I received a letter today (7-31-19) from the Clarksville Fire Political Action Committee thanking me for participating in their interview process but advising me that they will not be endorsing my candidacy. It’s regrettable, but not surprising. I understand there is a group of firefighters who want to replace Chief Brandon Skaggs. I do not support that effort. He has done an exemplary job in my opinion and is moving the department in the right direction.
The Council has also been involved in salary negotiations with firefighters and regrettably cannot meet all of their requests and stay within the budget the state allows for Clarksville. I did vote to create a fire territory in concert with Jeffersonville Township which will allow for a one-time reset of the tax levy allowed for fire services and hopefully allow the town to meet more of their requests. It is easy to promise all sorts of things in a campaign. It is totally another thing to have to live within the town’s budgetary constraints.