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Michele Papai

Council candidates present differing opinions on city revenue fixes

As Athens City Council prepares to finalize its budget plans for the upcoming fiscal year, 3rd Ward candidates believe council should utilize innovative approaches to create more revenue for the city.

With the departure of Councilwoman and Democrat Nancy Bain after this year, Democrat Michele Papai and Independent RJ Sumney are vying for her vacant 3rd Ward seat.

Amidst their campaigns for council, the candidates are formulating plans to raise revenue with the city facing a $974,320 budget cutback in the next fiscal year.

In terms of encouraging innovation, Sumney said supporting the growth of student entrepreneurs could benefit the city, adding that he would like to see the city engage with students in the business world more frequently.

“There are a lot of students who want to get in entrepreneurial mode, but they need help, education and an actual workspace,” Sumney said. “We could give students the opportunity to rub elbows with other entrepreneurs.”

Papai, however, suggested creating more revenue surrounding annual celebrations that put a “major drain” on the city’s budget. Those events include the Halloween block party and Homecoming, which require larger numbers of police, she added.

“Those are expenses that are incurred every year and I think we may need to look at how to increase revenue directly related to those kind of budget busters,” Papai said.

In addition to supporting increased jobs in the city, Sumney said small businesses should be well supported.

“Small businesses are the foundation of the community’s economy,” he said.

Sumney added he thought council and city administrators had handled state budget reductions as well as possible.

“My concern is how the new council and new faces will respond,” he said.

Though she supports small business ventures, Papai suggested it might be difficult for small business to succeed in Athens, and it could be beneficial to explore other options.

Whether it is putting an emphasis on student entrepreneurship and small business or capitalizing on annual revenue opportunities, both candidates agree on the importance of seeking feedback from constituents and collaborating with the other council members to formulate a budget schedule.

“The struggle is in figuring out where to go from here,” Papai said. “Whoever’s going to be on council knows that they’ve got to do the best with what we’ve got.”

kg278810@ohiou.edu

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