Gilroy Dispatch: Please briefly describe your background and experience. Why do you believe you’re qualified for this position?
Tom Fischer: I am a retired plumber/project manager/estimator. I have three years’ experience on the Planning Commission and serve as the current chair. I also served 14 years as a pension trustee and six years on the negotiating committee for the plumbers union. This unique background has provided me with the knowledge and understanding of how pensions and labor negotiations work and how public works projects and change orders are bid, evaluated and awarded. My time on the Planning commission has taught me how to review issues, listen to all sides, conduct public hearings and work with colleagues to reach consensus.
GD: What unique skills, talents, passions, insight or other qualities do you have that will help you govern the city of Gilroy?
TF: In addition to those listed above, I am more of a listener than a talker. I want to hear all parties concerns or opinions before deciding on the best policy decision.
What are the biggest issues or challenges facing Gilroy residents right now and over the course of the next four years? What are some topics of particular interest to you, or important issues on your personal radar?
Maintaining public safety is a high priority as well as providing the best service to the public while maintaining a balanced budget and adequate reserves. This will require that funding be found for seismic repairs to two fire stations and the center for the arts. These buildings are owned by the city and we should set an example to other building owners and make those buildings safer.
What is your position on Measure F, the half-cent general-purpose sales tax measure on the ballot?
I am in favor of Measure F. Streets are crumbling, sidewalks need repairs, and parks need renovations. Sound familiar? I have been hearing about these items for all 38 years I have lived in Gilroy. There is never enough money in the budget to take on these issues. City revenue has not fully recovered since the recession and we, as citizens have to decide what kind of community we want to live in. I choose to make those repairs and upgrades now and not continue to limp along doing just enough to get by.
Some city officials have said that if Measure F doesn’t pass, the city won’t be able to fund a variety of projects, from miles of street and sidewalk repairs to an upgrade of 9-1-1 emergency communications equipment. If the tax does not pass, how would you propose infrastructure repairs receive funding?
Without Measure F funding, the City will survive. There are monies in the budget every year for capital improvements and infrastructure repairs. As stated above, we will limp along doing just enough to get by using whatever money is available each year. If the emergency communications equipment is needed as badly as I have been told, we may have to reach into the reserves to fund that purchase.
More than 80 percent of the city’s General Fund supports public safety, including equipment costs for police and fire, salaries, benefits and other related expenses. Do you think that number is too high, or do you think that percentage should increase as our community grows? Why or why not?
I am not alarmed by this figure. There are many reasons this percentage appears excessive, but when placed in context, I do not believe it is. Public safety is the most important and most expensive service provided to the citizens. City revenue is still 1.3 million dollars short of pre-recession levels which makes this percentage higher. Also, the city has a cost recovery policy in other departments that charge user fees for many services provided. If those fees were eliminated, the percentage of the general fund dedicated to public safety would drop. Â
What will it take for Gilroy’s downtown to flourish? And what do you believe the city’s role, and your role if elected to the council, should be in making that happen?
I believe that seismic repairs to URM buildings will do a lot to revitalize the downtown. The city should continue to push building owners to complete those repairs so that those buildings could be occupied. We should also encourage more building and business owners to participate in the Downtown Business Association and to improve their buildings’ street presence. If Measure F were to pass, I would support a low interest loan program help accomplish this.
Are you satisfied with the amount of public participation in local government, from attending planning commission and council meetings, for example, to voting in elections, and what would you do to encourage more participation in local government by community members?
I would love to see more public participation at all levels of local government. People need to recognize that their opinions matter, but only if they voice them to public officials. The Dispatch could help in public awareness by publishing meeting agendas and explaining some of the more critical issues prior to those meetings.
Gilroy’s fiscal outlook is improving and revenues are growing, especially when compared to the Great Recession. Like anything, our financial picture can change with the times and leaders may need to make tough decisions to balance the budget. If Gilroy’s budget were in the red right now, how would you go about analyzing where to trim city government and balance that with providing residents with essential services?
I would maintain public safety as my highest priority. I would likely look first to funding for the Visitor Center and the Gilroy Economic Development Corp. Although these organizations do great work and provide the city with many indirect benefits, it would be a hard sell to the public to justify funding for them while having to lay off city workers. I would hope the business community would step up and help fund those organizations, since they receive the bulk of the direct benefits.
Do you think the city can and should do more to allow members of the public a chance to see behind the curtain during public employee negotiations, whether it’s publishing offers and counter-offers on the city’s website after they’re proposed or opening up the actual negotiation process to residents? Why or why not?
The city has been very successful in reaching amicable agreement with the various labor groups they work with. The raises have been fair and reasonable. There is no reason to change the process at this time. Having served on a negotiating committee for the plumbers union, I would be against pulling back the curtain during negotiations. It is very difficult to reach agreement in contract talks on either side with relatively small groups of negotiators. To introduce new players would create chaos with too many cooks in the kitchen.
