I do for a living.

I think that that uh manner of thinking is helpful in a lot of circumstances.

What I'm trained to do to see through through things and to try and uh bring about a resolution of the problems.

If you've seen any of my signs, I'm promoting a safe, strong, and secure Syracuse.

Uh my first priority, and I think it's uh an important one today, is to our first uh responders.

We need to make sure that there's adequate staffing and compensation.

This will ensure the safety of our community, uh, both now and in the future.

And I hope that there's an opportunity to talk a little bit more about why I think that's concerning.

Uh, my next priority is to continue to build a strong Syracuse.

Uh, this means determining what services are most important to our citizens, and then prioritizing uh does that say 30 seconds?

Yes.

Okay.

Uh that means determining what services are most important to our citizens and then prioritize how to implement those services.

To me, a strong Syracuse also means there's a solid connection between uh elected officials, city, and staff.

It's only by working together that we can make Syracuse an even better place to live.

And a secure Syracuse means city's finances are handled in a reasonable way.

More on that in a moment.

Thank you.

Dave.

I'm Dave Maughn.

I'm the current mayor of Syracuse.

I'm running again, and some people might think that's a little crazy because uh it is a tough job, and uh there's a lot to it.

But four years ago I ran on the premise, but I told you that I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that the freeway would bring, that I saw in other cities the opportunity that if they took advantage of it and built some visible retail near their freeway exits, they were uh had a lot of longevity that benefited their budget.

Whereas I had just moved from a city uh, well, 17 years ago, but I moved from a city where that had a um had not done that, didn't have any business near their exits, and 30 years later, after I-15, they still struggled very much with their budget.

So I saw this as an opportunity and I made it my mission.

So not only have I done that, but here's how I did it.

The first month I was in office.

I went and met with the retail or the economic development department.

I said, I want to scope out every property that we have that's viable for uh, and I also want to meet everybody who owns those properties.

And I want to be able to tell people what's available when they say they're considering moving here.

Um we have managed uh to get Costco as an anchor that is being built today.

And I worked really hard to make sure that happened because we did almost lose it a couple of times, but we found solutions that were mutually beneficial, and we actually come out in a way where the city and everybody else is better off from the deal that we were able to make.

What is key to my uh responsibility is that I do work in business development for tech companies.

I have for 25 years now, and I have a lot of experience.

So I bring this to the city and I use that experience on their behalf.

I've been able to help them grow and succeed.

So I my continue or my promise is that I'm going to continue to do this.

It wasn't something I could accomplish in four years, but I think that if I have one more term, I can figure that out and we can finish.

I have a lot of businesses lined up.

Thank you, Andrea.

I should have mentioned these are two-minute questions.

Yeah.

Do you need a repeated?

No.

I'm just trying to drop microphone.

Can you hear me?

I would get very close.

Okay.

Can everybody hear me?

Yeah.

Awesome.

Okay.

Hey, my name is Andrea Brown.

Um, I have lived in Syracuse for just over 20 years.

My kids have attended Syracuse schools.

Um, I work for a family-owned business in Syracuse.

This is truly my home, and I'm invested in its success.

I'm running for office on a personal level because my very politically involved daughter told me I needed to do my civic duty and get involved.

On a more practical level, I'd like to add my voice and my efforts to support those on the council looking to strengthen the Syracuse economy and vote for fiscally conservative measures.

I have experience in a wide range of disciplines, which will help me to do the job well, from construction sales leadership roles in the PTA and community boards, volunteering with church groups and debate clubs.

I can fundraise, plan events, read blueprints, make costumes and roll up my sleeves to move rocks and dirt any day.

I have a degree in business administration, and my current job is in a field where I communicate and find common ground to come to solutions for parties with wildly different interests and needs.

My top priority is to amplify what is good in the city now.

There are so many current city policies and initiatives which need time to grow, extra support, or just to be left alone to function.

I am not about reinventing the wheel on all things.

I've been impressed with our current mayor's ability to magnify what works well and be open to get rid of what fails or get input on the things which need adjustment.

I will follow the lead of experts in their field and department heads and add to and offer ideas and enhance where my skill set allows.

My second priority is simply to support attracting businesses.

This is a big deal.

We need this in Syracuse.

We need to shore up our infrastructure and revenue base, and I will focus my efforts there.

Thank you, Granton.

Hello, good evening, everyone.

Thank you for coming tonight.

I am Gretchen Ivy Rulin.

Syracuse has been home for me for 17 years, but Utah for 20 years.

And I've served six years on planning commission, uh, actually with um with Brett, and five years in uh Syracuse Elementary uh school board.

Um my background is in communications, and now I work in finance.

I am a relationship banker with Bank of America, and um I am running to protect the quality of life we love here, balancing growth with community character, skills.

My skills are planning commission experience with zoning and infrastructure and finance expertise in budget and cost benefit decisions, communication skills to explain issues clear clearly.

My priorities, number one, quality of life enforcement, and the second is transparency in utilities and program.

I am not a politician, but I am here to help.

Thank you.

Abraham.

Good evening, guys.

I'm so grateful to have you all here.

It means a lot to me that you would show up.

Um, my name is Abraham Pollard.

I'm a father.

I have four children.

I live with my wife who grew up here in Syracuse.

I'm a retired Arizona police officer.

Uh, worked for the state.

And I am now working in the private sector.

And I currently am working on a master's degree in clinical mental health.

I'll be done this year with that.

Um, I'm running for Syracuse City Council because I really love Syracuse.

This is where my wife grew up.

I fell in love with it when we were dating and super glad to be able to retire and to live here and to raise my family here.

I'm I'm very interested in making sure Syracuse obviously stays the way that it is, the charm that it is with controlled growth, bringing in good businesses, responsible businesses, a lot of the things that have already been spoken about this evening.

Being able to go out and meet with people and negotiate and make sure that we're we're attracting those right kinds of businesses to alleviate the tax burden on the citizens that are here.

I I feel very passionate about keeping Syracuse an affordable, great place to live.

Public safety is also a huge priority for me.

