BUTLER TWP — Leslie Osche wants to use her experience to help improve Butler County.

“I surely want to continue the success the county has had in my lifetime,” said Osche, 51, of Butler Township.

Osche, a Republican, is one of five candidates who are running for one of the three county commissioner seats. The other candidates are Republican Kim Geyer, Democrats Jerry Johnston and Kevin Boozel, and Michael Bagdes-Canning of the Green Party. The election is Nov. 3.

The current commissioners — Bill McCarrier, Dale Pinkerton and Jim Eckstein — are not on the ballot.

She said she is qualified to be commissioner both professionally and personally.

Fiscal awareness

“After spending 30 years in nonprofit management, there are a couple of key things there that I bring to the table,” Osche said.

One of these is fiscal responsibility, and another is the ability to understand financial statements. She said this is important because the main job of the commissioners is to manage the county's assets.

Also important are the relationships she has built over the years with businesses, churches, schools and community organizations.

“In any kind of crisis or situation, the biggest asset is knowing who to call when you need something,” said Osche, the former executive director of the United Way of Butler County.

Personally, she said her faith is grounded and she has been able to handle difficult situations in her family, such as the drowning death of her youngest son in 2001 and taking care of aging parents.

“When you've walked those walks, it makes you extremely resilient, determined, and gives you the fortitude to do this,” Osche said.

Keep taxes low

If elected, she said her top priorities include fiscal management to keep taxes low.

She said there is not a quarterly review of financial statements in the county now nor an ongoing look of budgeted expenses versus actual expenses.

“No other organization that I have ever been a part of (does that). Every organization reviews their financial statements. It should be monthly,” Osche said.

Regarding budgeting, she said that there should be more discussion before the budget process, and the commissioner's office should come up with a budget number and then ask department heads to target their budgets around that figure.

When requests for staff changes happen, she said department heads should present a spreadsheet showing the budgetary implications of that change across the board. She said that is what she did at the United Way.

“There's a lot of internal process issues that we have to get a grip on right out of the gate,” Osche said.

Cuts are needed

She said the county is going to need cuts right away, saying there may be a funding problem by the end of 2016 if no cuts are made.

She said this is related to the lack of a state budget and the possibility of the county general funding being used to fund human services until a state budget passes.

“I think we'll be OK through the first part of this year. I think we'll really be staring down some issues, and a lot of that is going to depend on what borrowing they may have to do to carry human services over until the state money starts flowing through,” Osche said.

Both Osche and Geyer said they have been asked to pledge not to increase taxes, but said they would not do that because it is something that cannot be promised.

However, Osche said that it is not her intent to raise taxes.

Before considering a tax increase, she said she would have to consider if the increase would be necessary for public safety. She also said she would have to consider how much an increase would affect economic growth.

Seek business input

For economic development, she said the county needs to have an asset-based approach, meaning that she would like to see the county talk to industries in the county to understand what they are looking for and their possibilities for growth before seeking new industries to come to the county.

“It's happening, but I think we need to do a better job to make that growth move forward,” Osche said.

Although getting more jobs in the northern part of the county is good, she said another good project would be to get better access and transportation to areas where jobs already are, she said.

“So somebody in West Sunbury does not need to drive on 47 back roads in the snow to get to (Interstate) 79,” Osche said. “there may be some less expensive solutions to getting people to work.”

She said the county needs to consider using Act 13 Marcellus Shale natural gas fees which comes from the state or tax money that comes in once tax abatements expire to invest in transportation.

Osche also is concerned about the rise in drug use, but said government cannot fix that.

“Our role is not going to be to fix that. Our role is going to be to hopefully lead in a way that we are encouraging our schools, churches, community organizations and families to get involved and engaged in helping people be successful versus falling into this trap,” Osche said.

The county will have to deal with a possible $13 million, government-mandated upgrade to its 911 radio system. Osche said the system being proposed by Mission Critical Partners, which the county hired to assist with the process, likely is the best option.

She said she is concerned about the portable radios used in police and fire vehicles, saying that any reports of problems are coming from them. So she said the county needs assurances that those radios would work with a new system.

Osche said a good backup system is needed if that system goes down. Additionally, she said the county needs to consider how to phase the system in over time, and not to have to spend $13 million all at one time.

Explore senior issues

Although the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was sold in 2014 and the county reduced the hours at its senior center this year, she said the county still is doing a great job serving seniors. But she added there are areas for improvement.

She said a lot of people have moved into retirement communities, but there is a big challenge for seniors whose finances would not permit them to move to these communities.

She said she believes seniors should stay in their homes as long as they can, but said there are many seniors who are living in a home that is unaffordable and yet they are unwilling to move.

Osche said it could be up to the churches and community groups to decide if they want seniors and senior centers to stay, and the Area Agency on Aging can help, but the local groups may be should raise money to make sure the seniors and the centers stay if they feel so strongly about the issue.

“I don't think we've explored that yet,” Osche said.

She said she does not anticipate having any trouble dealing with the other two commissioners or employees at the county.

“Most people who know me know that I'm pretty easy to get along with,” Osche said.

With three new commissioners, she said they would have to get up to speed with the county. She noted that she has worked with human services and other government offices, that Geyer has worked at the county for four years, and that Johnston, Boozel and Bagdes-Canning would bring their experiences too.

“So, it's not like we're coming in here completely green all the way around,” Osche said.