The six candidates competing for four open seats on Murrysville council in the Nov. 2 election have a wide range of goals if elected and concerns about current council officials potentially raising taxes for the first time since 2007.

“The biggest issue facing Murrysville is its ability to effectively balance demands for municipal services and amenities against a relatively fixed set of revenue streams,” said attorney Brad Funari, a Republican who earned a spot on the Democratic side of the ballot because of write-in votes in the primary.

“Our current incumbents, (Dayne) Dice and (Carl) Stepanovich, have been asleep at the wheel, leading Murrysville into the first structural budget deficit in recent history,” he said.

Funari said increasing the earned-­income tax shifts an undue share of the community’s tax burden on working families.

“I would not raise taxes,” he said. “Instead, I’d pursue efficiencies in service delivery, including shared service agreements with our neighboring municipalities and maximize allowable revenue opportunities permitted under state law.”

Any council vote on raising taxes will not take place until after the election.

Current council president and Republican Dayne Dice said the biggest issue facing Murrysville is “ensuring that all development in the community is responsible, and up to our standards.”

“I want to keep the open and green spaces that we all cherish,” he said. “However, I also recognize that development is part of any thriving municipality. I view it as my personal charge as councilman to conduct a thorough review of all developments and make certain any proposals are up to Murrysville’s exacting standards.”

Dice serves as solicitor for the Plum School District, and along with the district is party to a federal lawsuit in which they are accused of conspiring to violate the civil rights of a man who spoke out against remote education at a January 2021 school board meeting.

Candidate Jason Lemak said he would like to attract more younger families to the municipality.

“It’s anticipated that 16% of the population will be retiring, or expected to retire, within a few years,” he said. “This negatively affects earned income tax collections. (Attracting younger families) is a long-term solution to a deficit problem, which in turn will ease the tax burden on the community.”

Republican candidate Jamie Lingg said she has enjoyed watching the community grow without losing its rural character but that the growth has been “accompanied by several tax increases.”

The last municipal tax hike was in 2007, but the Franklin Regional School District has consistently raised taxes over the years.

Lingg said the biggest task council members face is balancing a responsible budget. She proposed growing Murrysville’s industrial tax base.

“It could be increased with careful consideration to location, without compromising the property value for a true assessment and collected tax revenues,” she said. “Increasing this tax base is one avenue to off-setting shortfalls from the economic crisis initiated by the pandemic.”

Incumbent Republican Carl Stepanovich said staffing is the key issue facing Murrysville.

“Our chief administrator is going to retire at the end of 2022, and our chief of police is not far from retirement,” Stepanovich said. “We’d hoped to have an assistant administrator in place by now to allow for a year-long transition period, but we haven’t been able to find a candidate who’ll see the position as a lifelong venture and not a steppingstone to a ‘bigger and better’ opportunity.”

Stepanovich said while younger candidates are close to the needs and wants of young families, “with about a third of our population being seniors I, like them, can better reflect, advise and ultimately decide on issues from a lifetime of experiences.”

Republican Joseph Conklin pledged that if elected, he would keep the municipality from becoming what he called “Monroeville 2.0.”

“I want to maintain our family-­oriented community with single-family homes on large lots,” he said. “I will always resist and always vote no to the development of multi-unit apartment buildings and condos.”

Conklin also will appear on the ballot as Democratic candidate because of write-in votes. He along with Funari pushed back against council’s initial exploration of the earned income tax hike.

“Any increase in taxes should be equitable in that it applies to those who earn an income and those who own property,” he said.

Dice said he didn’t believe that Murrysville seniors living on a fixed income should be forced to bear the brunt of a tax hike.

“That’s why I don’t support any increase to property taxes, and won’t for the entirety of my time on council,” he said.

Funari said he’d explore strategies such as stormwater fees, privatizing some services and “leveraging our location, resources and well-educated residents to attract businesses to Murrysville and foster an atmosphere for new and existing businesses to grow and flourish here.”

Lemak said he believes “the pencil can be sharpened on current expenditures, and that additional revenue streams can be found for the municipality.”

Stepanovich said the addition of a hike to the real-estate transfer tax helps spread the burden around.

“It strikes a balance fair to all,” he said. “Revenues from the EIT will increase as earners’ wages increase, and the real estate transfer tax affects everyone in the community – new home buyers as well as seniors downsizing who will most likely benefit from the increase in their property values over an extended period.”