General Questionnaire for Council Candidates

Dan Pflumm’s responses, mayor

1) What do you think of the city’s current mill levy? What would need to be done to lower it? Many residents and commercial property owners in Johnson County experience an increase in the assessed valuation on their properties annually, which provides a corresponding increase in annual revenue for the City of Shawnee. The Mayor and half the city council voted for a mill levy increase that was the largest increase in the city’s history. I opposed the increase in the mill levy. I believe that the mill levy can be reduced and revenue increased by promoting commercial and residential development. Commercial properties pay a higher tax rate and provide the possibility of added sales tax revenue; commercial properties also attract dining establishments, which are desperately needed in Shawnee.

2) What are the city’s immediate priorities? What projects should the city try to complete in the next 10 years when funding is available? The city’s immediate priorities are to reduce spending and increase revenue with a broader tax base. The city has a variety of projects that need to be completed, from Monticello road north and south of Shawnee Mission Parkway to providing curbs, gutters and drainage to many of the streets in the older areas of the city. The recreational project that should be completed is a multiple field tournament level soccer complex south and west of the current Mid America Sports Complex in western Shawnee. A tournament level soccer facility would help provide funding for the west pool facility.

3) What do you think the city should do about its economic development and efforts to bring businesses to the city? The City of Shawnee should greatly increase our efforts in economic development.

4) What sets you apart from your opponent? What sets me apart from my opponent is that I have experience selling and managing multimillion-dollar projects and I have the experience to bring major economic development projects to the City of Shawnee.