Jay Trainor has had a lot of experience working in both public service and in the private sector. For 24 years, he was the marketing director for the Certain Teed Corporation. After that, he moved to Slidell and was the Chief Deputy for the St. Tammany Sheriff’s Office for 17 years. He retired from the Sheriff’s Office earlier this year to run for mayor of Slidell.

A Republican, Trainor is a member of the St. Tammany Deputy Sheriff’s Association, the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association, the American Heart Association, both East and West St. Tammany Chambers of Commerce. He is also a former member of the Palm Lake Anglers, and past president and board member of the Slidell Youth Bantam Baseball Association.

What do you see as the biggest problem facing Slidell, and how would you try and solve that problem? Currently there are several problems facing the City of Slidell. The most pressing problem is the financial status of the city. At present, the city is facing a budget deficit in excess of a million dollars. As mayor, I would reduce the operating costs of government. I will achieve this goal by eliminating costs allocated to items that do not result in services to the public.

JAY TRAINOR

Besides the proposed levee in south Slidell, what more can be done to protect Slidell from future hurricanes and floods? Rain events that result in flooding in the city can be addressed by improving our drainage systems, retention ponds and pumping stations. Hurricane flooding must be prevented by restoring our coastline and increasing our levee protection.

Without raising taxes, what can be done to increase revenue to pay for city services? The City of Slidell cannot increase revenue to pay for city services. As mayor, I will reduce the operating costs by eliminating expenses that are not associated with providing services to the public. If the expense does not yield a positive result to the taxpayer than it is waste and it will be eliminated.

Where do you think there is waste in city government, and what can be done about it? I will review the retirement system currently in place for city employees and their families. I will evaluate various retirement systems such as those used by other successful businesses and governmental agencies which would include employees of the city sharing in the contributions of their retirement as opposed to the current system which is 100 percent taxpayer funded. Additionally I would analyze the current allocation of the police department’s budget. Any expenditure that does not provide a service to the taxpayer should be eliminated.

How do you plan to attract more businesses and jobs to Slidell? Currently it costs more to operate a business in the city of Slidell than any other city in the surrounding area. I will restructure the current tax system by allowing the voters of Slidell to eliminate the current tax structure. This change will result in a bottom line reduction in operating costs to business owners. In addition to eliminating the business’ property tax burden, it will also eliminate the annual furniture, fixture and equipment tax (FF&E), currently burdening our businesses. This change will make Slidell more business-friendly, and will result in an increased number of businesses that call Slidell their home. Slidell needs a plan to immediately address our current financial crisis. We need to entice businesses to remain in Slidell while at the same time invite new businesses to relocate to Slidell. This can only be done if we change the current tax structure. This change will result in an immediate boost our economy. Slidell cannot afford to wait on conceptual economic development projects, the reality of which are not economically feasible. We need solutions not pipe dreams. Wishing won’t make it happen, planning is what we need.