Obviously, being a retired policeman, I could bring a unique perspective to that role and to understanding some of those things and partnering with the leadership in our fire and our EMS and our police department, being able to talk with them about different strategies and ideas to make sure we're providing the safety that our city needs and balancing the things that we need versus a limited physically conservative responsible government.

Uh, I am a constitutional conservative, and I want to make sure that we as a community continue to shine as a community together.

And being your voice would be a huge honor to me.

And I appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Just a reminder, stay pretty close to the microphone so the back of the room can hear you.

Okay, another two-minute question about the city budget.

How should Syracuse?

Sorry.

I think monitors.

Some of them are okay.

She I think she's asking for you to sit so they can see you instead of the monitor.

Just make sure you that better.

Just make sure you liking hiding behind the monitor.

It made me feel good.

We aren't voting for monitors yet.

Um, just make sure you speak right into the microphone.

Okay, a two-minute question about the city budget.

How should Syracuse plan and manage the budget, including taxes, our fees, our unexpected income?

Are there objective measures for success?

Will federal funding uncertainties affect Syracuse?

And we had an audience question about uh improving employee retention.

And um, let's see, I think we start with Brett.

Uh Dave, I'm sorry.

Okay.

Well, first you need to understand that smart budgeting is a budget process that takes place all year long.

It's not something that we do just once a year or that we visit only in August when there's a truth in taxation hearing.

In fact, we kind of hope that a lot of times that we don't get to a truth in taxation hearing that we find a way to get to a balanced budget before then, at least some of us do.

Um part of that year-long process is our city puts out in a manager's report to every city council member every month the statistics on whether we're growing in sales tax or we're diminishing in sales tax.

In we do that per industry.

So there's some way that we can monitor whether we're improving, we're doing better or worse.

Because in the end, the budget depends on the income.

You know, we have to balance this budget.

And so we have to understand that we've got we can't spend what we don't have, but we do have some extra resources.

Uh, in this last year, I recommended, and I know that it's been criticized some, that we uh budget for a little bit of use of our rainy day fund.

Now that's a backup plan.

That's not an uh primary plan.

For more than 10 years, and I was talking with one of the former mayors, and we both know this because we've seen it.

For more than 10 years, we've had a budget surplus every single year.

So the suggestion that we were going to actually run short, I suggested that we budget for that surplus because we're gonna make it up by some of the things that just don't happen during the year, but we do have to budget for.

So we made up a good uh bit of the ground in that, even though we didn't budget for uh some things, but we made it up.

We figured out ways to improve.

I will just touch on a couple of the other parts.

We do not rely on federal funds as a primary source of income.

So federal funds don't affect us in a big way, but we do try to augment our services and take care of things with grants that we can get from the federal government.

That's always a great way to benefit and keep our but keep us under budget.

But the bottom line is it's a project, it's a project we have to do all year long.

And my feeling is we need to live within our means.

We cannot tax people out of the city.

Thank you, Andrea.

All right.

Um, Syracuse should manage the budget as if it were their neighbors' money.

Um, and we've been asked to spend it wisely.

I will support measures which ensure a balanced budget.

We I'm sorry, Andrew, and we cannot hear you.

How about now?

Oh, good.

Okay, I just need to get closer.

Um, I will support measures which ensure a balanced budget, aiming funds to cover essentials and necessities first.

I will not look at taxation as the easy button.

I feel very strongly that we need to find ways to avoid raising taxes and I view fees in the same light.

I understand that some services and amenities may require increasing fees.

I want to make sure that we can justify these increases and apply them in a manner where those bearing the burden of the fee are receiving the benefit in the form of service or use as much as possible.

I will keep track of the moving baseline of tax and fee burdens and one-time bonds for projects to avoid the comfort creep of getting used to those funds and accepting them as a long-term given.

We have smart city employees who look for ways to offset our fees with grants or labor sharing, and I will help support their creative solutions.

I support unexpected income.

I feel that we should have more of that.

Any increase the city receives, which is not explicitly allocated, should be put toward paying down debt and toward vetted needs tools, improvements, benefits, which are specified by department heads.

Um, of course, federal funding uncertainties could affect us.

Dave just said that they are not.

I'm not privy to grants or funding, which we have that are affecting federal decisions, other than educational funding currently, and we have no jurisdiction there on the council.

Um if we need to adjust to meet or uh on that, if we need to adjust our budget to meet shortfalls, we can relying heavily on federal funding is not my plan.

I believe we should diversify revenue.

We're already doing that sources where we can and lean into Syracuse's pioneer spirit to provide and prepare prepare for our needs, and that's through commercial means.

That's Dave's already said that.

I support that like crazy.

We need to get the income and the revenue on those sales tax and commercial entities.

Thank you, Genshin.

First priorities and discipline.

We'll use priority-based budgeting.

So poor services, public safety, water and sewer, roads and maintenance are funded first.

Nice to have projects wait until basics are met.

Every new ongoing expense must name its funding source and show the service level it buys.

Second, transparency and predictability.

Utah's truth in taxation process demands honesty.

I support clear public dashboards that show where each dollar goes, project timelines and performance metrics.

If a fee or tax change is proposed, we'll show the trade-off in the plain language before a vote.

Third, plan big costs the right way.

We'll update our five and 10-year capital plans for roads and water, so we're not surprised by pipes or pavement failing.

For long-live infrastructure, we pay, we pay as you go with cautious, time-limited bonding only when it saves money over the assets life.

Enterprise funds like water, stay self-sustaining.

Growth helps pay for growth, true fair impact, impact fees, reserves and windfalls.

We'll maintain strong rainy day reserves and treat unexpected revenue like one-time money.

Pay down debt, tackle defer maintenance, or fund one-time equipment, not grow the base budget.

So for the federal and state dollars can help, but they shouldn't steer our ship.

We'll chase grants that match our priorities and avoid programs that create unfunded mandates down the road.

Bottom line, live within our means.

Invest in the bones of the city and keep residents fully informed that's how we keep Syracuse strong, safe, and affordable.

Thank you, Abraham.

Well, it's it's always rough going last, but listen, it's it's the same way with my family.

We're we're physically responsible.

My wife and I meet every week and we do a budget.

