Silvers, Hamilton running unopposed

Silvers brings balance to issues before city council

Councilwoman Susan Silvers didn?t take the decision to run for re-election to an At-Large council seat lightly.

She first needed to be sure she could strike a comfortable balance with another four-year commitment in her life.

?Once I sort of got through the work/life balance, it became very clear to me that I needed to run again,? Silvers said. ?It?s something that I feel passionate about. I like to think that I have been a good councilperson and have made good decisions.

?You don?t always make decisions that everyone is happy with, but I think at the end of the day, I made the decisions that I made because I was educated about the issues,? she continued.

Silvers has enjoyed the last four years as a first-term councilwoman. ?I?m really excited about the last four years and how much we?ve been able to accomplish. Every department, I think, has seen some really good changes come out of it,? Silvers said. ?I look back on the four years, and it really flew by because it was so incredibly busy, but when I do look back on it, I smile because we accomplished a lot.

?I think we?ve put a lot of things and people in place that kind of gear us up to be successful in the coming years,? she said.

During her tenure, the city has replaced its city administrator, wastewater superintendent, fire chief and police chief. Silvers believes having good leadership in place will be critical to moving the city forward.

In the next four years, Silvers said the city needs to focus on overhauling the wastewater treatment plant and meeting Department of Natural Resources mandates. As a member of the water and sewer utilities committee, Silvers is familiar with the critical state of Fairfield?s wastewater system.

Silvers also served on the property committee and the personnel committee, which she feels has fit nicely with her experience from past and present jobs.

Though she has not served on the ways and means committee, Silvers is ready to ?dive into the budget.? Attending as many of the committee meetings as possible has been a priority for her. Having a clear understanding of the city?s finances really helps with a lot of the decisions council members have to make, she said.

Ways and means is another area her more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry serves her well on the council.

?I think I bring a good balance to the issues because I can take a situation and see both sides of the table and generally come up with a compromise,? Silvers said. She feels approaching an issue from all angles is one of her strengths, as is thinking an issue through clearly without being swayed by emotion.

Silvers encourages everyone to exercise his or her right to vote during this election even though the local seats are uncontested. She said it?s still important for people to visit the polls.

Silvers was born and raised in Fairfield. She and her husband Tom have two daughters.

Streets, sewers remain high priorities for Hamilton

Fifth Ward incumbent Daryn Hamilton sees declining revenue streams as a coming challenge for the city.

?Our property taxes here are pretty high, and we?ve had a trend where we try to stay at the top level of what the city can take in from property taxes. The state now is moving in the direction that they?re calling for devaluation of property values,? Hamilton said. ?That?s going to pose a problem for the city.?

The police department, fire department and city hall are all supported by the general fund.

?It?s going to present some major problems that we?re going to have to look at over the next four years,? Hamilton said. ?The economy in general, with its downturn, I think it?s driving a lot of the problems that we?re experiencing right now.?

Hamilton anticipates a point when the city will run out of money for street repairs. The road use tax fund, derived from the state?s gas tax and used to finance street department projects, is decreasing annually, he said.

?We?re going to have to look at different funding sources,? Hamilton said, further stating, ?We need to look at better use of our force for repairing streets.?

He said the city is already taking steps in that direction with the recent purchase of a spray injection patching machine.

?We?re doing more patching on our own, which saves us dollars in the long run,? he said.

In addition to streets, sewers will remain high priority for Hamilton during the next term.

?I want to see more specific things done with this inflow and infiltration problem with the sanitary sewer,? he said. Hamilton expects the study McClure Engineering was just contracted to complete will give the city a better grasp on the overall situation.

Another issue Hamilton expects to resurface is compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements at crosswalks, which Hamilton recently brought up at a council meeting.

?Typically we did those with street projects when we reconstructed a street or did an asphalt overlay,? Hamilton said. ?In the future, we?re not going to be doing as much of that type of work. We really need to have a plan in place on how we?re going to accomplish this type of work.?

He said implementation of the ADA has been slow since it was enacted in 1993.

?This is one small part, but with our population getting older and needing assistance for mobility, it?s going to help accommodate that portion of our population,? Hamilton said.

Hamilton was first appointed to the council in July 2002. He has enjoyed serving ever since.

?I?m grateful that Mayor [Ed] Malloy chose me to be on the council, and I hope that the people of the 5th Ward have appreciated what I?ve done,? Hamilton said. ?I?m pretty proud of items that have changed here in the city since I?ve been on the council.

?Over the last nearly 10 years, even thought there?s been changes in personnel on the council, the council always seems to strive to work together and do what?s best for the city,? he said.