What are the reasons you are running for county commissioner?

SMITH: I've been involved with local politics for probably 20-some years. I just have a real passion for it. I think local government is an area where you can make your little corner of the world a better place, and that's what I want to do. I have a lot to offer the county and I have the experience to do a good job at it.

What service should Butler County provide its senior citizens? Should its 10 senior centers remain open or should some or all be closed or consolidated?

SMITH: I think its unfortunate that the whole senior center issue has turned into an either/or discussion, with the only two choices being either you don't make any changes or you close them and end up with two supercenters. Right now, the Agency on Aging spends about $750,000 a year on senior centers, and they're to be commended for looking for ways to be more efficient. But, I don't agree that consolidation to two is the right answer. I just don't think that's viable. What one thought was that they should work with the local ministeriums, and see if some of the local churches and the local communities can treat the senior centers a lot like they treat the youth centers and have volunteers provide for it. Certainly, the county can provide some oversight. But I think it's really important that the senior centers remain local. I'm not in favor of busing people to centers.

What is your view about the county budget? Should revenues increase to meet rising costs or should expenses be cut? Explain your specific proposals.

SMITH: I think the potential is there for revenues to increase, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be vigilant in trying to reduce costs. I've worked in the corporate environment for almost the last 40 years, and that just becomes part of your life everyday; trying to be more efficient, more effective and do more with less. So, I don't believe that those questions are mutually exclusive. I think we need to do all we can to create an atmosphere for economic development and economic growth in the county, which would provide more revenue. But, it's equally important that we identify any opportunities to reduce expenditures, because the net result of that would be lower taxes for everyone.

How much should the county commissioners and county residents be allowed to talk at the commissioners meetings?

SMITH: I believe the requirement of the state is that residents and property owners be allowed to speak at a public meeting. The model that I prefer, and what I used when I was the president of Harmony borough council, was that we actually had two public comment sections. The first section allowed anybody to speak on any of the items that were on the agenda. That gave people to opportunity to give their input prior to council — or in this case, commissioners — taking any action. At the end of the meeting, we always had a public comment section for whatever topic the attendees wanted to speak on, so that if somebody had wanted to talk about what had happened earlier in the meeting, they could. Or, if they wanted to bring up some new issue that they wanted us to look at prior to the next meeting, they had the opportunity to do that as well. If I became commissioner, that would be the format that I would advocate.

Explain what you think should be the role of the county commissioners in their oversight of county agencies such as the housing and redevelopment authority, the county industrial authority, tourism bureau, planning commission?

SMITH: Under Pennsylvania law, when authorities are created, they are created as independent agencies. The enabling body, whether it's a city in the case of Butler city creating the stadium authority or in the case of the county creating the housing authority, those organizations create the authority, but once they are created, they are, by law, very autonomous. That's not really something that's subject to the commissioners becoming involved. Now, where the commissioners can be involved and do have a right to be involved is the appointment of the members. That's why, while the boards operate autonomously, that does not mean there should not be communication between the authorities and the commissioners. And, certainly the commissioners have a right and an obligation to share the county perspective with those groups, and, if necessary, when people's terms are up, they need to make sure that appropriate members are reappointed. One of the problems, I think, sometimes happens is that even though people are appointed to 4-year or 6-year terms, they almost become terms for life and there's no real due diligence as to whether or not those people have been actively involved with the authority or the board, or if they've really done a good job. To me, that's what the real role of the commissioner would be: to ensure that there are active members who are performing the best interest of the county.

What role do you think the county commissioners should have in economic development in the county?

SMITH: The county commissioners have an important role in economic development in the county. Not in that they create jobs, because government doesn't create the jobs; government doesn't create the economic growth. But what it does do is create an atmosphere that's conducive to economic growth. The county commssioners really almost need to be ambassadors to the county, stressing its values, its virtues, to companies that are either looking to relocate here or expand here. Lots of times, you get a lot more economic development from existing companies who expand; it doesn't always have to be a new company. In support of the economic growth is the county commissioners can support and endorse the Butler United plan, which is the comprehensive economic plan for the entire county. I was part of the original plan six years ago that, unfortunately, didn't have the support of the county commissioners at that time and ended up not going any further. Fortunately, BC3 is resurrecting that study and, as a county commissioner I would be very supportive of pursuing that.

What role do you think the county commissioners should have in helping to coordinate with community services such as water and sewer authorities, emergency medical services, bus transportation?

SMITH: Infrastructure like water and sewage, emergency services, those are actually local municipal issues. I think the county has to be very cognizant of its responsibilities and the responsibilities of the local municipalities. I don't think it is appropriate for the county to try to dictate to the municipalities on what they should or shouldn't do. Now, having said that, the Butler United study, which is intended to put together this comprehensive look at the county, some of the key participants of it is that the municipalities need to be a big part of the overall plan. That can be the vehicle through which the county can work collaboratively with the local municipalities to determine if is this an area where we want to try to encourage Pennsylvania American to try to bring water service to, or does the municipality and its leadership and its residents prefer a more rural atmosphere without that service. So, I think that's where the county fits. The county is really there to work as a partner, but most of those decisions are local decisions.