We talk about what we have coming in, what our plans are.

Right now we're talking about Christmas.

It's not even Halloween yet, but we're planning for Christmas.

A good plan prevents trouble.

We got to be physically responsible.

It's no different at the city level.

I agree with a lot with what Dave just said.

Um, and and his leadership is impeccable in that way.

Taxes should be a last resort, guys.

Like for real.

We we we do not want to tax our population out.

Um, as I campaigned, I got to talk with a lot of people in our community that are on a fixed income.

Typically, those folks are in most cities are maybe impoverished in our city.

It's the heartbeat of our community.

It's the elderly population that's retired.

And they are what make our community great.

And if we raise taxes like we keep doing, we're pushing them out.

We don't want to be doing that.

So listen, we got to be responsible.

Raising taxes should be a last resort, and it better be uh an absolute necessary unexpected money coming in, uh needs to be put aside, paying down debt, uh, making sure we're putting money away, planning for infrastructure increases, making sure the equipment that we have works, all those things, right?

The city's responsible for those things.

We trust the city with those things.

Uh, we we need to be very physically responsible with the money that we have coming in.

Thank you, Brent.

The city budget is what controls much of what happens in Syracuse.

Actively managing that budget is part of building a community that is safe, strong, and secure.

Both last year and this year, a deficit budget exists.

What that means is our expenses are exceeding our revenue right now.

That's where it's at.

There are three things that can be done in that situation.

Either we get more revenue, which I haven't heard anybody say where that is coming from, we can cut expenses, which is something that could be looked at, or taxes can be raised.

I agree.

Raising taxes is the last resort, and uh things should be looked at very carefully.

But my bottom line is we need to first of all consider what our needs are.

What are the needs of this city and make sure that that's taken care of first?

Next, there are things that may not be needs, but that are come out of the budget, and the citizens need to tell this council what are the things that you want?

What is most important to you in this because the money is not there right now.

Uh then once we have an idea of what the citizens want to focus on, uh, then we need to look at what consistent revenue do we have.

What do we have a good idea is coming in, or what do we have a projection is coming in?

Costco is wonderful.

Costco is not going to solve this city's problems.

Costco could pay for the firefighters that we need.

There's going to need to be more that takes place than just this.

Uh once we have an idea of those things, we need to balance our budget.

Uh federal funding, I think is unpredictable at best.

I think that we should fund essential services without the need to rely on what happens in Washington, DC.

But we also need to have an idea where is this money coming from?

What is it being spent on and hope to avoid paying taxes?

Uh, but there have been taxes raised in the past, and it's to cover essential services, which I think is important to most of the city.

Thank you.

This is also a two-minute question about housing, and we had a lot of audience questions related to housing.

The question is the legislature has mandated that all cities develop a plan to increase affordable housing in their cities.

What ideas do you have for increasing affordable housing in Syracuse and satisfying the state mandate?

Should developers be required to sell versus rent when they build.

And we had a question about residential homes versus apartments and uh sustainability, including recycling.

Uh water use when we keep building more homes and rehabilitation versus new homes and enforcing developer agreements on high density housing projects.

So see if you can tackle that in two minutes and we just start with we start with Andrea.

That's not fair.

Okay.

The state mandate states that the city plan must include a moderate income housing element that provides a realistic opportunity to meet the need for additional moderate income housing within in the municipality during the next five years.

Um previous councils went all in on this concept with our existing high density housing.

I think I take a more moderate approach.

As we watch and see where pricing will land with increased supply, I would look to the proposal made in the city general plan to support and allow for ADUs and basement dwelling units, adjusting zoning to support rental of private residences and restricting development companies from purchasing private residences in bulk will help to filter money towards Syracuse homeowners.

If the state metrics are more stringent, I'd be open to very limited mixed-use zoning, which limits density on the residential component.

If the council has jurisdiction over this to something like town homes, which can only be located along commercial corridors and which must include a specific percentage.

This is something that I think enforcing the zoning laws, uh may that's what that question may pertain to.

We really need to say if we have a commercial element, we have to enforce that.

Um they need to include that commercial space and reasonable parking for businesses.

It's worth noting that while higher density options may meet the pricing metric from the state, they're not considering square footage or quality of the living space.

The value aspect of these properties is highly subjective and should not only be quantified in terms of expense.

Regardless of the state mandate, the council can affect cost of living fees infrastructure and bring in businesses.

So residents have jobs and funds to offset housing costs.

My goal is to maintain the ambiance of our city.

Again, as defined in the city general plan, residents have clearly specified their preference to keep Syracuse a quiet suburban community with a majority of single family homes and commercial spaces contained and concentrated in high traffic areas.

Thank you, Gretchen.

Affordable housing is about balance and responsibility.

We want to make sure our teachers, first responders, and young families can afford to live here without sacrificing the character of our neighbors or overloading our infrastructure.

I believe in the right fit approach that means prioritizing housing options that blend with our community, like townhouse, senior cottages, and mixed use developments near main corridors rather than large high density blocks in the middle of a single family areas.

We can meet state mandates while keeping local control by using tools we already have, smart zoning updates, clear design standards, and developer um partnerships that require quality materials and green space, transparency with residents matters too, no matter or no more surprises after approvals.

As long as uh as a longtime resident and someone who works in finance, I understand that affordability isn't only about rent or mortgages.

It's about the full cost, the full cost of living, the utilities, the transportation and taxes.

So I'll push for infrastructure planning that keeps costs predictable and protects water and road capacity before adding more rooftops.

Our goal shouldn't just be more housing.

It should be sustainable, well-planned neighborhoods where people of all stages of life can thrive and still recognize the city they love.

Thank you, Abraham.

Can I have some of those other questions that were added again?

I can't, I can't remember everything you read.

Okay.

Sorry.

Um, enforcing developer agreements on high density housing, um, new homes versus rehabilitation, existing homes and stores, uh, use of scarce water when we're building homes, sustainability and recycling.

Um, and growth rate plans, including home to apartment ratios.

Perfect.

Thank you so much.

So here's the thing.

The state mandate for affordable housing, affordable housing is really kind of a neat word to throw out there, right?

