WARD 2 CANDIDATES IDENTIFY ISSUES

Clean, safe neighborhoods, alternatives to lower trash collection fees, minimum standard building codes and the crime rate receive the most attention from Ward 2 City Council candidates Tom Neumeyer and Brenda Dohogne.

Both Neumeyer and Dohogne are against public housing. "We've already got programs like Habitat for Humanity that would do more for the need for low to moderate income housing than federal government-run programs," said Neumeyer.

Dohogne is strongly against putting control of housing in the hands of an organization that would never relinquish its power. "People need to realize that a public housing authority is a separate entity," said Dohogne, who will oppose Neumeyer in the April 5 election.

"Once you get public housing in here, it's here to stay," she added. "I think we can do much more by renovating older homes than by tearing them down and bringing in public housing.

"I talked to a police officer who told me that a lot of crime comes from areas where there is public housing. Another reason I'm against public housing is that it shrinks the tax base. Anyone who lives in public housing doesn't pay school or city taxes the way a private owner or renter would."

Neumeyer is in favor of revitalizing the east portion of Cape Girardeau to preserve its historical value. "This is the oldest part of the city," said Neumeyer. "It's the city's core. This is where the roots are. Once we get people to come in here and renovate old homes or build condos, we've got a spark. I envision that spark burning into something much bigger and better for the city of Cape."

Dohogne is against adoption of the Building Officials and Code Administration's (BOCA) version of a property maintenance code. "I'm not for the BOCA code as originally submitted by the board of appeals," she said.

"They've made significant changes that are pretty good," she added. "But I say, `Why not enforce the ordinances that are already on the books?' We already have ordinances to take care of things like abandoned cars, poorly lit streets and trash left along the street. We could make our own ordinances for minimum building standards."

But Neumeyer believes a strong minimum building maintenance code would foster pride in those who live in the homes or apartments. "It should be a place that is safe, clean and affordable," he said. "When people are proud of the place in which they live, they become an asset to the entire neighborhood."

Both candidates favor putting police in close contact with the citizens they are paid to protect. "I'm very much in favor of community oriented policing," said Neumeyer. "The solution isn't by just hiring new police officers. I think police should work in partnerships with the neighborhood associations.

"When officers walk the neighborhood, they get to know the people and can watch for trouble spots. It also makes both police and citizens feel like they're working toward the same goal: ridding the streets of crime."

Dohogne would like to see more police officers hired. "I was glad to see that we hired five new police officers, but two were transferred to the highway patrol, one police officer was taken off his traffic job and promoted to a desk job and two more were assigned as Community Service officers," she said.

"I think it's wonderful to have police officers developing better rapport with the community, but there is still a need for more officers to work the city," she said. "The solution of solving crimes and keeping the crime rate low is a joint effort between the community, churches and police."

Both candidates are in favor of finding ways to hold down trash collection fees. Dohogne would like to see volume based billing or some type of alternate service.

"With volume based billing, someone who only puts out one trash bag every two weeks would be paying less than someone who puts out four every two weeks," said Dohogne. "I would like to see two trash collection companies service the area. Anytime you've got a competitive situation you've got a chance at lower trash fees."

Neumeyer, who owns two businesses, Neumeyer Photography and Neumeyer's Bed and Breakfast, believes the city should take a serious look at economic development.

"I think we need to examine whether or not we should be offering more incentives for businesses such as enterprise zones," he said. "We need to attract more businesses in the downtown area and also make sure that we don't lose the ones that are already there."

Both Neumeyer and Dohogne would like to see revenue from riverboat gambling used to upgrade city equipment. "We could use the additional revenue for city sewers, street lighting and increased funding for education in both public and private schools," said Dohogne.