The Wetzel Chronicle mailed questions to all political candidates in New Martinsville’s Municipal Election to be held Tuesday, May 8.

Matt Bland and Jeff Gieseke are vying for the Ward One council seat, while Joe Smith is seeking the city’s Second Ward seat. Brian Rogers and Ryan Yost are seeking the Ward Three seat. Steve Pallisco and Debbie Roberts are vying for the Fourth Ward seat.

Jeff Gieseke has been a resident of New Martinsville for forty years and has lived in Ward One for 20 years. He served in the United States Army as a Combat Engineer, rising to the rank of Sergeant E-5 in 30 months. He also re-enlisted as an Airborne parachute rigger. Upon returning to Wetzel County, he worked at Corning Glass and Consolidated Aluminum which became Ormet Rolling Mill. He worked at the rolling mill for more than 26 years, working as a maintenance millwright and grievance chairman for Local Union 5760 United Steel Workers, until the mill closed in 2005. Jeff went on to work as a journeyman millwright for Local Union 1871/1090 Cleveland, Ohio, in the construction field and continues to maintain his union membership. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Washington State Community College. He is also an 18-year member of the American Legion Post #28.

Jeff has five grandchildren.

We did not receive a biography or answers to our questionnaire from Matt Bland (Ward One) or Joe Smith (Ward Two).

Brian Rogers and his wife Miranda (Stokes) Rogers are the owners of The Supply Closet, The Arcane Games Store, and Balloon Ovations on Main Street in New Martinsville. They are both very active in the community and love their hometown.

Brian attended Fairmont State College and graduated Cum Laud with a degree in Economics. He has been on the board of directors of the Wetzel County Chamber of Commerce for the last six years.

Brian is running for New Martinsville City Council (Ward 3) and hopes that you will support him in his efforts to make New Martinsville a place for our youth to grow up and want to stay in as an adult.

Ryan Yost, 34, is the son of Earl and Connie Yost.

Yost married his wife, Chelsea, in 2014. Chelsea is a Property and Casualty Specialist at State Farm in New Martinsville.

Ryan and Chelsea have four children: Kaylee, Maddox, Hendrix, and Lynnox.

Yost has been involved with youth as an employee of the Wetzel County Board of Education, as the Magnolia boys soccer coach.

Steve Pallisco, current Fourth Ward New Martinsville councilman, is seeking re-election to the position he has held for the last 16 years. During this time, he has worked closely with city employees and department heads, whom he considers the city’s most valuable assets, on the Parks and Recreation, Police, Fire, Electric, and Streets committees. He is a member of the Board of Directors for the New Martinsville Regatta and Chairman of the Riverfront Park Committee. Pallisco received an Associate’s Degree in Business Management from Belmont Technical College in 1977. He has been an employee of Covestro for 37 years. He and his wife Jerry are the proud grandparents to seven school-aged children and also owned the Tin Ceiling, a retail gift shop, on Main Street for more than eight years.

Debbie Roberts is a lifelong resident of New Martinsville. She has been married for 39 years to Mark Roberts, also a lifelong resident. Debbie and Mark have two children – Ashley, married to Tad Greene and Mac, who resides in Los Angeles. Debbie and Mark have three beautiful granddaughters – ages 9, 6, and 3. Debbie has worked for 42 years in New Martinsville – first at Viking Glass and Dalzell-Viking Glass managing the outlet stores, as office manager for Drs. Chengappa, Wetzel County Hospital for Dr. Bradley Miller, Bayer Credit Union, and currently for Dr. James Campbell. Debbie has also worked for the U.S. Census Bureau and held a West Virginia Realtors license. She is a member of the Steelton Church of Christ where she enjoys teaching children’s Bible classes. Debbie has been an assistant Girl Scout leader, Band Booster’s President, taught story hour at New Martinsville Public Library, and a new member of the Wetzel County Democratic Womens Club.

* * What is your opinion on the recent issue council discussed concerning police cruisers being taken out of city limits? Do you feel an officer taking his/her cruiser out of limits is good, as they are more quickly able to respond to an incident Or, do you feel it is a liability for the city?

Ward One Responses:

* Jeff Gieseke: This is a complex issue. I am supportive of anything that can be done to shorten the response time of our police officers without putting the City of New Martinsville at undue risk. One option may be for the city’s insurance coverage to be amended to include the extended drive outside city limits, as long as it is not a substantial increase to the city’s cost. New Martinsville City Council and NMPD should be able to negotiate a responsible solution to this problem.

Ward Three Responses:

* Brian Rogers: In an ideal world, NMPD officers would be allowed to take police cruisers home with them after their shift so that if an emergency situation were to arise then they would be more quickly capable of responding to it. However, we do not live in an ideal world. Instead, we live in a world of limitation, and currently, one extremely relevant limitation is the City’s budget.

Allowing officers to take vehicles home does incur some marginal incremental cost. In a vacuum, these costs might not be a limiting factor. However, what does become a much bigger limitation is the potential liability the City could face in the form of damage to the vehicles, injury to the driver or property, or bodily damage to a third party.

Currently, the insurance policy that covers such possible liability is based on a policy created by the City which allows only on-call officers to take a cruiser home. By not following this self-imposed restriction, the City risks either a sizeable rate hike from the insurer or the possibility that if an accident were to occur, then any damages from that event could be denied by the insurer.

