Keith Davis

Ward 1 Alderman Candidate

Keith Davis
kdavis_504@charter.net

Meet the candidates on video at the following link:
http://www.tennessean.com/section/special0469
Thank you to the Tennessean for taking this initiative for our community.

Spring Hill Alternate Questionnaire

At this time, Keith Davis has responded to the questionnaire.

1. What specific event(s) sparked your interest to run for this position, at this time?

• The fact that Miles Johnson was retiring after many years of service to our community.
• The need for more Parks and recreation facilities to keep our kids off the streets.
• The need to move into a greener and more sustainable community for the future.
• The need to help find an alternative means of funding instead of just relying on appropriated funding.

2. What are the 3 greatest achievements in our city during the past 4 years? Why?

• The growth in residential development in most corners of the City. – This has helped our city to continue to grow in population, which brings more tax revenue in for the city to operate, and it allows us to diversify our community as well.
• The growth of Retail and business development has given the citizens of Spring Hill the option to keep their dollars spent in the community instead of going to Franklin or Columbia.
• The addition of Harvey Park to give our kids and families somewhere to go to enjoy the beautiful outdoors of Spring Hill – There needs to be more places like this. Our kids and families need to be spending time together outside, away from the computers, TVs, and video games.

3. What are the 3 greatest failures of our city during the past 4 years? Why?

• The only failure I see at this point is the financial situation our city is in due to poor management and lack of resourceful knowledge. – The fact that the property tax has come back to the city at a larger number, simply states it should have never been eliminated in the first place. Before that was done, I don’t believe I had one Alderman or the Mayor come to my door step, my mail box, or my phone to ask me what I thought was the right thing to do. We hear from the elected officials during the election phase, and never again unless we go to them for a town meeting. That has to change.

4. Do you support the current HCA hospital coming to our city? Why or why not?


• I do, and simply because I have a son, and the thought of it taking me 20 to 30 minutes to get him urgent care if God forbid anything would happen, I could never forgive myself. We need to continue to grow Spring Hill so that we can rely on our community to care of and support one another.

4. Do you believe that the Mayor and Aldermen are adequately compensated? If not, what should the compensation package be?

• You should hold this office or the office of Mayor because you care about the community, and nothing more.

6. What are your feelings regarding the eligibility of elected officials to be included in the City of Spring Hill’s medical insurance plan free of charge?

• You should hold this office or the office of Mayor because you care about the community, and nothing more….

7. In this economic downturn, where do you see additional income streams being generated to keep city services at our current level?

• One of my biggest platforms is to challenge the city to find a Grant Writer to go after State and Federal funding that other cities are getting for all types of projects simply because they have found, reviewed, and filed the paperwork needed. There is money out there for Recycling programs, park and recreations, energy efficient programs, tree planting programs, community litter programs, fire and safety, neighborhood watch, safe zones for kids and on and on. We cannot continue to rely on a budget. The state constitution mandates that we have a balanced budget, but that does not mean that the budget is always followed.

8. If we need to begin cutting city expenses, where would you plan to trim the budget?

• This is a question for the current administration. Once in office, I can become more familiar with where and how the money is appropriated. It would be reckless for me or anyone else to comment on this without knowing ALL the facts.


8. Were you in favor of re-instating our city property tax?

• I was never asked if I was in favor of removing it…….. Look, we had a great deal with the previous property tax, and it should have never gone away. Again, the citizens should have had more of an opportunity to voice their opinions then, and ask their questions then. Now we are paying the price with an inflated property tax to make sure for a poor decision, and one that was made without the voice of the City being heard.

9. Do you see an immediate need for a tax increase? If so, to what rate?

No, there are other means of adding funding for projects. The city needs a Grant writer.

11. What executive experience do you have that allows you to be qualified to lead our city?
• I have been in executive management for many years. My jobs have always brought me to the top by leading and motivating those around me to be bigger and better than they could ever imagine. I have also been coaching in the Youth Football League for three years, and that coupled with my past football experience has enabled me to teach and lead young boys in a game of football by instilling in them faith, honor, and integrity in all that they do. I believe we must all take stock in our self worth, and decide if we are doing all we can for our family and community. I am not a politician, nor do I think I have all the answers. I have and use the ability to listen to people, and make sure I have most if not all of the facts before I make a determination. When I have to make tough calls, I want to know that I will be able to sleep at night knowing I made the best call possible based on the information available to me.

12. How many Board of Mayor and Alderman meetings have you attended in the past 2 years?

• Less than six.

13. How many Planning Commission meetings have you attended in the past 2 years?

• None

14. What specific qualities and ideas do you bring to the table that make you most qualified for this position (feel free to elaborate in at least a paragraph or two)?