Boy, don't we all wish we had affordable housing?

The the thing is is that doesn't mean we have to cram our city full of apartments and condos and even these mass neighborhoods with postage stamp backyards.

We like our open spaces.

And what's good for bigger cities is not necessarily good for Syracuse.

And so my approach really would be to push back a little bit on the state on what they're requiring.

You can't tell me what's good for Salt Lake City is good for Canab, Utah, right?

We we all would agree with that.

And Syracuse is probably closer related to Canab than even Ogden, right?

And Ogden's right up the road.

And so just being really smart about that.

And so working with the leadership of the mayor and bringing in the right kinds of ideas to be able to meet some of those needs of water conservation, um, sustainability.

I mean, the a lot of these words are really nice and and interesting to throw out there.

But the truth is is we want to maintain our community.

And our community is pretty awesome.

And we want to keep these open spaces that we have.

We want to have controlled growth and responsible growth.

We want a place where my kids and my grandkids can grow up and buy houses and live.

And so a lot of that's looking at if we just throw in apartments and mass dwelling units.

What are we doing?

We're putting a huge strain on our public safety.

We're putting a huge strain on our traffic and our congestion.

We're putting a huge strain on a lot of resources.

And so I I think that we can get a little more creative.

I I definitely think that the plan that the city has put in place under the current leadership is is been really effective.

And I think that we need to make sure that we're enforcing those codes and those rules that we have.

Um, and really being cognizant about maybe ADUs are a better way to go.

Maybe having rental properties in older homes and rehabbing is a better way to go.

Thank you.

Thank you, Brett.

I I think the legislature has set up something that cannot be met.

Um, I think that there's a real problem there with our current economy.

There's little available uh affordable housing uh in our area, really any other place.

If you look at the numbers, 76% of Utah, Utah's growth is from our children and grandchildren.

Growth predictions for Utah show that 274,000 new homes will be needed by 2033, and only 9% of Utah's can afford the medium-priced home, which is now over 400,000.

Um, I I think that that's a real challenge.

I don't have the the answer to that.

I do think in our community now, we do have a good mix of housing types uh that that is appealing to many people, whether that is a home that has a smaller yard that doesn't need to be up kept, whether that is uh an apartment in some situations, uh, or or whether it's the traditional single family home that we have right now.

Those types of housing have brought in uh citizens into our community who will support business and uh other economic development.

The two areas of focus that I believe that we should look at are to ensure the remaining areas that lend themselves to housing dis uh developments are used in an appropriate way.

There's not very much more in the city that that can be built out with housing in other areas, so we need to act on that responsibly.

Uh perhaps ADUs, these accessory dwelling units.

I I think that the city uh has worked very hard to try and create an environment where there are housing options that may be helpful.

Uh ADUs is one way to do it, adjusting zoning, uh, upzoning to allow a little bit more of that maybe something that can be helpful.

Uh, I don't know what the solution is to this, other than we can just manage what we have left here to do in Syracuse, and that's to make sure any housing developments meet the the standards that we need going forward.

Thanks, Dave.

Okay, so you added an awful lot of questions.

So I hope I cover them all.

But let's just say this.

Uh when we get a question about state mandates, we first have to break down what that mandate actually is, because there have been people that approach cities all the time and say, what about a mandate?

Well, the only mandate that we received from the state was that we create a plan.

The mandate does not even include that we exercise that plan or actually execute that plan.

So what the plan mandate was is that we needed to look at things.

The reason this came about is uh this is over several legislative sessions.

The legislator started by saying we're going to take away cities' ability to do some of their zoning because we're not getting enough affordable housing.

The League of Cities collectively, with many cities, including ours, pushed back and said, hey, wait a minute, we're doing a lot of things you guys aren't giving us credit to do.

So the league, along with its members, put together a list of almost 80 things that we could possibly do or are being done.

The legislature said, let's accept at least 50 of these as actual things that you can do.

And so the mandate said, pick from these and tell us which ones you're doing, or others that we don't even know about.

So we did meet as a city, and we talked about this extensively.

And the ones that we actually adopted were things mostly we were doing already.

For example, we do have a mixed-use zone.

We had that at the time.

So we could put that down in our plan.

We're already doing it.

Another one that we had was we were going to work with high density in high traffic zones and make sure that we were going to only allow high density where mass transit was involved.

Again, we're already doing that.

So it made sense.

A lot of these things that we adopted in our plan, because I'm running out of time, were things that we were already doing and it didn't really affect the city.

But the key, I think, is that what we have to do is we have to manage the growth.

So it's not at a pace that it puts a huge burden on the city, no matter what type of growth it is.

We went through a period where a lot of things happened all at once.

And one of the new changes that we did this last year, we put in our development agreements that they have to throttle the stuff at the pace so that we can't outpace how the city can handle the growth.

Sorry, that was a very big question.

Thank you.

Okay, the next question, and we have some audience questions.

It's about balance, finding the right balance in your city.

Um, is Syracuse finding the right balance amongst the needs of various interested parties, such as homeowners, renters, farmers, small business, large business, and we had audience questions about schools, nonprofits, health agencies.

Um, and again, um neighborhoods.

So, what strategies would you support to strengthen the Syracuse economy?

And do you have a 10-year vision for Syracuse?

And I think we start with Gretchen.

Our city's economy depends on smart balance between growth and perturbation, business and family life, today's needs and tomorrow's obligation.

I work in finance long enough to know when you chase everything, you end up funding nothing well.

Syracuse is growing fast.

And that's a good thing.

It means people want to live here, but growth must pay for itself.

That means tying development to real um infrastructure capacity, water roads, and public safety staffing.

I support responsible commercial growth that burdens our tax base.

So homeowners don't carry the full load.

Balance also means protecting what makes Syracuse livable, our quiet neighborhoods, sparks and clean environment while still welcoming taughtful development that brings local jobs and convenience.

I'd rather attract a diverse mix of small businesses rather than rely on few big box stores or short-term projects.

Financially, we keep a strong reserve, use data to plan ahead and avoid the trap of borrowing for operating costs.

