My Question Responses for the "Charles County Zeta"
By: Paul Guttenberg, Candidate for Town Council Ward I
Here are short 2 min. video clips of my live responses to five questions asked of the La Plata Town Council and Mayoral candidates who attended the "Meet The Candidates" event. This event was hosted by the Phi Alpha Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, also known as "The Charles County Zetas."
The Charles County Zetas are a non-partisan group deeply involved in our community. Among their many goals is to increase voter turnout in La Plata's upcoming general election. As a first-time candidate, I want to emphasize the invaluable contribution of organizations like The Charles County Zetas. Their organizational and technical skills are crucial to elevate voices and improve choices in local government. I am truly grateful for their hosting this event, especially Miriam Williams, ShanNeece Alberts & the tech team who expertly facilitated this group.
If you're interested in watching the entire 90-minute video, you can follow this link. I encourage you to do so, and be sure to check out the final minutes for additional questions raised in the live chat.
However, if you're here it’s because you're looking for specific information about my candidacy, you're in the right place. To make it easier, in this post I've extracted my individual two-minute video responses to each question. Since we received the questions beforehand, I've also included my written responses to provide further clarity on my positions.
I hope the information I provide here helps to earn your vote on Tuesday May 6th.
My Introduction (Salute).
QUESTION #1: What motivated you to run for a position on the town council, and what unique qualities or experiences do you bring to the table that will benefit the Town of La Plata?
I'm running for the Ward I La Plata Town Council seat because I care about the future of the town we call home, it’s the place I live with my wife and we are raising our children. I want to set a good example for my kids and I want to give back to the place I've called home for nearly 20 years. Having seen La Plata grow, I believe we need more careful planning for our water capacity, traffic, and public safety, as well as managing the financial impact of our recent growth. I also think we can better involve residents' skills to make La Plata even better for residents and business.
I bring a unique set of experiences from my professional background. I have extensive experience in managing operations, large projects, contracts, and proposals. As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), I've led large service capacity management projects, which directly relate to La Plata's infrastructure challenges, and I have managed service catalog development programs, which is directly analogous to how our town's self-funded services are set up and paid for. My career has been in national defense, including nine years in the Air Force, six years with the federal government, and twenty years as a defense contractor.
My approach to decision-making is structured: I research the facts, listen to different viewpoints, deliberate carefully with others, and communicate clearly. My commitment to service is built on listening to others, being open and honest, considering the future, and doing what's right.
A key focus for me is improving resident engagement through simpler information, boosting participation, using local expertise, and being available to mentor future leaders.
QUESTION #2: How do you plan to address the challenges facing our town, such as budget constraints, over-saturation of community resources, and increased costs for resident services?
If elected as your Ward I Town Council member, I plan to tackle our town's challenges head-on with a focus on responsible financial planning and efficient service delivery.
To address budget constraints, I'll champion a detailed and transparent review of our 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), prioritize essential projects, and build budget flexibility for potential economic downturns. I'll also work to manage completion of a town Adequate Public Facilities Ordinace (APFO) to manage growth and service costs, advocate for service rate studies to ensure they cover actual costs, aggressively pursue grants and low-interest loans, and invest in infrastructure intelligence tools to find efficiencies and potentially lower service costs.
Regarding the oversaturation of community resources, I'll prioritize developing and implementing a tailored APFO for La Plata to manage growth impacts on critical services like water, sewage, roads, police, and waste. I'll advocate for the town to work with county agencies on school and fire/EMS impacts, advocate for road improvements like circulator streets and multiple access points in new developments and push for more developer impact fees where appropriate. I'll also address water capacity challenges by using scorecards to assess and communicate with residents about our towns Comprehensive Plan implementation.
To manage increased costs for resident services, I'll focus on responsible financial decisions and explore service efficiencies. I've already publicly explored options like per-can fees for sanitation to manage landfill costs and improve fairness. I believe in proactive cost management and balancing service costs with affordability. Because many town services are self-funded through user fees, and I'll work to find efficient ways to operate them. I'm against temporary "utility bill holidays" as they're not practical to implement and they are not a sustainable solution for our town's budget.