• I am a leader. Bottom line, I get things done. I am a believer that you are only as strong as your weakest person, therefore you must make sure that your team is ready from top to bottom. Life is never fair, and we have to make sure we are held accountable for our actions, good or bad. I still believe in hard work and dedication is how you make something for yourself. That is the backbone of our country, and it seems we have lost that along the way. Too many people want to be given a hand out instead of a hand up, and it starts in our community. We have to challenge ourselves to find new and better ways to do things. We cannot continue to fall into the shadows of “how it was done in the past”. We have to have clear precise leadership to bring us to the front, and have people in other communities take notice. Spring Hill is a great place to live and to raise a family, but we have to have leadership that is dedicated to keeping our great citizens here to shop, rest, and play.

15. If you were going to ask 3 questions that all of your opponent(s) would have to answer, what would those questions be, and how would you answer them? I will actually attempt to get those questions answered.

• This is not a debate. Everyone has had a chance to read or listen to one another. The only question I have is how committed are you if you are elected? I am a strong believer that our elected officials owe the voters more than what we have ever received. Meaning, once in office, we have to make sure we are out in our community asking the opinions of the voters on the very same issues they have elected us to represent them on. As stated before, in my six years here, I have never had a Mayor or Alderman ask me what I thought about any issue that they had to vote on…. To me, that is unacceptable, and it has to change. I am sure some do it, but this should be a standard practice. We expect the city to come to us at board meeting, but yet we do not mind going to the citizens when we are looking for votes!

16. What are your feelings regarding our current city commissions?
-Planning Commission
* Are you interested in drastically changing any aspects of the commission?

I would need to have more details in order to answer.

* Who would you recommend and support as the representative from Board of Mayor and Alderman to the Planning Commission?

I feel Jonathan does a fine job, and I look forward to working with him.

* Do you feel that our current Adequate Facilities tax is in fact adequate considering the tough economic times ahead?

Need more information in order to respond appropriately.

* Do you believe that incoming developments should be responsible for road and infrastructure improvements associated with their development?

To a degree, but the State controls so much of what can and cannot be done. There needs to be more information shared in order to make this a fair assessment.

* Do you believe that there is a need for apartment buildings in our city? If so, where would you suggest that they be located?

I believe we already have apartment buildings in Spring Hill. I do not see a need for morhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gife. We need to promote home buying and continue to build that revenue.

-Economic Development Commission
* What do you believe is the city’s role in economic development?

Promote. Promote. Promote. We have to make sure people know who we are and what we stand for. There is no short fall of people wanting to move to Spring Hill. I think within 5 years we will be looking at 45,0000 plus in our great city. We have to continue to promote our city for future residents and businesses alike.

* How would you recommend that we attract and recruit businesses and institutions that provide additional services (such as a community college)?

Promote. Promote. Promote! Same as above. There was a time when Spring Hill was known as the “Home of Saturn”, and we no longer have that. We need to do a better job of promoting our city.

I stated this in another questionnaire: A city the size of Spring Hill must maximize its economic development opportunities. I would like to see the City examine the potential use of incentive programs such as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) or Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) as a means of promoting the appropriate projects.

I would also like to see an increase in the support given to the Economic Development Commission so that it can continue to pursue new opportunities.

-Historic Commission
The establishment of a Historic Commission was hotly debated in our city. Do you agree with the creation of the Historic Commission?

Sure I do. The history of our great city is well known, and we need to continue to preserve it.

* What do you feel is the role of a Historic Commission in our city?

They preserve and document any and all historical findings concerning our city.

* In your opinion, what are the 3 most significant historical sites in our city?

I will get with the historical committee, and get back to you.  -


-Budget and Finance Committee
* Have you been pleased with the progress made during the past year to bring transparency to our city’s financial problems?

Pleased would not be the correct wording. I feel better today than I did 6 months ago. There is still much to be done to bridge the gap that has been created though. That starts with us getting out into the community more often, and getting people updated more than we have ever before. Information is vital, and it is the foundation that can either withstand any test, or crumble your world to the core. It all depends on how you decide to approach it.

* What do you feel is the most important challenge our city will face in the next year from a financial point of view?

Sustaining in these more difficult times is something we all have look at as a huge challenge for the coming year. From our own homes and finances, to our city, state, and country. We are at a time in our lives where how we handle this adversity is defining who we really are as a generation. We have to look this thing in the eye and beat it back down. We cannot allow the voice of the media to tell us when to spend or not spend, when to build or not build, or when to save and not save. We have to be good stewards of what we have, and stop relying on others to “make it okay”. We have to be responsible for our actions, good and bad. That is why we must move forward with getting a Grant Writer on staff to allow us opportunities—not to be strapped to a government budget, and not to rely on the city’s budget for our every need and want. Growth will continue in Spring Hill, and with the right leadership the revenues will increase with that, but we have to be smart in how we manage that revenue going forward.