Every dollar should stretch, whether that's through shared services, grant partnerships, or technology that saves staff time.

At the end of the day, economic health isn't just about dollars in the account.

It's about quality of life, stable families in a city that grows with purpose, not pressure.

Thank you.

Abraham.

So balance, if we're talking about on a beam, I'm not very good at it.

But if we're talking about balancing the needs of our homeowners, uh the businesses, the community, and um we have apartments, we have farmers, we have renters.

We got to look at all the people with equity stakes, right?

And balancing all their needs together.

Um the big thing is protecting property rights, protecting people individually.

That's a great way to balance.

I really think that most of us are good at taking care of each other and making sure that we're doing responsible things to control the growth.

I like how Dave talked about throttling it and making sure that we're doing responsible things to control that growth.

I think that that is something that we all felt as members of this community is our growth was out of balance.

And I think that that was something that really inspired me to want to step up and just step in to uh throw my hat in the ring.

I'm not a professional politician, guys.

And realistically, like I may not have all the answers in this room, but in this room, collectively, we have a lot of wisdom.

In this room, we probably have about 400 years.

I've only got 40 under my belt, 42.

I'm not going to count the first two.

So listening to people, listening to what the needs are and really being able to take people with other ideas and better ideas in mind and being able to become educated in that is a way to develop a good balance.

I really think that we have a huge asset up the road here with Antelope Island.

Um, where do people go to lunch when they go out to Antelope Island?

Probably back to Leighton.

Well, that's a huge loss for us.

I think attracting the right kind of businesses, partnering with the leadership of the city and being able to go out and meet with some of these businesses that want to come in and bring some ability to grow some businesses that will make our city a more viable tax generating revenue, right, to alleviate the burden from our homeowners and keeping our community safe and providing the public safety.

I mean, it's it's it's all it's all encompassed in everything we've already talked about this evening.

Thank you, Impress.

I think that there are uh adequate efforts for balance that are being made when we're looking at strengthening the Syracuse economy, which I think is what is most important right now because we need revenue coming in.

Uh I believe there needs to be more of a push to have our residents support local businesses first whenever possible.

Uh, when we shop in other cities, we're paying taxes that support other cities.

Uh, I share what Mr.

Pollard said that we need to continue uh to pursue businesses that fit our local needs and economy.

Uh, that there will be more businesses coming.

We need to take as much advantage as possible to use the corridor that leads out to Annalobe L.

There are hundreds of thousands of people that travel there each year.

And it would be nice to uh have some more of their dollars to support our community.

One of the best ways to avoid a reduction in services from the city and uh property tax increase is to spend dollars we would spend elsewhere here here at home and get others to spend their dollars here as well.

I think that's where the focus needs to be, and that if we do that, that will help eliminate some of the potential uh of having to have a tax increase in the future.

But again, it comes down really to three different things.

Either we have more revenue, either we cut services, or we raise taxes.

And the push needs to be how are we going to raise revenue in this city so we don't need to worry about the other things?

Uh there isn't much room to cut expenses.

There's probably some, uh, but not too much.

And if we do, then the question is what is it that the citizens uh are willing to give up a little bit in order to have the balanced budget in lieu of a tax increase because we need revenue.

And I still haven't heard where is the revenue coming from.

Thanks, Dave.

So there's been a lot of good things said about uh balance.

And I think that one of the things that we have to understand is balancing the budget is means that we have to find the funds to recoup things.

Brett says he hasn't heard where the funds come from.

Well, for starters, it comes from the businesses that were recruiting because every new business brings in additional sales tax, additional property tax.

It brings in additional opportunity for people to have jobs here.

And those people that have jobs here will spend more money in our community.

That's why I've put so much effort into uh growing our economy and growing our business base.

I've done a lot of that on my own because it's necessary.

We need that now.

We haven't always needed that, but we need it right now.

So uh, you know, the state of Utah says that being mayor is a part-time at best job.

I put in more than full-time hours, and I do it gladly because I'm trying to make up for the deficit in manpower that we have.

So, whatever I can do to increase that, I'm doing.

I do that by going to a business expos, by going to business conferences, by going to chamber meetings and publicizing as much as I can that the opportunity is here in Syracuse.

This is where you want to bring your new business.

This is where you want to get great employees.

We have great people here that can fill jobs with uh that are, you know, if you bring your business here, you're gonna have locals that support you fully.

So that ambassadorship of being mayor is something that I take very seriously and have put up my whole heart into because that's where the revenue is going to come from.

It's not going to come from raising taxes.

We will never be able to raise taxes enough to keep up with the growth because of the way that the structure is for taxes in the legislature.

The way that we do it is we find other alternative funding sources.

And I work my tail off to find those, whether it's grants, donations, projects, whether it comes from new jobs, new businesses, new parts of our economy.

All of that is an effort that I make and I take very seriously, and I put my whole heart into.

Thank you, Andrea.

All right.

Um, I do think Syracuse is doing a pretty great job balancing the interests of these different parties.

Um it's very clear that we need to attract and support larger businesses.

I think Costco is a huge win for us.

Larger businesses provide a draw for smaller businesses.

They provide sales tax and they provide employment opportunities.

Shoring up our business development will benefit homeowners by providing revenue to offset fees and taxes and more simply provide more options in terms of restaurants and offerings.

We will not need to travel outside of Syracuse to find restaurants and shopping options.

In terms of renters, I think Syracuse has done an excellent job catering toward a curated genre of renter.

I don't believe the city should focus on short-term transient rentals.

Rather, we should aim to provide reasonable housing options for those seeking a quiet suburban bedroom community lifestyle.

We are not Salt Lake City.

We don't want to be.

The city plan supports encouraging and facilitating farmland preservation for those wishing to continue farming and states that it will not pressure farmers to develop.

I love this.

I'm a huge farming advocate, and I want to give farmers and property owners who are interested in preserving the land and farming as much support as possible.

It's absolutely imperative that we understand as a community that we don't own these farmers' land.

We are not entitled to limiting farmers' ability to sell and benefit from their own land.

The council's job is to find or create attractive options that make it worthwhile for farmers to maintain their land if possible.

