Eric Bartkus Lowell City Council

I will continue to study every revenue and expense report of the city as if it were my own checkbook. The treasurer creates a multi-page report of spending for every council meeting. It can be a little tedious to review and easily overlooked. I am a mechanical engineer and have been bent towards details my entire life. I completed my own tax returns until just a few years ago. I will question anything in the revenue and spending report that doesn’t make sense to me.

An example of my personality is that I took a Monday afternoon off work to sit through the 2 hour budget review meeting this past summer. I was the only non-council person in the room. It was informative to see how the council works through the budget and was time well spent. After a dinner break the council and I were back for the regular meeting.

I am on the Downtown Development Authority Board (DDA) and oversee use of the $1 million TIF (tax increment financing) money that is designated to improve the downtown. I have questioned large expenditures as well as the small stuff like paper supplies. Fixing the roads as fast as possible and reducing the city employee pension liability are two of my top priorities. I will watch for funds that could be moved to this purpose. Thanks for reading! Comments please.