Brian K. McArthur faces a challenge as he tries for his fifth two-year term as a Ward 2 representative on the Arnold City Council in the April 5 election.
Political newcomer Billy Crow Jr. is seeking to unseat the veteran councilman.
Other seats on the council are unopposed, so Ward 1’s EJ Fleischman will be sworn into his fourth term after the election; Ward 3’s Rodney D. Mullins will begin his second term and Gary Plunk will begin his fifth term representing Ward 4.
In addition, Daniel C. Kroupa has no opposition for his sixth two-year term as the city’s treasurer.
Council members elected in April will be paid $669.24 a month and the treasurer $253.57 per month.
CROW, 35, and his wife, Lisa, have a daughter. He is a union sheet metal worker at C&R Mechanical. He is a 2005 graduate of Hillsboro High School.
McARTHUR, 60, and his wife, Linda, have two children and one grandchild. He is employed as a benefits specialist. He attended St. Louis Christian Academy.
What experience do you have (elected office, civic organizations, volunteer work, etc.) that might serve you well in this position?
Crow: The bulk of my experience serving the community is through service in the church. This experience has taught me many things that will be important in being a councilman: My ability to listen and empathize with others and the ability to work as a team, even with people I may disagree with, so that we can achieve something better than either one of us could have imagined.
McArthur: For most of my career, I have owned and worked for my family’s bakery and other businesses so my experience comes from making the bottom line work. I have volunteered and served our community for more than 20 years, including as Ward 2 councilman since 2014, as Ward 2 planning and zoning commissioner for 20 years (five years as chairman), a Scout leader and as a member of the Arnold Chamber of Commerce.
What are the biggest problems facing the city and how would you address them?
Crow: Poor infrastructure. There are two areas specifically that need attention. The first is the stormwater system. We all pay a hefty fee for stormwater mitigation, yet lack of planning has created huge runoff problems for some residents. The second area is the streets in the older neighborhoods. Everyone pays for streets, yet the new neighborhoods with larger homes seem to get much better attention than the older neighborhoods where streets are crumbling. I would solve these problems by addressing them holistically instead of the piecemeal approach we have now.
McArthur: Aging infrastructure. I will continue to make sure we have adequate resources allocated to fix our roads and bridges.
A second top concern for me is crime. While other cities are defunding the police, I have always worked to make sure we have the best possible police protection. The police always will have my support to make sure they have the tools available to keep themselves and our residents safe. I will continue to find new ways to budget for these items without raising taxes.
Why should voters elect you to this position? List your goals, if elected.
Crow: They deserve a councilman who is not satisfied with the status quo, someone who is not complacent. I am not running just to vote yes on everything and collect a paycheck. I want to actually fix problems that residents deal with every day and move us all forward. If elected, I would eliminate the complacent culture on the council, which is holding the city back from reaching its full potential.
McArthur: I have kept my campaign promises to run the city like a business by retiring millions in debt, improving our reputation by working together and balancing the budget without reducing services. I have brought on additional police protection to ensure our city is safe and saved money in the process. I am not just worried about city operations. I have also listened to the people and to address their concerns and problems. My main goal is to make sure we keep doing the business of the city in a fair, open, transparent and professional manner.
Do you support Proposition P, the use tax issue on the April ballot? Why or why not?
Crow: While I understand that the city is losing sales tax revenue to untaxed internet sales, I do not support Proposition P. With high inflation and skyrocketing prices for gas, it is not the right time to burden our residents with more taxes. We already have voted this down (in August 2018) with a resounding no. Perhaps they should bring us a 21st century solution for a 21st century problem.
McArthur: Yes. This proposition does not raise current sales taxes. It would simply be a replacement of the taxes that are lost to ever-increasing internet sales. This is a serious problem for the city and its residents because we fund our budget mainly on sales tax, not real estate tax. Without this replacement tax, our ability to adequately fund our police, roads and parks at current levels, much less increasing them, will be in serious danger. No one wants to pay taxes, but we have to keep up with our changing times.