Attracting businesses, balancing the budget, keeping an eye on spending and smart maintenance, seeking out grants where it makes sense and keeping the government efficiently small and effective is my holistic approach to strengthening the Syracuse economy and strengthening our ability to control our own success.

Uh the 10 year vision, if I can just pop out some words, more businesses, stable housing prices, low taxes, environmentally sound policies, a safe, quiet city, um, and paid off amenities.

Thank you.

I think we'll make this next question two minutes.

Um it's about the Great Salt Lake.

Syracuse is affected by the status of the Great Salt Lake.

How can Syracuse participate in the decisions the state makes about the lake?

And maybe you can add a few words about the water situation in Syracuse right now.

And we start with Abraham.

Two minutes.

All right.

I get to go first.

That way nobody takes my thoughts.

This is great.

Um I love the Great Salt Lake.

I love it being right here next to us.

Obviously, it affects us, it affects our air quality.

It affects our quality of life.

It affects uh the wildlife that's in Syracuse.

I mean, we got deer still running through my front yard, which is amazing, right?

And that's all because we live in such a great natural resource out there.

Um we we need to have an active role as city councilmen and women.

We we need to have an active role at the state level with what they're doing to the Great Salt Lake and how it impacts.

We need to be that that would be something that we need to work really closely with our state legislators and making sure that they have our opinions on their table and that we are lobbying them and we are doing our part to protect our community because it directly affects us.

Um water, water is always gonna be a scarce resource in the desert.

Uh, you know, I I don't I don't sit here and pretend to know everything about water rights and and how the water's affecting us.

What one thing is is the massive growth that we've had has made a huge impact on our water and our water usage.

Uh, I'm from Arizona.

Uh my wife's from here.

I this is the first time in my life I've ever afforded to have grass in Arizona.

You can't afford it unless you're really rich.

And and I have grass that just naturally grows.

It's pretty amazing.

Um just just making sure that we're taking measures that are protecting our interests with the with the lake and making sure we're taking efforts and more involved and we have a seat at the table.

I think is the biggest thing that we can do there with the state level from the city council.

Thanks.

Brad.

I think there is a challenge with the Great Salt Lake.

I I also believe that there's a scope of what the problem is uh as an issue.

Obviously, climate has impacted the Great Salt Lake, which we don't have much control over, but water usage to some little extent here in Syracuse, uh, we do have an ability to impact that.

Uh, you know, this dust that comes up from the Great Salt Lake.

I've had people say, well, that's that's toxic and it's going to turn into cancer cues or toxic cues or that kind of a thing.

Um, I think that the uh that that is still out.

I know that there have been recent studies that have come out that said that isn't as much of an issue as the these fine dust particles of getting in the people's lungs or even getting up into the mountains and and causing the snowpack to melt faster because uh it's putting a darker amount on the on the snowpack.

Uh I don't know that that Syracuse in and of itself can do anything there, but Syracuse can certainly uh take a lead and beat the drum to try and get those kinds of uh things taken care of that can be done uh as far as the water usage in Syracuse.

I I think the mayor and the council have taken great efforts to try and make sure that the water is used in the best way possible.

Uh that there have been options as flip the strip kind of thing and different ways to do where if it's needed.

Uh, I think that the city can take more of an approach.

Uh, but this year uh it that water has actually been extended a little bit.

I I do think that Syracuse is acting responsibly that way.

Uh there may be some things that could be done better with the the Great Salt Lake, but that's going to be uh an effort that needs to be much broader than just our city here.

Thanks, Dave.

Well, this is kind of a strange question for your city because the city has very little say in a project that is as massive as trying to save the Great Salt Lake.

If you're paying attention to the news, the governor just rolled out a big press conference where he had all of the prominent billionaires of the state behind him, and they declared that they had raised 200 million dollars just as a start to try and solve the problem.

Well, let me put that in perspective.

That's more than seven years of our budget here in Syracuse.

So we really are not financially going to be a part of the solution.

Now, would they ask us about our opinion on this?

Well, we're one of about 19 cities that actually have some border with the Great Salt Lake.

So they're probably not asking just us.

But what can we do?

We can conserve.

We've done a we've taken great efforts to try and uh reduce public lands that are uh just water uh absorbent and don't really serve the public.

We have taken great efforts to be water-wise and publish that um and try to uh encourage people to be water-wise and do those things.

So there's those things that we can do.

But the Great Salt Lake as a whole is a problem far greater than any city is going to solve.

And it really would be irresponsible of us to spend a lot of time on it, other than to support that we do need to do something.

And it does need it, we need to take it seriously, but it is not a problem for cities.

We don't have a say in that matter.

Thank you, Andrea.

Okay, so I am a geek, and I have kept up on the lake.

Um, I do think the council should keep up on proposals, discussions, and conservation efforts for the lake.

Um, I'm attending the conservative climate summit on the 17th of October next week.

Um, discussions will focus on the lake preservation strategy, ecological and biological changes happening as the lake recedes.

I'm lucky that my family has an awesome connection who is the CEO of one of the private companies developing a project, which is being presented to state government to develop industry, which facilitates the long-term sustainability of the lake.

I'm excited about this, and I'm staying informed on the project and the ideas that are self-funding.

Additionally, I've followed and participated in conservation and in my invirontal efforts in the state since I was in high school.

I'll continue to do that.

I will research, understand, and share information available concerning the lake.

Our role as residents of the city will absolutely resolve revolve around supporting water conservation, zero escaping and conservation mainly, not using as much water.

If I'm elected, I will be as participatory as I can in state forums and discussions just because that's my passion.

I will pass on information to our residents as well as listen to and solicit ideas from residents to offer to decision makers and experts on this subject where I'm able to.

Thank you, Grantion.

Um, too often we forget that our Syracuse is the gateway to Great Salt Lake.

The lake's decline, threatens health and environment.

Syracuse can help to water wise landscaping, smart storm water practices and having a voice in state decisions.

But water wise shouldn't mean ugly or overheated.

The middle ground is keeping turf where it's functional, adding more shade trees and mixing native plants with seasonal colors, so neighborhoods stay beautiful.

