With less than a week to go until Election day, Smithtown residents must decide what values matter most to us all, before exercising our civic duty. Smithtown today sat down down with incumbent, Bob Creighton to share all the facts with our readers, so voters can make the most informed decision possible next Tuesday.
About Councilman Bob Creighton
Mr. Creighton has described himself as a behind the scenes, take action over talking about taking action kind of guy. He lives for serving the good people of Smithtown, attesting to his track record of resolving constituent issues and not resting until that person is pleased with the outcome. Since 2008, he has been a pioneer of Smart Growth development, hitting the pavement to bring new business owners and real estate developers to Smithtown, helping to generate over $3 million annually in commercial revenue for the town, which helps keeps taxes low for residents. Mr. Creighton’s recent victories include going up against the majority at Town Hall to win the minimum wage increase for Smithtown’s young seasonal workers, they are entitled to. He credits fellow incumbent, Councilman Ed Wehrheim for working together, to find the financial funding to repair and renovate Smithtown Ball Fields. But, he is most proud of the work and mediation the two Councilmen accomplished last month, to resolve major concerns with the Smithtown Animal Shelter, when all others failed.
What are your primary concerns which you hope to make your focus in the next four years?
New Jobs to Attract Young Talent
Creating better jobs for a young and talented workforce is essential to assuring Smithtown’s future. We need to utilize our warehouse style Industrial Parks in St. James and Nesconset to attract Fortune 500 businesses to Smithtown. By getting involved with the County’s industrial development agency, we can bring technological jobs back to Smithtown, which is a dominant skillset for the current and upcoming college educated workforce.
Sewer Infrastructure in downtown areas:
The plan to improve the sewer infrastructure of Smithtown and Kings Park was mapped out over a year ago, when we were approved for a grant from the County, so a good amount of legwork is already out of the way for grant funding. I couldn’t be happier to learn of the Supervisor being quoted on the record this week, saying he was all for working with Steve Bellone who is partnering with the town to help with the financing of a sewering projects. This is something, we’ve been pushing for some time, so having unanimous support will go a long way. The project could cost Smithtown as much as $30-$40 million, so Federal and state grants will be mandatory to make this happen. But, the Town will still need to fund a portion of the sewering projects in order to get the grants. This is one of those topics, we need both Smithtown residents and members of the press to stay on top of when it comes time to write the checks. We can not afford the health ramifications that will come if we do not begin to repair our sewer systems.
Downtown revitalization
Ed Wehrheim and myself are the only two Council Members who hit the pavement and find business for Smithtown, like Dick’s Sporting goods, Pet Smart and Bob’s Furniture for example. While improved sewers will also help to attract more businesses, there are a number of ways we can develop downtown areas now. We can make it easier on businesses looking to bring commerce here by improving on our permit process and creating incentives for business owners to make Smithtown more attractive for new commerce. Affordable starter homes and transit oriented developments are vital to phase two of downtown revitalization
Better Accountability and Transparency of Government
This is a hot button topic that some people get upset with me for staying on top of. In the last year alone we’ve had a number of resignations, bad press and criminal charges filed against upper management in a handful of departments. There has been plenty of speculation as to the how and why of it. But what it comes down to is too many cooks in the kitchen. Under any business model, 23 separate department heads, answerable to one person is way out of control, not to mention a formula for mediocre performance at best. I have brought an idea to the table that would be revenue neutral, meaning it may cost us about $100,000 to set up. However, over the course of a few years, the money would funnel back to the payroll balance. The proposed idea, restructures 24 departments under four Factions: Planning and Development, Human Services, Public Works and Public Safety. The five historical departments, would remain unchanged as would the Town Board and the Supervisor. This model is based on a similar system used by our four neighboring municipalities which have found incredible success and efficiency by correcting the span of control. This is just one proposed idea. What I hope for is to generate enough support on the topic of restructuring to initiate further research to hold daily operations and performance at a higher standard at Town Hall.
On the Public’s view of Local Government officials
The blind allegiance that goes on at board meetings and behind closed doors is counterproductive to say the least. This is a problem that two council members can not combat on their own. We need our constituents to get involved in matters they feel strong about as well. Take the minimum wage increase for our seasonal workers for example. We kept bringing the idea to the table and continued to bring up the resolution during the work sessions to make it public knowledge. But it wasn’t until the press helped us get the word out to parents and the young adults who work for the Town, that led to calls coming in demanding action. The town council will always unite together, regardless of alliances, when the people of this town call in and demand results or answers on issues most important to them.
On Voter Turnout and the Election:
We need to get our voter turnout numbers up this year. Most people don’t know that you can show up on Election day and register to vote on the spot, if you’ve never registered previously. If half of the extremely passionate & dedicated Smithtown residents, who call in or speak at the Board meetings on important issues, would make the trip to the polls, I have faith that the right candidates will be chosen come Election Day.
For more information on Councilman Bob Creighton’s views and resume, visit his facebook page