Editor’s note: The following is an edited version of a statement Oak Ridge City Council member Chuck Hope made during a candidates forum before the Nov. 6 election.

Why do I want to be on City Council? Because Oak Ridge has given me so many opportunities and provided for my family for over 30 years, I want to make sure that the next generation has those same opportunities.

How do we make sure those opportunities are available for the next “Oak Ridgers”?

We start by making sure we keep a close watch on our revenue and expenditures. We need to understand that we really only have two main sources of revenue that come into the city. They are our property taxes and our sales tax revenue.

As most of you know, our property tax rate is higher than our surrounding cities and towns. However, compared to other “full service cities,” ours is comparable. There are only a handful of these “full service cities” all across Tennessee.

But before we can start to really change the rate, we must first find revenue from other sources. Where we have the most potential for growth in revenue is in the sales tax revenue we generate. For a city our size and with the economic drivers that we provide to the region, we should be bringing in a substantially larger portion of sales tax revenue.

We must find ways to increase our sales tax revenue before we can start to reduce our property tax rate. This is where I will focus my energy. To do that, we must continue to find ways to bring in more retail options (both restaurants and shopping choices), continue to work closely with the Industrial Development Board, Chamber of Commerce, and Economic Partnership to bring additional private investment capital and jobs, then make sure the Economic Diversification Fund is working for us.

Once we get the sales tax revenue growth improving, we can then start to look at ways to reduce our property tax rate so we can be competitive within our region. All the while making sure we are diligent and remember our expenditures and stay within our annual budget. We are always looking for ways to streamline our costs while maintaining our quality-of-life services.

But one of our biggest attributes the city needs to pay close attention to is our school system. It is still the biggest reason young families come to Oak Ridge, and it is the benchmark all other education systems set the bar to. But if we don’t continue to work with the school board and find solutions to some real issues before us, other communities will close the gap, and we may never be able to set the bar high enough again.

As you can see, City Council has many challenges before them, and I believe I can contribute to finding solutions to these issues. With your support and input, I will bring my business sense to council.

Chuck Hope

Oak Ridge