Candidate: Janice McLean

I am Janice McLean and I am seeking re-election to continue the progress that I started when I was elected to the Freeport City Council 2013. I promised I would be a Working councilmember and I have kept my commitment. I know the struggles of our citizens and know the hard work each one must do to provide for their families. My responsibility as a Council Member is to make our city fiscally strong, provide new and improved services, work to promote economic diversification and improve our internal systems to be more efficient and cost effective. I believe we need to provide a healthy work environment for our employees, ensure that policies and procedures are current, followed and fair, to create jobs in Freeport with competitive wages and provide recreational area where families can relax and spend quality time together. I was assigned to be council liaison to the Sewer Department after my first year on the Council. I have learned more about sewer systems than I ever I would need to know. I also made it my duty to learn as much as I could about each department within the city. By doing so I\'ve been able to identify areas of improvement to bring before the Council and move our city forward. I am highly organized, have a strong financial background and enjoy learning new and improved ways to lead our city. I have kept my commitment to be a Working Councilmember! The following are some of the ideas, suggestions and improvements I have brought forward to the City council that have been in the way of cost savings, systems improvements, addressed the needs of our employees, improved our infrastructure and protected our bay and rivers. 1) Not going along with business as usual, I used my relationships with other cities to identifying a cost saving method to broker our employee health insurance. This has saved the city over $100,000 in the 16/17 fiscal year and this saving will continue each year. The insurance we are providing is actually a better policy for our employees. 2) Well Mitigation Fund - in looking over our checking accounts for the city, I noticed that this account had not had any activity for several years. I contacted NW Florida Water Mgmt. and found that we were no longer required to keep this account. This freed up over $200,000 that the Water Dept. was able to use to install new meters save on personnel costs. 3) The city had multiple infrastructure loans with Rural Development. I worked with Rural Development and our attorneys to refinance 5 loans. This lowered the interest rate saving approximately $1,000 per month and cut the loan terms by 2-4 years. By refinancing these loans I found there was excess funds in reserve and sinking fund accounts. We were able to fully fund the requirements of the loans and able to deposit the excess amounts back to the Water and Sewer Dept\'s. 4) I 1dentitifed a cost saving of almost $10,000 per year by eliminating a laundry service for employees that wasn\'t being used and having the city provide employee uniforms. 5) I researched what it was costing the city to provide health insurance to Council Members. I brought to the Council a motion that effective July 2017 the city would no longer provide free health insurance to the Council. The city had been required to budget close to $79,000 per year to cover these costs. The motion passed. 6) To save tax dollars, I moved that the city go to a 4 day work week. This has saved money in overtime, fuel, vehicle maintenance and for the employees to be able to take less time off for personal matters. 7) A local fisherman, Mr. Roy Bishop, asked for my help in starting a group of concerned citizens for the Choctawhatchee River. We have met with FWC, DEP, Corp of Engineers and many interested groups to come together for the protection of our beautiful waterways. Due to my involvement in this I was asked to serve on the Board of Directors of Riverway South. 8) I am currently working closely with our engineers and USDA to complete an application for our new wastewater treatment plant which will be in excess of $14,000,000. I served on this City Council from 2001-2005 and again from 2013-2017. I ask for your vote and your support in my efforts to work for you in Freeport! Please feel free to call me if you have any questions 835-3363.