Politics & Government

Council Candidate Says Look to Detroit Before Making Decisions

Steven Balmert says council, board of ed need to work more closely.

Avon council at-large candidate Steven Balmert, like other candidates, said Avon has some serious development issues to consider in the upcoming years.

But he says that some of those decisions could be affected by the recent bankruptcy the city of Detroit is facing.

“Some of those decisions may hinge on how municipal bonds are treated in the Detroit bankruptcy,” Balmert, a lifelong Avon resident said. “What’s being perceived is they are not required to be paid back. If they are unsecured many people may not want to buy bonds.”

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And that could be critical if the city is continuing to develop. Instead of counting on bond sales, Balmert, 45, said the deficit needs to be addressed, as does revenue. “

“We need to look at ways to reduce the deficit,” he said. “It’s larger than I’d like to see it. “We need to bring in more revenue. Attract stability with professional businesses like medical, law, engineering…”

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Balmert, who is one of six candidates seeking three open at-large seats in the November General Election, said the city currently has “an extreme amount" of retail in Avon.

“We need to find ways of generating other sustainable businesses,” he said.

He noted there are plenty of businesses in large cities trying to expand and they don’t have the physical room that Avon could offer. That could be an option also for business looking to place multiple offices around the country.

Balmert said he’s heard talk from retiring mayor Jim Smith about a community pool but wants to know how the pool will be funded once it’s built.

“My concern is, how do we maintain the pool?” he said. “Some older couples and lower income people don’t have extra money.”

Balmert said he would also like to see more mutual interest between the city and school district noting that he doesn’t see anyone from the school board attending council meetings and vice versa.

“I think there needs to be at least one representative from each entity at each other’s meetings,” he said. He believes the district should have had more input regarding the non-profit status of All Pro Stadium. 

The change in administration, including a new mayor after 20 years and several new council members would mean a smooth transition would be needed.

“There are issues we’ve seen over the years where council needs to pay attention to individual (city) departments more,” Balmert said. “The mayor’s going to change, the staff is going to change. We need to make sure changeover goes smoothly.”

Balmert’s great-grandparents and grandparents were farmers in Avon.

Balmert graduated from Avon High School in 1986 and majored in computer information science in the engineering department at The Ohio State University, where he graduated from.

He previously worked for Reliance Electric.

“I traveled a lot for work between 1990 and 2004,” he said “I saw many different communities, but realized that Avon was still home. Having seen many different areas, I gained a different perspective on issues that face this city.”

After working on the east side of Cleveland for year, he accepted a position as a senior automation engineer with Republic Steel in Lorain last year. He and his wife Debbie have two children, Mike and Matthew.

Also running for council at-large seats are Lee E Belardo, Michael McDonough, Tammy HoltzmeierBrian Parsons and Craig Witherspoon.


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