Based on this, until a different deal can be worked out with the insurance and a new policy can be implemented, it is in the City’s best interest to adhere to the current policy as written. If additional funds should become available, or if the insurance company will change the City’s coverage to conform to the current policy without a sizable increase in premium, then I would be in favor of them taking their vehicles home once more.

* Ryan Yost: I have gone out on my own and talked to many different people from the Police Department, members of the City Council, and even the insurance company that the City goes through about the details of this situation. As I have learned, each side does have the best of intentions in mind. I have also called other local Police Departments and have been sent information about those other stations hiring and what they are offering. Now there are a couple other stations that do have take home cruisers. As a parent of four children, with one child in the school system, I am all for take home cruisers, incase of an emergency, the officers can get straight to the scene and help get the situation under control. It’s the same with the two officers who work in the school system. I want them to be able to respond as soon as possible for everyone’s children. Looking at this situation as a council person, who’s job is to work within the budget, and do what must be done to make sure the city is ran efficiently, if the information that has been given to me is accurate and the money is not there and the city is not able to afford allowing all the cruisers to be taken home, then the Police Department and City Council needs to come together, and come an agreement. An agreement that is going to give the Police Department enough vehicles on the road and allow the City to financially be able to afford it.

Ward Four Responses:

* Steve Pallisco: I am in support of a take-home cruiser policy for several reasons: officer safety, public safety, and staff retention. First, officers’ duties often extend beyond the regular work day. If they encounter a crime or accident, they are obligated to report, assist, or intervene. Having the necessary equipment to resolve any incidents would make them not only more efficient, but also give them more protection. Additionally, public safety is improved due to increased response time. Two of our current officers are members of a Response Team that can be called upon at any time. Another officer is a K-9 handler who can be asked to assist at a moment’s notice. It would certainly benefit the community if the officers had their cruisers readily available. We have two school resource officers that are primarily funded by the board of education. The board also assists with providing fuel for their cruisers. These officers can get to school quickly in the event of an emergency with a take-home cruiser policy. Lastly, surrounding communities offer a very attractive benefit package, which includes a take-home cruiser. Losing an officer can potentially cost the city $25,000 to $30,000, when factoring in overtime and Police Academy training. It just makes sense to provide the same advantage to our officers if it will encourage them to continue to serve, especially when the city assumes no extra liability in allowing them to do so.

* Debbie Roberts: My opinion of officers taking police cruisers home is that with privileges come responsibilities. I feel if officers are allowed to take cruisers home restrictions should be put into place. 1.) They should have to live within or proximity to the jurisdiction they serve and protect. 2.) The off-duty officer must have their police radio on and be fully prepared with service weapons when operating the vehicle. 3.) The officer should have service of at least three years, as the city assumes responsibility for officers’ actions while operating police vehicles.

* * Name one city issue you would like to see addressed and how specifically you would work to rectify it.

Ward One Responses:

* Jeff Gieseke: Removal and repair of derelict and abandoned properties are important issues. I would begin by petitioning city council and the state for any assistance available. Each property of issue should be addressed individually. Some properties can be improved using a more personal approach, communicating with the owner directly and providing assistance as needed. While others would require more effort, in that the properties are beyond repair – with owners that may be unknown or from out of state. A good start to improving the community is educating people. Many residents are not aware of the laws related to maintaining properties. I feel it should be the city’s responsibility to ensure everyone is informed.

Ward Three Responses:

* Brian Rogers: Currently, the city is experiencing a financial crush. There are two ways to deal with this sort of issue: you either cut costs or increase income. Several steps have already been taken to attempt to limit costs, and there have been a few attempts over the last couple of years at increasing taxes or fees that have been met with opposition and subsequently scrapped.

Quarterly, the City sends out B&O tax forms to businesses within the city. I would like to see a survey included with this mailing each quarter to solicit the opinions and ideas of the local business community to see how they would deal with the need for increased City revenue. Ultimately, our local businesses and citizens are the consumers of City services. Seeking the advice and consent of those parties seems like the most reasonable course of action in my mind.

* Ryan Yost: I want to work on our economic development. I believe we need to do more to attract businesses into our city. Whether it be franchises or small locally owned businesses. We have many empty locations that would be great for a new business. I have already reached out to places that we do not have in our town and have had a great response about them possibly opening something here. My focus is on the youth of our City. There needs to be more activities for our children. We need to give those who are wanting to possibly come in with a new business some incentives. Whether that be a small tax break or discount on their license, we need to do all we can to attract them and get them to stay.

Ward Four Responses:

* Steve Pallisco: Although there are several issues I would like to address, the most pressing issue is increasing revenue to our general fund. Property maintenance, road repair, and equipment replacement has been challenging. I had been a proponent of the Home Rule, which enables cities to charge a one percent sales tax, but the state legislature did not address this bill and won’t visit it again until 2019. Finding viable funding solutions that won’t unfairly burden or target specific groups is my top concern. I would like to work with city, county, and state officials, as well as community members to find a fair and reasonable solution to our financial issues.

* Debbie Roberts: One of the city issues I would like to see resolved is the drug problem in New Martinsville. I would like the city to have a Drug Task Force consisting of N.M.P.D., Wetzel County Sheriff’s Office, Wetzel County Prosecutor, WV State Police and the DEA. This Task Force would work together to prepare a plan action by exchanging information, experience, and training of officers. This would enable them to investigate, identify, and prosecute, in so doing eliminate illegal drugs flowing into town.

There are grants and funding available with state and federal agencies to help with funding the Task Force. We need to work together and find ways for the highest level of service for the lowest cost to taxpayers.