Candidate Q&As 2023: Barney Bushore for Newton City Council, Ward 3

Name: Barney Bushore

Age: 68

Occupation: Owner of Barney’s

Elected offices held: None

Office seeking: Newton City Council, Ward 3

1. Introduce/Reintroduce yourself to voters and explain why you are running.

Hello everyone, my name is Barney Bushore. I am running in the election this November for Newton City Council, in Ward 3. Most of you probably know me from my ownership of Barney’s, also located here in the third ward. I had never before considered running for elected office. But over the last couple years, after devoting endless hours to discussions about the local business community’s challenges, it became apparent that I needed to be one of the folks to step up. So here I am.

2. Housing continues to be a priority for Newton, a city whose population has remained relatively stagnant for several decades. How do you think the city should approach new housing?

Stagnant could be used to describe more than Newton’s population. It also describes our current housing programs. I think all of them have been funded for many years now. Did you know they recently extended the $10,000+ giveaway, the one that you are taxed by the city council to pay for, plus interest? Yes, they put the money for this program into a bond issue. Time to change some things.

I think we should focus on the goal of creating a local contractors group. Find a way to make it profitable to build houses here. The place I would go for and needed funding would be to stop all the current endless incentives and redirect these tax payments towards this local-builder project. If they live here, they might continue to build here, without a half million dollars spent.

3. Street projects are frequent goals for the city council every year, but some people in town say more work is needed. How do you feel about the city’s current processes when it comes to street repairs and replacements?

If you want to know what the streets are like in Newton, hop in with me one day in the wrecker! I wonder sometimes if my chiropractor isn’t behind some of this allowing roads to decay thing. I keep him busy.

The City of Newton used to have an annual rotation of street repair. The last decade or so the decision making process changed. All focus turned to new. And today our behinds, literally, are paying for it.

4. One of the goals of Newton’s new comprehensive plan, Envision Newton 2042, is to make the city a compelling destination for residents and visitors. How do you think the city should go about accomplishing this goal?

I think we should focus on what we can do best. We used to do Maytag. Them being here gave us an advantage over other towns. Sadly, those days are long past. But that doesn’t mean we can’t still create a couple advantages over our rapidly growing neighbors to the west. We’ve been discussing this in our local business get-togethers. We think Newton should be faster, easier and less expensive.

Our little city can be faster with decisions, be easier and more flexible to work with and limit fees to businesses. I have not spoken to a single business owner here in Newton that feels we are any of those right now. I don’t either.

I was also not surprised when I saw that revenue from recently enacted fees are up over $100,000 per year! All charged to Newton businesses. On top of the recent property tax increases. One last thing I recently learned, did you know Newton is one of the few cities in Iowa that collects more property taxes than the local school district? And for the results we are seeing?

5. Newton Police is attracting new recruits and putting them through the academy, but many decide to leave for higher paying jobs. How do you think the city gets out of its role as a pipeline? What are ways the city can retain officers?

The stuff I see police, fire and ambulance workers put up with is overwhelming. I don’t know how they do it. It is important that we take care of all those people. I don’t have any idea how to stop someone that gets a better offer? I wonder if we could work with Jasper County on something?

6. Council goals from 2022-2024 and the $1.6 million park bond passed by voters show an increased focus on city parks. How do you think the council should handle its parks system and the amenities that come with them?

If there is one place that I don’t hear complaints about it’s the parks. They seem to be well run and people like them.

7. Property taxes continue to be a concern for residents, especially after another round of increased valuations means they may have to pay more. How do you think the city should maneuver its levies and its use of property taxes?

I have talked to a couple of the county folks about how they have been able to lower their levy the way they do. We need to find out why Newton can’t help its taxpayers more. Especially now when struggles are everywhere. It’s not easy out here right now.

8. How will you keep politics out of local government?

It is not about politics, it is about using some common sense. We need to make sure our taxpayers money is allocated to where it should be spent. Come November, if you decide to vote for me, I’ll try to help the city be better.