Mayor Maggie Stock believes she has Butler headed in the right direction, and she wants to continue leading it that way.

Stock is campaigning for her third term as mayor in the Nov. 5 election. Her platform is heavily focused on the revitalization of downtown.

“If the core isn't vibrant, you can't expect other good things to happen,” the Democratic candidate said.

Stock said the leading force behind the redevelopment of the city is the Centre City project.

The $10 million project will bring an 80-room Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel, a new Rite Aid pharmacy and a parking garage downtown.

Stock hopes the hotel will spur further development along Main Street.

Her opponent, Republican Tom Donaldson, called financing options for the project “reckless.”

But Stock said any risks that come with the project are not nearly as bad as not building the hotel.

“We're excited,” she said. “It's a game changer. After 10 years of planning, I don't think it's reckless at all. It's an investment in the community. And I think we're worth it.”

Stock said the hotel is vital to the redevelopment of downtown, and revitalization is key to the success of the city battling a tight budget.

That $7.8 million budget, according to Stock, is the biggest challenge facing the city.

“Being able to deliver services in the budget is probably the toughest part of the job,” she said. “The budget stays the same but the cost of doing business keeps going up.”

Stock said the city budget has been about the same throughout her tenure, and will be similar next year.

She does expect to see an increase in revenue from Centre City and the improvements business owners are making to their Main Street properties.

“Better Main streets attract more business, more foot traffic, and subsequently more money flows to both the businesses and the city,” Stock said.

While maintaining a tight budget is difficult year after year, Stock said it does allow the city to better qualify for grants.

“The upside to a fixed budget is we've been able to get some grants,” she said.

She said finding creative ways to bring in money through grants has been one of her biggest successes.

“We have a very creative group of people to find other sources and to do more with what we have,” she said.

“We don't have the funds for other projects. What we get to do extra, we get through grant money.”

The Centre City project was helped by a $2 million state grant.

The project also is supported by a tax increment financing district.

The 20-year district uses 80 percent of the property taxes to finance project payments, while the remaining 20 percent is divided among the city, county, and school board.

“That's how cities develop economically,” she said. “We're not the only city with a TIF district.”

Stock said a TIF district would only be beneficial on a large-scale project, so comparing it to a use with other new businesses isn't fair.

“It wouldn't be useful with a smaller project,” she said.

Stock said a big portion of the city budget depends on business privilege tax revenue, which is a tax of 7 mills on gross annual receipts, so attracting new businesses into the city is one of the easiest ways to increase revenue.

“If there was a way to get the millions another way, I would,” Stock said. “But historically the city has been built on a budget with BPT dollars.”

One way Stock has tried to encourage development downtown is through a new business tax abatement program.

The program provides two years of 100 percent tax abatement for all new businesses as well as an additional three years of reduced abatement for businesses subject to the business privilege tax.

“It's a way to give new businesses breathing room to start up without all the costs immediately,” Stock said.

Another way Stock wants to attract business is through the continued efforts of Butler Downtown, the city's Main Street program that works to promote business downtown.

“It's invaluable,” Stock said. “I'm so proud of the work of Butler Downtown.”

Stock said she wants the city to continue supporting the program, even after it loses its state funding.

One of the biggest projects for Butler Downtown has been its facade program, which allocates up to $5,000 to help business owners improve the appearance of the exterior of their buildings.

Since the program began in 2010, Butler Downtown has provided grants for 16 facade projects on Main Street.

It's part of the city's beautification efforts, which Stock thinks only will help spur development.

Those efforts also will better connect the downtown to the neighborhoods, Stock said.

Improving the neighborhoods is always a goal for a mayor. Stock said she thinks the city's efforts through the parks and recreation department have had a good effect on the neighborhoods.

She said the best way to optimize the parks is to partner with other programs. Perhaps the most notable example, she said, was the summer playgrounds program that provided free lunches and activities to children.

“We've had quite a bit of new things,” she said. “I'm not sure everyone realizes that.”

Stock said many people also don't realize the struggles to maintain streets.

She said the streets department has done the best job it can do with a limited budget.

“That's why we need redevelopment,” she said. “If we bring in more revenue, we'll have more money for more things.”

Redevelopment is a necessity for the city, Stock said, because it doesn't appear as though city spending can be reduced.

“There's nothing left to cut,” Stock said.

Stock said she is confident in the way she has handled the city's budget.

“We've maintained all of our employees in that time, and we haven't cut any essential services,” she said.

Stock favors keeping a full-time paid fire department.

“We're the county seat,” she said. “We have a responsibility to have a safe environment.”

As mayor, Stock is in charge of the police department. It's a role she feels she has been successful in.

“Major crime has dropped over the past five years,” she said.

She said there is an issue with drugs in the city, but that the police have made great strides in combating it.

“Everyone talks about the drug issue,” she said. “We're not exclusive in having a drug issue, but we've been very aggressive in fighting it.”

She said the police have worked with the county drug task force and even the FBI during her time as mayor, and it also took a leap forward by adding two K9 drug-sniffing dogs.

<B>Party: </B>Democrat<B>Age: </B>62<B>Family: </B>One son<B>Profession: </B>Former English professor at Butler County Community College<B>Quote: </B>“I love Butler, it's my town. If you're going to live somewhere, why not try to make it the best it can be.”