Interview with John Willis
SB: Your campaign literature states that you have a degree in Economics. How has your expertise in this area benefited Garland?
JW: My degree has helped me spot trends in the overall economy and gives me a broad understanding of the economic climate.
SB: Your campaign literature states that you worked with the police for safe neighborhoods. Please expound on that.
JW: I’ve been working with the police department especially regarding guys standing on street corners, gas stations and in front of convenience stores looking for work which has created problems in the community. In District 5 two businesses have taken advantage of the "Convenience Store Security Ordinance" which has actually decreased the amount of loitering.
SB: Were you the one who brought this Ordinance forward?
JW: I don’t know who brought this Ordinance forward, but I voted for it and worked very hard in Committee to get to passed.
SB: Garland’s population is growing and yet cuts have been made in the fire and police budget. Why did you vote to give a bonus to higher level management and vote to increase council budget yet cut fire and police. What is your rationale for doing this?
JW: In the 2008-2009 budget city employees got a 3.5% merit raise. It was during this budget cycle that the bonuses were granted. However, in the budget discussions for 2009-2010 we had to make budget cuts. For a fire fighter who makes $60,000 a year that worked out to $1.89 cents a day ($57.00 a month). But when you take that small amount and spread it over 2100 employees that saved 25 or more city jobs that we could not afford to cut without impacting the services the city provides to it’s citizens.
SB: Your campaign literature states you “solve community problems.” Please expound on that. What problems are you referring to and how did you solve them.
JW: The biggest one was construction and development of the Aldi grocery store. I decided the way to address this was to hold community meetings attended by city staff and representatives of Aldi. We addressed traffic, screening, noise and any other concerns. After the store was finished I visited with home owners and all of them were on board.
SB: Your campaign literature says you “regularly attend neighborhood meetings.” How often do these meetings occur and where are they held?
JW: I attend a neighborhood meeting every chance I get. I attend many Southgate Crime Watch Association meetings, Pecan Grove Neighborhood Association meetings, New World Crime Watch and Ridgecrest/English Estate Neighborhood Association meetings and Orchard Hills Neighborhood Assn. meetings.
SB: You have a significant CDBG area in your District. How much of the grant funds has your District received since you’ve been elected, and what has the money been used for?
JW: I don't depend much on the CDBG money. Instead I've been using the “neighborhood vitality grant” process to get things done because it’s easier for the neighborhoods to get money from there rather than CDBG because we don't have to go through the government.
SB: The city gets around $5 million in CDBG money every year. Where is the money going?
JW: The money is going to the Garland Housing Finance Corp, to Neighborhood Services, to non-governmental organizations like New Beginning Center, Hope Clinic, Urban League, organizations like that.
SB: Are you aware that several million dollars of CDBG money always goes to District 2?
JW: I do not step in and dictate to staff where they should spend the CDBG Funds. The funding source is not as important as getting the funds.
SB: The number of people living in a single family residence has been an ongoing problem in Garland. This often has a negative impact on neighborhoods. Since you have been pro-active in the area of code enforcement, what is being done about this problem?
JW: I’m heavily involved with the "Proportionality Ordinance" which ensures there are appropriate facilities inside the house for all the people living in the house. For example if there are 7 people living in a house, there has to be a certain number of bedrooms and bathrooms, etc.
SB: District 5 has the highest crime rates in the City. What do you account for that?
JW: The problem is primarily at Wal-Mart where the East Gate apartments were once located. I check the stats every month and there is a problem with shop lifting, car burglaries, robberies at that single location. Wal-Mart has hired Garland police officers to address the situation. Another reason for the high crime rate is the close proximity to Ferguson Road which is one of the worst parts of Dallas. I take the monthly crime reports and plot where the incidences occur and almost all of these incidences happen in the various commercial areas around Centerville and NW Highway. The crime watch groups are effective at keeping the number of crimes out of the neighborhoods.
SB: I’ve been told that there are large numbers of day workers coming into the Day Labor Center from outside of Garland. Are you aware of this? Can anything be done about it?
JW: They come from all over the area, but I know of nothing that can be done about it. In 2006 40’% of the people who went there found work, that has now decreased to 17% in 2009. After I was elected I worked with the PD to enforce the hours of operation at the Day Labor Center which has made a difference.
SB: You and Councilwoman Cox have taken a number of trips to Austin. How many trips to Austin have to taken and how has Garland benefited?
JW: In 2009 I went down there one time and it was a day trip. We drove down and came back the same day. The purpose of the trip was to talk to the House Committee on tourism and cultural affairs regarding the Bankhead Highway that goes straight through Garland. I wanted that designated as a historical route. I car pooled with Councilwoman Cox to save the taxpayers money.
SB: This past year, at your insistence, Code and Building Inspection made regular sweeps of many businesses along S. Garland Road. Some business owners considered it harassment when citations were issued for things like the wind blowing a flag over the sidewalk. One business was told to fix his parking lot and was given one week to get it fixed and it would have cost him $50,000. The small business owners along South Garland Road are frustrated and scared. They say that code and/or building inspection drives by on most days - once an hour- trying to catch them doing something wrong. Others cite the short time they are given to fix whatever it is that code or building inspection wants them to fix. Most of the business owners want to comply, they just want to be given more time.
JW: The violation notices only request the business owner to provide a schedule for the repairs within 30 days. The business is being asked when Code can expect the business owner to get the repairs done. I have not seen every single notice that Building Inspection has sent out. Although it's possible, I think it is highly unlikely that anyone got a citation giving a business owner one week to repair a parking lot. If anyone gets such a note they need to contact me and I will ensure that such an unreasonable request is made more reasonable.
SB: I understand that business owners were confronted with a plan from you and Laura Cox to extend the downtown overlay to include all of the businesses along South Garland Road. That would have eradicated all automotive related businesses.
JW: A question was asked “would it be appropriate to extend an overlay district to other areas of the city." The Mayor put it on the agenda. The Council said it was not a good idea and I did not vote for it.
SB: I understand you and your father own in excess of 50 rental properties in Garland -- do you consider it a conflict of interest to vote on issues dealing with rental property? Why don't you not recuse yourself?
JW: I asked the City Attorney if my voting on things that have to do with rental property constituted a conflict of interest and he said "no."
There was a vote taken on CDBG funds and the record shows you recused yourself. What was the reason?
JW: In that case my wife worked for a company that received grant funding and therefore I recused myself.
End of interview
