People Of Wilkes Barre Have you been adversely affected by the current administration? Have you lost a car to LAG Towing or know someone that has? Have you been ridiculed or ignored at a city council meeting or at city hall? Have you suffered at the hands of the police? Are you afraid to speak up? Let me speak for you! Call or email me with your experience betsy@vote4betsy.com   YOU CAN VISIT US AT  WWW.VOTE4BETSY.COM OR ON FACEBOOK AT  VOTE4BETSY Or call Betsy at 610-955-6361 Betsy’s Top Ten 1 - The first thing that I will do is cut the Mayors pay by $10,000, and eliminate the Mayor’s Pension.  I firmly believe that elected officials choose to serve as a civic duty and should never become a lifetime burden on the backs of the taxpayer.  I would also work to ultimately make the Mayor a part-time position with the every day business run by the city administrator.  This would further reduce the pay and eliminate benefits.  Many cities our size work very well with a part time mayor (Watertown, NY). 2 - Council needs to follow suit by eliminating their pensions and benefits.  I don’t know of anyone else that earns a pension and benefits for a part-time position.  The council also needs to be paid per meeting not by salary. 3 - Audit every City Department and Contract to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and if found, corruption. 4 - Institute an Adopt a Block program to keep the city clean, and work with organizations such as Rupert’s Kids                 ( www.rupertskids.org ) to maintain our parks and vacant lots.   5 - Establish a close working relationship between the police, neighborhood watch teams, and the Guardian Angels, to make our neighborhoods safer.  Remember when the neighborhood kids knew every police officer and firefighters name?  We need to bring that back. 6 - Reformulate the Community Action Team.  We need to develop a department with a purpose other than evict, condemn, and demolish.  We need to work with people and neighborhoods to solve the problems that they are facing while keeping properties on the tax roll.  We don’t need more unkempt vacant lots! 7 - Change our policies on city contractors, permits, and inspections.  The residents have few choices when it comes to fixing their homes.  We are limited to hiring only those that pay a hefty price to be licensed in the city.  This policy lends itself to the possibility of kickbacks and bribes.  We need to give homeowners a free market to choose whomever they want (including themselves) to work on their homes.  There are state codes that have to be met so it will not compromise the quality of work.  This will reduce the cost to the homeowner.  Competition is good.  We need to encourage the issuance of permits and utilize the inspectors to help homeowners get their repairs done properly.  Currently many repairs are conducted under the radar because of cost and over regulation sacrificing the safety of our neighborhoods. 8 - We need to reevaluate how we collect our garbage.  Many lower income households let their garbage pile up due to the cost of city bags.  Tags work in Hanover, why not here?  There also needs to be a way for residents to dispose of larger items.  Bringing back the clutter cleanup has been my most often heard request. 9 - Cut the Wage Tax to 1/2%.  The city income tax has greatly contributed to the decline of Wilkes Barre.  We have taxed the working people out of the city leaving a large population of nonworking and senior citizens.  During Mr. Leighton’s terms on council and as mayor our population has declined by over 7000 residents.  We need to compete with surrounding areas to draw working people back to the city.  When you have a city of wage earners the businesses will come.  Whether we reduce the tax in scheduled increments, or bite the bullet and do it all at once, will need to be determined by the experts and the residents of the city. 10 - Appoint a committee to write an Accountability Conduct and Ethics Code.  We need it in writing what is considered ethical behavior and what isn’t.  There will be full transparency under my watch. Other ideas – televise Council meetings.  Have the budget accessible and easy to follow from year to year.  Build a Skatepark.  Visit the schools to promote pride in our city.  Maintenance check list so that problems with flood gates, gages, and pumping stations are minimized.