Mike Smith
Artesia Daily Press
msmith@currentargus.com
Editor’s note: The Artesia Daily Press has submitted questionnaires to candidates running for mayor and Artesia City Council in the March 3 municipal elections. The newspaper is publishing each of the responses in the order they are received.
Jeffery Youtsey, 61, is a District 3 city councilor and serves as the council’s mayor pro tem. He is running to replace Mayor Jonathan Henry, who is not seeking a second term. His opponent in the mayoral race is Terry Todd, a retired law enforcement official.
What made you decide to run for this office?
“People often ask me why I have sought to serve in public office. I do it not only for my family but for yours as well. I have served as a District 3 Artesia City Councilor for 14- years. I have served on and am currently chair of the Infrastructure, Government Affairs and Executive Safety Committees. As our mayor I will be able to set the tone and direction that we will travel for the next four years. I am both anxious and excited to get started. I want to continue to improve on the services that we offer and continue to expand on quality of life issues that keep our community strong.”
What is your day-one priority if elected?
“I have many day one priorities. The very first on that list, though, is that our city staff are no longer referred to as employees. They will be referred to as TEAM members. We will work for you, the resident, as a TEAM for the next four years. As councilors and mayor, we are caretakers of our city for a period of time. Long after our terms end, the city keeps moving along day by day and those team members are the ones keeping it alive and functioning. Their input must be considered as we plan for our future.”
What do you see as the biggest needs for City Council and the mayor’s office, and what can you do as mayor to meet those needs?
“The biggest needs for our City Council are currently more involvement in all the various committees. I have plans to fix that. Number one is that each of our committees will have a member from each council district to provide parity in budgeting priorities and accountability to members of each district. I will also revive the full council budget workshops. We will hold a shorter council workshop in the spring when the numbers begin to go into the budget and then a much larger workshop in mid-summer when the end-of-year numbers become clearer. This allows our department heads to present their plans for the new year, each councilor to offer input on all proposals and to send a final annual budget to the state that each councilor participated in. It also allows an avenue to discuss and debate the proposed capital projects that we may have planned. These two changes alone will drastically provide better budget transparency to not only the council but also to the citizens that elected us. I have seen it work.”
How would like you to see the city of Artesia spend tax revenues for city services?
“Artesia city taxpayers pay their way and expect services in return. This could be in the form of roads, water and sewer service, trash service, parks, recreation programs, public safety, quality of life and many, many other services that they count on our city to provide. Our council, mayor and department heads must predict revenue and ensure we do not overextend ourselves. There are many recurring expenses that must be paid each year, no matter what else happens. We also must ensure that we retain a healthy reserve to weather economic downturns. The hope is that at the end of the day, there is money left to fund quality of life projects that are so, so important to our residents. I am a firm proponent of these types of projects. Acquisition and remodeling of the old Landsun Theater is a prime example of this. This is one way we retain people in our community and attract new residents and grow.”
What can the City Council do to improve municipal services, such as road maintenance for Artesia residents, especially those living in rural areas of the city?
“The year that I was elected to my first term to council, the voters passed the $90 million Infrastructure Recovery Act for Artesia. Fourteen years later, we have used the authority given to us to rebuild literally miles of utility lines, streets and sidewalk. As we finish up work on the main arterial routes we will focus more on the internal well-traveled routes.”
Mike Smith can be reached at 575-628-5546 extension-2361.
