The local economy
| Jon DeHart |
- Cut spending in the town budget.
- Vote not to continue voter-owned elections.
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| Laurin Easthom |
- Balance next year's budget in a similar manner to last year's budget, keeping past services funded.
- Manage the budget without laying off town employees, putting them on furlough, or raising taxes.
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| Ed Harrison |
- Focus on economic development by supporting and following the recommendations of the Economic Development Committee
- Grow the commercial tax base consistent with the principles of the town, including redevelopment
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| Jim Merritt |
- Oppose cutting town employee benefits
- Support affordable housing to increase the town's tax base.
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| Gene Pease |
- Establish a board made up of citizen volunteers to weigh in on financial/budget decisions.
- Challenge the council and town management to make the budget more efficient.
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| Matt Pohlman |
- Increase the commercial tax base to decrease the town's reliance on residential tax
- Reduce the amount of budget funds spent on external consultants and boards
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| Will Raymond |
- Work on increasing the commercial tax base -- goal: about 10%
- Support the Sustainability Community Visioning Task Force to weigh in on development in the economic downturn.
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| Penny Rich |
- Go through the budget line-by-line to look for potential savings.
- Oppose cutting benefits for town employees.
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Development
| Jon DeHart |
- Encourage commercial development on a case-by-case basis.
- Support high-density development along major transit corridors.
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| Laurin Easthom |
- Support balanced growth in Chapel Hill's new developments.
- Use the Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force's findings to guide growth.
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| Ed Harrison |
- Support transit-oriented development, or development with easy access to public transit.
- Make development information more easily accessible to the public online.
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| Jim Merritt |
- Support high-density development along major transit corridors.
- Encourage more businesses that offer a living wage to employees
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| Gene Pease |
- Continue to support the Economic Development Office's efforts to revitalize downtown
- Make it easier to open business in Chapel Hill by making licensing, remodeling, etc. less restrictive
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| Matt Pohlman |
- Actively market the town to potential businesses, through the council and Chamber of Commerce.
- Offer financial incentives to new businesses.
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| Will Raymond |
- Emphasize affordable housing in developments
- Make sure developers follow through with what they promise for projects
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| Penny Rich |
- Create a master plan to manage what growth takes place where
- Support new and existing local businesses
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Panhandling and citizens who are homeless
| Jon DeHart |
- Strengthen the current anti-panhandling ordinances.
- Increase the distance from ATMs, businesses, churches, etc. where people can panhandle
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| Laurin Easthom |
- Work with the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, Real Change from Spare Change, etc. to reach out to those in need
- Do not support distance limitations for panhandling, but rather support looking at types of businesses where panhandling can be restricted
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| Ed Harrison |
- Encourage students not to give to panhandlers
- Support the current panhandling ordinances, which he voted for
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| Jim Merritt |
- Support programs to help panhandlers learn job skills.
- Support organizations providing health care to panhandlers and others with persistent mental illness.
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| Gene Pease |
- Enforce the current panhandling ordinances more strictly
- Increase the distance from ATMs, restaurants, etc. where people can panhandle
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| Matt Pohlman |
- Expand the current no-panhandling zones, especially around businesses
- Strengthen the current panhandling ordinances
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| Will Raymond |
- Address panhandlers as individual groups, not as a blanket group
- Work with businesses to have a visible police presence to deter aggressive behavior
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| Penny Rich |
- Support moving the homeless shelter off Rosemary Street so it can be clear who's homeless and who's panhandling
- Enforce the current panhandling laws more strictly
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Safety
| Jon DeHart |
- Make sure citizens are educated about pedestrian safety and traffic laws.
- Keep police officers on the street on a day-to-day basis.
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| Laurin Easthom |
- Add more call boxes and blue lights on campus and downtown.
- Work to increase light output on Franklin Street.
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| Ed Harrison |
- Increase pedestrian and bike safety and support a replacement of the town’s traffic signal system.
- Increase the presence of police and UNC public safety officers both downtown and in the rest of Chapel Hill.
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| Jim Merritt |
- Add cameras in the parking lots so police can follow up on crimes.
- Add lighting in parking lots to catch camera footage.
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| Gene Pease |
- Create more lighting, emergency poles and signs downtown, especially around major streets.
- Improve pedestrian safety by creating more crosswalks downtown, particularly on West Franklin Street.
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| Matt Pohlman |
- Add more police officers who patrol the length of Franklin Street to deter crime.
- Provide lighting for unlit corridors downtown.
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| Will Raymond |
- Continue to encourage Chapel Hill to recognize and curb gang activity and coordinate with Durham.
- Increase the downtown police presence, both from campus and Chapel Hill police, and encourage officers to better know business owners and their activities.
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| Penny Rich |
- Support efforts to improve lighting and provide more police call boxes on Franklin Street.
- Work to ensure students and residents are educated about safety.
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Town-gown relations
| Jon DeHart |
- Further get to know the decision-makers at the University
- Provide more parking downtown and discuss increasing parking at University Square to allow those who do not use mass transit to access UNC more easily
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| Laurin Easthom |
- Support the redevelopment of University Square, using Carolina North as a model
- Improve lighting and safety conditions on the perimeter on campus to keep students safe
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| Ed Harrison |
- Continue his work with Chapel Hill Transit and its partners to engage both the town and University in improving public transit
- Continue to support the Sustainable Community Visioning Task Force, emphasizing input from representatives of UNC and UNC Hospitals
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| Jim Merritt |
- Create jobs in town for local youth and University students.
- Start an advisory group for town officials and University staff to communicate and collaborate on projects.
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| Gene Pease |
- Cultivate personal relationships with University officials.
- Focus on joint jurisdiction of the downtown area by University and town police.
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| Matt Pohlman |
- Keep inviting and encouraging student leaders to attend council meetings and serve on town boards and commissions
- Explore options for better conversation such as office hours every other week or a weekly newspapers column
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| Will Raymond |
- Make sure the University continues to provide updates about Carolina North to the town such as transportation impact plans
- Continue the outreach process used for Carolina North in future projects like University Square, and encourage students to get involved more
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| Penny Rich |
- Make Town Council and University proceedings more transparent and open
- Improve student safety through call boxes with direct lines to police
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