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Mayor, council candidates speak with Republican voters

Candidates for mayor and City Council met with Republican voters Tuesday night for a question-and answer session.

“My transition process will not be disruptive,” City Councilman and candidate for the GOP mayoral nomination Don Noviello told the voters. “It’s a collaborative effort.”

“Sometimes it pays to be disruptive,” businessman Eric Beiter, who is running against Noviello for the mayoral nomination, told the crowd at the Genetti Hotel.

Beiter said the city needs to consider staffing cuts and pointed to the private sector — particularly Apple — for examples of positive disruption.

“Williamsport has not had a mayor with a business background in nearly two decades,” Beiter said.

Noviello, in contrast, pointed to his experience on the Williamsport Area School Board and City Council. He said he worked on improving health plans for the school district and in hiring a number of teachers and said he was involved in the projects that replaced a deteriorating parking deck and brought Kohl’s to the city, overcoming an obstacle at a critical juncture.

Noviello pledged that, if elected, he would return $10,000 of his salary to the city every year. He said the process of preparing and passing the city budget needs to start over and have a less adversarial approach. He also said the city needs to promote and develop its status as a college town more.

“You can’t expect the hospital to come in, the college to come in and save the day,” countered Beiter.

Beiter said if elected he would pursue regionalization to improve the cost-effectiveness of public safety services, invest in parks, and develop and retain working, middle-class families in the city.

Candidates for Republican nominations for city council also answered questions at the event.

Vincent Pulizzi said property taxes, drugs and crime are the major issues confronting the city. He argued that potential residents are turning away from the city and favoring its suburbs because of the tax rates.

“I think that we should do something about it,” Pulizzi said.

Pulizzi said the city’s crime rate remains well above the national average for cities its size, and it remains well below the number of police officers per capita compared to other cities in Pennsylvania.

Adam Yoder said council needs to look at the city’s budget in greater detail, and expressed concerns with what he characterized as a “flat” economy and declining population.

“We face tough decisions,” Yoder said. “A fresh perspective is needed in City Hall.”

Incumbent Councilwoman Bonnie Katz noted her involvement on addressing the levee, for which the costs of upkeep have ballooned, and on an ad hoc committee addressing low residency rates for city employees. As a business owner for 30 years, she said she constantly interacts with the residents and taxpayers of Williamsport.

“We have to make sure this city stays healthy,” Katz said.

Drilling into the city’s financial issues, Yoder said council must look at pension management and ensure pension investments are low risk rather than chasing high returns.

Katz disagreed with the implication that pensions are tied to risky investments.

“Our pensions are very sound,” she said.

She added that in the long term, housing costs in Williamsport are comparable to housing costs outside the city.

Yoder said the principal issue confronting the city is economic growth and said he would work with the Chamber of Commerce and other entities to bring businesses and industries to the city.

“If you have economic growth, all these other problems take care of themselves,” he said.

Pulizzi agreed with Yoder’s emphasis on economic growth.

“I really think that we can make Williamsport a better place,” Pulizzi said.

During closing remarks, Katz reemphasized her business experience and touted her role in launching the city’s First Friday events.

“I would love to be part of the incredible growth our city is experiencing,” Katz said.

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