Editor’s note: In preparation for Monday’s special electionin Ward Six, The DAILY LEADER conducted taped question and answerssessions Thursday with candidates Robert Kenny and David Phillips.The questions addressed several important issues facing the city.Below are the transcripts from the two interviews.

1. Fuel costs continue to take a higher toll on thebudgets of the city and the local taxpayers. Where do you see thecity being able to capitalize on opportunities for savings withinthe budget while still meeting its various city servicesobligations?

Kenny: That’s going to be a tough one. Isee some savings in some places in as far as we can combine some ofthe trash pickup areas. Instead of trying to run routes over thewhole city at one time, in one week, maybe we concentrate on oneward instead and clean that ward up, so you don’t have to keepconstantly coming back and just move ward to ward instead of tryingto catch the whole city at one time. To me, you save by not burningall that gas up from working on Ward Six a couple of hours a dayand moving on to Ward One and so forth.

Phillips: Where would I think we can savemoney, and that’s being fiscally responsible. That’s one of thosethings we talked about earlier (during a separate interview for astory on Monday’s election). In our company (Phillips BarkProcessing Co.) we have to conserve every way we can, we’re paying$4.70 for diesel also and that’s costing this company around$12,000 or $14,000 more per week to ship the same amount ofmaterial we did this time last year. So that’s happening to everybusiness, it’s happening to the city also I’m sure. Not having beenin the city government, what I would do is start looking for waysto save money. Maybe we don’t need to pick up garbage twice a week.Maybe having trucks running up and down the road carrying smallerloads could be changed. I would bring that business perspective tothat, because we have to do that to be competitive in the state inbusiness and I’ll bring that responsibility to the city.

2. Sales tax collections represent the largestrevenue source within the city budget. In what specific ways canyou as an alderman work to encourage additional retail and othereconomic opportunities to the city.

Kenny: I can work along with the board and theothers by either bringing in more businesses so they can pay alittle bit more sales tax, but also encourage our local people toopen up new businesses, and that would help build up our sales taxrevenue.

Phillips: That’s a very good question becausethrough my other work in economic development, car sales representone-third of sales tax dollars that come into this community. Weneed to encourage that, I mean, it seems like we have car lots onevery corner, and I’ve heard people complain about that, but thatis such a huge tax revenue. Brookhaven has always been a carcenter. Retail coming in, a lot of times we spend too much timelooking for manufacturing, and manufacturing seems to be a dinosaurin today’s economy. Most of it’s being moved overseas. We need tocontinue to encourage manufacturing but also the new industrialpark; I hope that part of that land is available for retail. Thecity funds itself, I know, with sales tax dollars, so we wouldencourage sales tax, and retail, we would encourage our car salesand we’d also encourage maybe, in the new industrial park, allowingsome of that to be used for retail.

3. The board of aldermen appoints three members ofthe Brookhaven School District’s board of trustees. What experienceand qualifications would you look for when considering potentialappointees to the school board?

Kenny: I would like to look at someone thathas worked closely with the school system or in the school systemthat would have a great knowledge of how the school system worksand what the kids would actually need. They could be with the PTAor some other organizations that have worked closely along withyoung folks, and they would have that qualification. That’s whatI’d be looking for.

Phillips: That’s a tough one. Of coursethey’d have to be someone who values the quality of education.They’d also have to be someone who wants the system to teach, toprepare our kids for the new jobs that are coming up – not just theold economy but the new jobs. I would want that person to havemaybe been a (Brookhaven) resident all their lives and understandsthe system, understands the teachers. Not necessarily have to be aresident all their lives, but involved in the system either as aschool board member before, or they know the school board membersand have worked actively in the system as volunteers and thingslike that, and just have a general desire to make it as best theycan.