Issues in Addison

My positions on issues come from my unique perspective and experiences that being 91 and having the gift of being alert and energetic give me. This section tells how I will represent your interests in my work on the City Council.

Important background for my positions is described on the About Fan page on this website by the sections entitled Who is Fan Benno-Caris and Why I Am Running for Addison City Council at 91.

I love Addison. I want it and its citizen and business taxpayers to be better protected against what I see coming. I lived through the last depression and its long agonizing recovery. As one of Dallas’s earliest commercial real estate brokers with more than 40 years as a commercial broker I have seen several booms and busts. Our current business downturn is more than a normal short-term bust. It is my judgement we have entered another major depression, not just a recession as so many believe.

What is coming promises to be worse than the last one throughout the 1930’s and 1940’s, which most, I clearly recall, also did not see coming. As I say, many continued to be in denial and looked in the rear-view mirror with unrealistic false optimism that caused much unneeded pain. With a more common sense realistic view that could have been actively protecting their families, businesses, customers and themselves.

This is a positive view - Not a negative one. Addison can no longer escape worsening conditions. We must now act beyond the status-quo. That was OK in the past. What is ahead of us makes the status-quo, denial and reactive actions dangerous.

I know we will ultimately emerge a stronger and wiser town sometime after 2012. But first, different thought and actions by the town government, its citizens and its businesses are needed to survive in good condition.

We are all mindful and grateful for the blessings we have enjoyed in Addison, but now actions are needed to protect those benefits. I call for for major cost, investment and debt reductions to enable us to get out ahead of developing financial problems.

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Citizen and Government Relation

I call for forging a more, open, transparent and full disclosure relationship between Addison town government and its citizens. Such cooperation, continuing public dialog and mutual support have been lacking. With the economic environment we face, this new relationship is essential to a higher degree than before.

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Taxpayer Protection

I call for a high priority program actively led by the City Council to reduce Addison expenditures to the point that the total Addison tax bill in dollars for each citizen taxpayer and business taxpayer is now capped. I call for the Council’s further commitment to cut operating costs and limit investments to maintain that level of tax payments through Fiscal Year 2012.

Addison business recovery will depend upon enabling its citizens and businesses to avoid increasing taxes.

[This program would balance assessed valuations with tax rates to achieve the desired results of flat tax bills.]

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Addison Reserve Funds

I oppose using Addison Reserve Funds to provide for revenue shortfalls and cost increases, that in my view are sure to come in the next few years. I call for using Addison reserves only with prior citizen knowledge, debate and approval. What are we going to do if our town’s reserves are depleted before the depression subsides? I know they always extend far long than most imagine.

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Personal Service and Consulting Contracts

I call for a City Council program to analyze all existing personal service and consulting contracts and publicly report the results to Addison citizens for their consideration. It is important to assure that all such contracts are awarded by an open bidding process fully disclosed to the citizens prior to being made. I call for the City Council to curtail existing personal service and consulting contracts and not approve new ones during depressed economic conditions, except for special needs.

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Citizen Safety

Depressed economic conditions always bring increased crime affecting citizen and business safety. I call for increasing citizen knowledge of specific crimes so they have accurate, timely awareness of safety problems. I call for a City Council program to determine how neighborhood citizen groups can be organized to actively participate with police to increase public safety.

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Lowering Addison’s Debt and Interest Charges

I call for a City Council program to discover ways to reduce Addison’s debt and interest payments. Further, I call for the City Council to establish new policy for limiting debt and interest commitments on taxpayers.

I expect that profitably completing commercial real estate developments will become much more difficult. Their debt service could become an serious burden on taxpayers because the expected revenue from the development are delayed or reduced.

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Addison Employee Pension Plan

I call for the new City Council to analyze the current Defined Benefit Plan and its current underfunding considering the probability of worsening economic and investment conditions. This analysis and alternatives for continuing the plan should be fully disclosed to Addison employees and citizens for discussion and debate. Then the current plan can be re-structured to best serve the interests of both Addison employees and the citizens who must pay for this plan.

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Addison Airport Operations and Management

The Addison Airport situation involves several interrelated issues critical to Addison’s financial and business development future. They are more important to voter interests than many believe.

Central are issues of:

  • Properly renewing the airport management contract by a new open bidding process;
  • Reducing the high cost of aircraft fuel relative to competing airports;
  • Preventing a potential FAA restriction of Addison Airport’s airspace;
  • Creating new working relationships and balance among private pilot and commercial airport tenants, airport management and Addison government;
  • Preventing a further decrease in airport profitability because of worsening economic conditions.

My position is that the Addison Airport should not continue as it is now. New perspectives and relationships are needed. I call for a series of open public discussions, debates and involvement among interested parties as soon as possible to begin finding solutions to this situation. Out of this process we can develop further positions on airport issues.

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Addison Public Education

I believe world-class education for Addison students is essential for building their lives and Addison’s future business base. My position is that the quality of DISD led education and Addison’s current relationship with DISD have not given, and cannot give, world class education to our children. The high cost to Addison taxpayers for the current inadequate education product I find not acceptable. Therefore, I believe the current educational situation needs to be modified.

I call for open public discussions, debate and citizen involvement on Addison’s public education as soon as possible to begin to find a solution to this problem. I have been told this problem has no solution except to continue as we are. I cannot accept that. My position is that Addison parents and taxpayers must find a way to make our public schools directly responsible to Addison parents and taxpayers and that the City Council should lead this process.

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Business Development

I believe Business Development in Addison, especially during depressed business conditions, requires new perspectives and actions. As an experienced commercial real estate broker, I believe conventional real estate, retail and promotion based development will be especially difficult during the next few years. I further believe that Addison’s business development has become too dependent on real estate at just the wrong time.

My position is to begin a new City Council led public dialogue about how Addison’s unique regional location, a newly structured airport leadership and operations and other transportation and information facilities could lead to Addison becoming the regional “place of choice” for those creating and building new companies in emerging technology that do not require large amounts of physical space. World class education in Addison is critical for such a business development vision.

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Contact Fan Benno-Caris by email to ask questions and talk about the issues Addison faces in the coming years.