League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
	Hamilton County, OH November 8, 2011 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Council Member; City of Norwood

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Qualifications, Basic Services, Budget, Clean Air Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What are your qualifications for office? Answer from Josh Berkowitz: As as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in the office of Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters, making tough decisions is simply part of my job. I've handled all types of criminal cases, from minor misdemeanors to the most serious of felonies. Such work, like serving on City Council, demands a person that can work well with others in pursuit of a goal. I interract with a broad cross-section of the public including attorneys, judges, police, court personnel, expert witnesses, and victims of crime, and at the end of the day, I must make the difficult, quick decisions that will best serve the interest of justice in each case I am assigned. Answer from Mary Yeager: Certified Public Accountant for 8 years (Most recent CPA work is with firm that conducts Gov't & School Audits) Certified Fraud Examiner for 1 year 2011 Norwood Community Leadership Training Institute 2. What services do you believe should be considered basic and essential for the City? Answer from Mary Yeager: Police Fire Schools Streets Water/Sanitation Health Dept Building Dept While not necessarily basic - Senior Services & Recreation are essential to a vital city. Answer from Josh Berkowitz: The most basic service that local government must provide is for the safety and security of its citizens. Norwood must do what is necessary to maintain the top-notch police and fire departments that we are so fortunate to currently enjoy. Safety and security also include things like clean, paved streets, housing code inspections, and the Health Department. The City's next priority must be to get out of the way of its citizens who create the wealth and economic development that drives our community. City government must make our community attractive to potential homebuyers, and those who would bring or start their business in Norwood. We can do this by lessening the burdens of regulation, promoting our city's outstanding resources, and spending the taxpayers' money more efficiently and effectively, so that folks know their leaders are handling their tax dollars responsibly. 3. How would you balance the City Budget? Answer from Josh Berkowitz: Norwood, like almost all local governments, must adapt to the current economy by learning to do more with less. Like the families of our community, we must live within our means. We must make government more efficient and less costly. We can help accomplish this by listening to our city employees. They do the hard work every day, and will know what the city can do to help them do it even better and more efficiently. But the key to balancing the budget is to get our economy growing again. We must aggressively encourage economic growth in order to raise tax revenue, without raising tax rates. That is, we must actively promote our community to attract new businesses and homebuyers to Norwood. Answer from Mary Yeager: As a CPA I've worked with many companies on reviewing their financial statements/books to find ways to save operating costs. I've recently started working with a firm that audits local governments and schools. I would begin by analyzing line items on the budget as I do with companies. I would recommend making cuts where possible. After cuts have been maximized, I would then have to consider other options and get public input regarding them. 4. What actions will you take to support clean air? Answer from Josh Berkowitz: In this day and age, economic growth is priority number one. Local governments everywhere, including Norwood, are facing a budget crisis, and one of the main contributors to that crisis is the duplication of services among different government entities. There are numerous federal and state agencies responsible for promoting cleaner air and protecting our environment. I certainly support these efforts. Answer from Mary Yeager: work with local, state, and federal agencies as needed research/investigate ways to improve air quality Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Word limits may apply. See individual questions for specific word limits. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. Please edit your work before submitting. We are unable to provide spell-check at this time. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.