Smart irrigation like drip systems conserves water without baking residents in summer.

City ordinances should encourage balance so we conserve while keeping Syracuse welcoming and livable.

Okay, thank you.

Um I think we'll take two minutes on this last one because we had audience questions.

The question is residents want their voices heard on city decisions, especially zoning and taxes.

What is your plan to increase community involvement and ensure Syracuse residents feel represented in the choices made by the council?

We had two questions about transparency, accessibility, making yourself accessible to constituents.

And um how do you plan to build consensus and work across differing viewpoints?

So we'll start with Brent and you can take two minutes.

Okay, thank you.

I uh I have three ideas that I would implement if I were elected mayor.

The first was well, first of all, let me preface this by saying it's been a great experience to be here tonight and at the last meeting, the candidates meeting because I was able to talk to people and hear firsthand excellent ideas about how we can improve the city.

And that's something that doesn't happen, I think, as often as it could and it should, uh, because that there isn't that interaction, and there needs to be that interaction that's there.

But the first thing I would do is create a review committee.

We have the power to do that under our uh city ordinance for city issues and make sure that as part of that committee, council members were involved, city staff is involved, and members of the public are involved.

So good decision making can be made.

Uh, we do that on some limited scale.

I think that that can be done on a broader scale.

Second thing, similar to what is done in Salt Lake City, I would create community office hours where the mayor and mayor liaisons head out into the neighborhood and otherwise use temporary offices or other meeting locations where community members can stop by and chat about what they think is going on.

Uh there's a lot of knowledge beyond just this council that's up here and even city staff.

There's good advice that can be given on what we can do with the city.

Last thing I would use more robust software engagement systems where city issues and concerns uh are sent to the community.

That could be done potentially via email or text with notification about upcoming meetings.

The citizens there would be given the opportunity to provide feedback.

It's hard sometimes for citizens to come to meetings or provide the feedback that way because of unavailability or just lack of knowledge, but there would be a way where they could provide feedback.

Uh, there would be an online location where comments could be viewed and where residents can see the results of actually happening.

I think for this to move forward in an appropriate way, that there needs to be more citizen interaction.

There needs to be uh the engagement there.

Uh I'm done.

Thank you.

Dave.

Well, I what I see is that we have more transparency than we have ever had in Syracuse.

And here's the ways that it goes.

We require people to publish what it is they're bringing to council, and we put that out for the entire public to see.

We tell them that they can't surprise us in meetings with new information.

We tell them they have to put it in writing.

That has been the biggest improvement in our meetings because citizens now know if this is what you're going to talk about, I can come and chime in during the public comment sections.

I can come and I can call up my city council members and tell them what I feel.

I have been encouraging people for years to reach out to council and tell them what you feel.

And to that point, I have always responded when I get a message from a constituent, which I think has grown quite a bit because I've always fulfilled that commitment.

Uh now I get calls almost daily.

Maybe that's not a thing that uh should happen in your opinion, but I will take your call, good, bad, or otherwise, and I will respond in the most honest way that I can come up with because you need to know sometimes people don't like to hear the answers that are in front of them, but I would rather be honest with you and let you know and let you come talk to council with knowledge.

Um if you email me, you'll get an email back.

If you call me, I don't know how many mayors put their personal cell phone number all over everywhere, but I do.

And it's okay if you call me.

And if I'm on the phone, because I am on the phone a lot for my personal business, I will call you back if you leave a message.

If you don't, I have no idea what you needed or who you are.

But if you do leave a message, I will call you back.

And I have had a lot of people in the city say to me, I'm shocked and surprised that you will, and I'm glad that you did, even though some people say they didn't like what I had to say, but that's okay.

I'd rather make sure that people had their questions answered.

It's very important.

We have so many forums.

We don't need to start creating new forums.

We've got social media, we've got uh stuff that's going on online, email.

You can reach people with what we have today.

Thank you, Andrew.

Okay, I am going to second what the mayor has said.

He has answered some really stupid questions that I have called him with, and I really appreciate it.

And he's done it fast and he hasn't made me feel like a dum-dum.

So I really appreciate that.

Um, I really am.

I'm impressed with the transparency and availability of council members and the current mayor.

I have had questions answered in great detail by all the department department heads.

They've helped me understand expenditures, basic city operations, and just to get a better grasp on the necessities, spending and functions of the city.

I am I have asked for their time to show me what they do so I can get an accurate idea of how our city's functioning, and they have been unbelievably helpful.

If I'm elected, I will follow suit by being available by text or email.

It's that simple.

I will just be available like the mayor is.

I can call anyone if they need me to and leave a message.

Um I've tested out sending a summary of city council meetings via Facebook.

That's something that people have been really cool about, and I've gotten great response to that.

I will continue to do that.

And as I learn more, I hope to get those summaries to a point where they're quickly digestible, concise, and easily understood.

I am also really good at reaching out to people who are affected by or interested in the things I feel may impact them or where they can offer insight.

I believe in reaching out to those who are interested in a specific element to help create ownership.

It creates a stewardship mindset.

Hopefully, inviting residents to invest their time and expertise will inspire them to involve their circles of neighbors and friends to be involved as well.

I'm already seeing this happen.

I've been lucky enough to start a project on a city service project for next year just from a random Facebook comment from a resident who wanted to be more involved.

And Syracuse citizens do not mess around.

They like to serve and help.

I hope you don't mind.

I'm calling you out, Sean.

Um there's a guy right here, Sean.

He's in the audience.

He said, put me on a list, I'll help.

I did.

I did.

You're on the list.

I'm calling you.

You will be a person that will be a great resource.

And I really appreciate that.

It seems like everyone that I've talked to is like that.

Citizens are ready to get involved, and I'm ready to help with the connections and making a path for them to make things happen proactively.

Grant.

Community and community participation and transparency go hand in hand.

People engage when they feel informed and heard.

First, I want to make city information easier to access.

Not everyone can attend a 6 p.m.

meeting.

So I'd like to see short video summaries, clear project dashboards, and quick read updates on a city website and social media.

The goal is plain language, not policy jargon.

Second, more two-way communication.

