Dear Editor:
Fiscal responsibility are nice buzzwords for most politicians. Unfortunately, few practice what they preach during election season. Council Member Steve Barr has proven with his voting record at the City of Brentwood that fiscal responsibility is a belief versus a talking point.
Fiscal sustainability is a primary pillar of being fiscally responsible. Without sustainability the public entity can’t allocate the resources to where they’re needed most, such as public safety and maintaining a great quality of life. As we slowly came out of the recession Steve was instrumental in adjusting the budget to allow us to hire more police officers that can be sustained during challenged times.
To the community’s detriment, most politicians view public finance through the short-term lens of ‘What can I do during my term?’ or ‘How will I achieve my campaign promises?’ Steve has shown his ability to view finance in the only way to sustain a great quality of life in a community, through long term conservative budgeting such as the 10 year fiscal model which he helps direct as part of the finance sub committee on the Brentwood City Council.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with Steve to help position Brentwood to build a new library, hire more police officers and most important to improve the quality of life in Brentwood for our residents. I have no doubt his proven record will end in similar results for the residents of East Contra Costa County.
Sincerely,
Erick Stonebarger
Council Member
City of Brentwood
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