Five candidates seek two seats on board of trustees

Five candidates, including the incumbents, are vying for two seats on the three-person township Board of Trustees.

You can learn more about the candidates and other issues on the Nov. 5 ballot in our interactive voters guide at vote.daytondailynews.com. Also, view pictures of each candidate here.

The candidates for Beavercreek Twp. trustee should be familiar to most voters. Incumbents Carol Graff and Candy Prystaloski both have served as mayor and city council members for the city of Beavercreek, which makes up the majority of the township. Scott Hadley, likewise, has served as mayor and is a current city council member.

Al Nels is the current president of the Beavercreek School Board, and Tom Kretz is a longtime business owner.

The question of a merger of the city and township has been controversial since the city was incorporated in 1980.The city and township currently are in court over the city’s attempt to annex township-owned property, including a fire station and fire administration building.

“Since the incorporation effort began, I have been hopeful that Beavercreek would be one community,” Graff said, noting however that such a move would be up to the voters. “At 2013 property tax rates, a merger would result in a significant increase in the property taxes of the unincorporated properties.”

Prystaloski, who was appointed by a Greene County judge earlier this year to fill a vacancy when Graff and Trustee Dan Paxson could not agree on a candidate, said a merger movement would pit the two communities against each other, saying she did not foresee a merger.

“The lifestyle and expectations of a resident of the city of Beavercreek and those solely in the township of Beavercreek are clearly different,” Nels said, adding he did not see how a merger would serve either locality.

For Hadley, a merger was “not in foreseeable future. Most township residents do not want to be part of any city because they enjoy the freedoms they have.”

Kretz said whether a merger was “either inevitable or not possible” depended on such unknowns as state funding changes possible future economic downturns. “The fact remains that there are distinct differences and complimenting factors in both communities.”

Over the past five years, the state General Assembly has cut direct funding and taxes that went to the township by $1.1 million.

All the candidates agreed the trustees would have to keep an eye on expenditures and stretch every dollar. Graff said there were sufficient funds to maintain services. “If residents request increased services, additional funds will be needed,” she said.

As to the future, none of the candidates supported any tax increase for current services.

“Our most pressing concern is keeping the township intact, trying to avoid large scale annexations to surrounding municipalities,” Graff said.

Hadley said future financial problems could be alleviated by cooperation between localities. “I believe things will improve with a cohesive group of caring people all working together toward the same objective.”

Future financial challenges “will demand an unrelenting and continuous examination of costs to identify means to become more efficient with the taxpayers money,” Nels said.

Kretz said the future challenges were many, but could be solved through “relationship building, analytical thinking and problem solving.”

For Prystaloski the answer was communication, “working together for all our citizens can only reap benefits for all.”

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