I'll advocate for quarterly let's stalk Syracuse town halls in different neighborhoods, informal settings where residents can ask questions and see what's in the works.

We can also partner with schools, churches, and local businesses to bring city conversations where people already gathered.

Third, accountability starts at the council table.

Every vote should have a clear explanation, what it means, what it costs, and who benefits.

I'll support publishing a decision summary after each major council action so residents can see how and why we voted.

Lastly, we need to rebuild trust through presence.

I've lived here in 17 years, raised my kids here and serve as planning commissioner.

I know people want leaders who show up, listen, and report back.

Transport isn't about saying the right things.

It's about doing the right things in the open.

Thank you.

Abraham.

So I I really think Syracuse is pretty great with this already.

I would concur with uh all the previous statements.

I've never had a problem being able to get a hold of somebody in the city to talk to and to ask questions and get clarifications on things.

Uh I've never been stonewalled by our city.

I've never not felt like I had access to our elected representatives.

I'm not always liked some of the things and decisions that have been made, but I think our city's pretty transparent.

I think we are an example to a lot of other cities of what transparency looks like.

Um I I don't I don't think that there's much more we can do to make community members engage, right?

If if they don't want to engage, they're not going to engage.

But I've gone out and knocked doors in our city, and I'm telling you, people open the door and they have concerns and they're willing to talk about them and they're willing to bring their ideas to the table.

And I think accessibility, I love that our mayor currently has a lot of access.

I think our internet um web page with the publications we have on there has been great.

I think maintaining that, and I think listening to people, uh, we could get creative and do like little walkabouts or Sunday strolls or or just have access.

I I'm open to having my phone number available.

I love engaging with the community.

I think that comes from being a police officer and doing community-based policing.

I love talking with people and hearing ideas, even ones that dissent from my ideas and being able to engage and grow.

My walk of life is not what everybody else has experienced.

And I can't learn from your knowledge if you don't share it with me.

And so I'm I'm totally open to having conversations and having discussions and being asked hard questions and taking it back and learning more and understanding more.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And this is the last question.

It's one minute, your elevator speech.

You have one minute to clarify any point you would still like to make, answer the question that we should have asked, but we didn't.

And tell us why should we vote for you?

And we start with Dave.

Well, I'm running on my record.

I think I've done a good job these last four years.

I've solved a lot of problems.

And I think that I've uh done this as a team with the people who serve with me.

I've not tried to do it for them.

One of the things that I stood out to me before I started as mayor is uh Dave Church, uh, the legal counsel to the League of Cities says this every time he gives one of the uh teachings or the seminars for new council members and new mayors.

He says the biggest problem in Utah is mayors trying to do the council's job and council trying to do the mayor's job.

I was a council member before I was a mayor, and I know the difference, and I'm not trying to do the council's job.

I'm trying to enhance the council's job by doing the mayor's job.

And that means that I do very different things.

And that means that I go out and I try to find new opportunities for the city, but I come back and I present it to the council.

I don't decide for them.

So I have spent a lot of time trying to solve our problems, but I do it through data driven decisions.

We go and we find what the facts are and let that point us to a solution, not the other way around.

Go find facts to support what we want to happen.

Andrea.

Um, I have no desire to do the mayor's job.

I'd really, really like to do the city council person's job.

Um why should you vote for me?

Uh I'm a research nerd.

I will do the work.

I am not only there for the party, I'm there to set up the decorations, I'll wash the dishes, and I'll put the chairs away when it's over.

I will listen, I'll explain my decision making process.

I'll go to the right people to make sure my decisions make sense.

I understand the implications of the decisions the council makes and how important it is to vote for somebody capable of taking on the challenges of the city council role.

I would love the opportunity to work for Syracuse.

Thank you, Gretchen.

This election is about trust, not politics.

My strength, finance discipline, planning experience, and community service.

I will serve with transparency, fairness, and steady leadership, not just a hype up.

Vote for me if you want decisions rooted in facts and focus on residents.

And at the end of the day, I love Syracuse, Utah.

Thanks, Abraham.

At the end of the day, guys, I'm not a career politician.

I I didn't ever foresee this being something I would do in my life.

Um, I'm excited to be here, but I'm a father and I live here and I love our community.

I I chose to come back here.

This is where my wife grew up.

I fell in love here.

My uncle, my cousins lived here when I was a kid, and I've always loved Syracuse.

Uh, I bring to the table integrity.

I bring to the table honesty and sometimes a little bit too much candor and no filter.

But because of these things, I will stand uh against things that I believe to be unconstitutional.

I things that I believe to be wrong, uh, and I will stand my ground.

I'm not for sale.

I I want to fight to keep Syracuse great.

I I don't think it's going to be too hard of a fight, but I want to fight to keep it great.

And I want to fight to keep our public safety great that helps keep our community great.

Um, I want to fight to keep our taxes low.

I don't want to fight to keep this a place where my kids can raise their families so that we can be together here in such a great community.

And I humbly ask for your vote, and I appreciate it if you'd give it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Brett.

I appreciate you listening and being here tonight.

Our community is a great community.

It can be better.

Uh I have my three things that I've talked about.

Uh making sure that our community is safe, making sure that our community is strong, making sure that it's secure.

Uh, I think that we have a challenge with our first responders.

They're wonderful.

Uh, they're excellent, but they need some additional support from this community.

And by serving them, it actually serves us.

Don't ask, you don't have to believe me.

Find one and ask them how things are going and what they need.

Uh, we need to have a stronger sense of what the needs of this city are and the amenities that you want to have, what services do you want to have?

And there needs to be a stronger engagement between the city staff, the elected officials, and the citizens.

And lastly, there needs to be uh maybe a little bit more security uh in what our finance situation is.

Uh there are room for improvement, and if we all work together, uh that Syracuse can be a better place.

Please uh vote for whoever you think it's important to vote for, vote.

Thank you.

Thank you all.

Thanks to the candidates tonight and the audience for your participation in our political system.

It has been recorded, and I think you can find it on the Circus website.

Yes, Marissa.

And we will also have it on our league site, which is vote411.org.

Um, I second the thing, please vote, and let's give our candidates a big round of applause.