Timberlake District candidates discuss issues [The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.]

Oct. 07--Unlike last year, Timberlake District voters will have a contested race this November for the district's supervisor seat as incumbent Charles Falwell faces off against Mike Rousseau.

Falwell is running as an Independent-Conservative and is seeking his third term as supervisor. He's been endorsed by both the county's Democratic Party and the Independent-conservative group. Rousseau is running as a Republican and has received the county's Republican Party's endorsement.

Falwell, who is the vice president and contractor of a well-drilling company, started his campaign in April. At that kickoff event, he said it was a supervisor's job to provide services to Campbell County residents, including education and protection, by creating a fiscally responsible budget. He added supervisors are conscientious of their constituents during votes because those people also are their family members and friends.

At the event, he said it was important to have experienced supervisors on the board to help with challenging upcoming decisions, including whether the county should change from a four high school system to a two high school system with a high school and middle school for both the eastern part of the county and the western part.

Rousseau, who owns and operates an insurance claims service, is running on a platform of fiscal conservatism. During his campaign kickoff event in April, he said he didn't want to see Campbell suffer the same fate of his hometown in Connecticut, which is a once-thriving brass town that fell on financial hard times. He said he also disagreed with last year's proposed meals tax and real estate tax increase.

At the event, he said a supervisor's job was to see if an idea falls under the government's responsibilities and if the county can afford to fund it.

Timberlake is the smallest geographically of the county's seven districts and is located in the northwest part of the county. It is composed of the Brookville and New London precincts.

Each candidate was asked to respond in writing to three questions about local issues, each with a 150-word limit. Here are the unedited responses:

Q: What are your thoughts on the proposed combined east and west secondary schools for the county?

Falwell: At this time it is premature for making decisions based on one study done in 2010-2011(a comprehensive study that included 400 local citizens input and opinions on all topics of discussion). It is already on the agenda for discussion with the school board for our planning session on December 5th. No matter what decision is made it will result in long term planning goals. All aspects will be considered such as academics, financial and the impact on students and the local communities. There will be ample notifications for public hearings so the citizens can voice their concerns and opinions.

Rousseau: While I see little harm in the county exploring all options for school infrastructure, at this time I am not convinced that consolidation is necessarily the best idea. Lynchburg grossly underestimated the costs associated with the new Heritage High School, and that project is slated for completion within a mere 5 years. I am highly skeptical that Campbell County can accurately anticipate the true cost of our own school construction projects some 30 years into the future. It appears that proponents of this idea are making the case for consolidation by marketing it as a cost-savings measure. The evidence that I've seen simply doesn't support that.

Q: What do you think is an appropriate tax rate for the county and how do you plan to attain this?

Falwell: The obligation of the Board of Supervisors is to provide the services that the state requires and the citizen's demand. The tax rate should only be as much as needed to balance the budget. Campbell County is among the lowest tax rate in the state. The rate for 2014 is 53 cents which is 4 cents less that it was 10 years ago in 2003. All budget discussions are done in open meetings and are not voted on until there is a public hearing where citizens can address their concerns which are seriously considered by the board. I feel our local tax structure is prudent and reasonable.

Rousseau: In 2012, my opponent voted for the largest tax increase in county history. We were told the tax hike was needed to avoid cuts to the education budget. Based on that representation, many residents threw their support behind the tax increases. What is not widely known however, is that after the tax increase passed, but before the first dollar was collected, the county announced a 2.9 million dollar surplus. The Supervisors held a vote on whether to return half of the new income to the tax payers, and my opponent voted no. I would support returning that money. Taxpayers were willing to shoulder the burden of responsibility when it appeared a need existed. Those same taxpayers' are owed the courtesy of transparency. When it became clear the money wasn't needed for the stated purpose, it should have been returned.

Q: Campbell County's unemployment rate was 6.2 percent for the month of July. How do you plan to attract businesses and job growth?

Falwell: The unemployment numbers tend to move up and down as a result of too many factors to go into a detailed discussion. The unemployment rate was at 6.2% in June but 6.1% in July. Campbell County is usually slightly higher than the state level but is consistently lower than other counties in Central Va. We have a very dedicated economic development department that is continually working with industrial consulting firms to inform them of what sites are available in the county.

Partnering with The Industrial Development Authority, the Virginia Tobacco Commission, federal, state and local representatives in an attempt to bring quality jobs to Campbell County. Since 2010 there has been over 35 million dollars in capital investments which has lead to over 750 new jobs.

Rousseau: As a conservative, I believe the best thing government can do is to step aside and allow the free market to flourish. During the course of my campaign, I've heard from county business owners that would like to expand operations and hire additional employees, but cannot do so because of various government regulations. Removing these obstacles will allow new businesses to start, and existing businesses to grow. Raising taxes on business and passing increasingly burdensome regulations will only stifle economic development. Businesses will look to open elsewhere, or to relocate.

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