My approach is about careful planning, responsible spending, and finding innovative solutions to ensure La Plata can be a thriving and affordable community for our residents.
QUESTION #3: What are your views on the increasing crime numbers and how the town can continue to remain one of the safest towns in Charles County, Maryland?
If elected as your Ward I Town Council member, ensuring La Plata remains a safe town in Charles County is a top priority for me. While I don’t have specific crime data I can speak to, my commitment to public safety is clear: I strongly support our local La Plata Police Department.
Policing is deeply connected to our community, and local control allows us to tailor law enforcement to La Plata's specific needs. You have a more direct line to our local police, the Mayor, and the Town Council, making it easier to address concerns within our community. Our La Plata Police Department has a strong history of community policing, building trust between officers and residents, something I want to see continue. I believe that keeping our investment in our own police force is the best way to ensure our safety.
To maintain a good level of public safety, we need to retain our skilled officers and attract new talent. That's why enhancing our police pension is a priority. Losing experienced officers due to non-competitive benefits puts our public safety at risk. A better pension will help us keep experienced officers, attract qualified recruits, and reduce reliance on overtime. I believe we should immediately focus on enhancing the police pension, separate from other departments, to make this happen. Enacting a standard law enforcement pension is a top budget priority because La Plata PD is the only police agency in the county without one.
Finally, I understand that safe neighborhoods are crucial for making La Plata a desirable place to live and for maintaining property values, which support our town's revenue. My focus on a strong, locally controlled police department is central to ensuring that safety and security for all of us.
QUESTION #4: How do you plan to engage with Town residents to ensure their voices are heard and that decisions made by the mayor’s office and town council reflect the needs and priorities of the community?
If elected as your Ward I Town Council member, my priority is to ensure our decisions reflect the needs of our community. My plan to engage with you focuses on four key areas:
First, I want to simplify town information. I'll advocate for easy-to-read summaries of meetings, priorities, and important issues, distributed on the town website and social media. This will make it easier for you to stay informed and understand when your input can have the most impact.
Second, I aim to boost voter turnout and issues feedback. I'll work to expand voting times in town elections and create more opportunities for you to share your thoughts through quarterly town halls and "listening sessions" held in accessible locations like neighborhood centers. It's crucial that town leaders genuinely listen and communicate how your feedback shapes our decisions.
Third, I plan to leverage local expertise through volunteerism. I'll create short-term, impactful volunteer projects and make volunteering more appealing by clearly showing how your contributions help our town. By better utilizing the skills within our community, we can build a better La Plata together.
Finally, I want to foster future leadership by encouraging more residents to run for office. I'll meet with potential candidates, offer guidance, connect them with mentors, and support programs like Citizens Academy. More candidates mean more ideas and a stronger future for La Plata.
Beyond these specific initiatives, my decision-making will involve consultation with residents and fellow council members because I value diverse perspectives. I'm committed to open and honest communication to keep you informed. Ultimately, higher voter turnout strengthens the mandate for elected leaders to actively engage with and respond to your concerns.
QUESTION #5: are the most pressing issues in Charles County and the Town of La Plata, and what policies or initiatives would you prioritize if elected/re-elected to the town council?
As your Town Council member, I see several pressing issues for both Charles County and La Plata. My priorities, if elected, are to strengthen our infrastructure, support local policing, strengthen financial responsibility, increase resident engagement, and strategically manage impacts of growth for the benefit of La Plata.
Water and Sewer Infrastructure: I'd champion a new, tailored APFO to protect and improve our essential infrastructure, especially as it relates to growth. I aim to have rules in place for critical services like water, and sewer in the next six months.
Budget Constraints: I'd finalize the unadopted 2026 budget and focus on long-range financial planning, including a detailed review of the 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). I will stress the importance of understanding how town services are funded and caution against feel good actions like "utility bill holidays."
Police Department: I support maintaining our local police department and would prioritize enacting a standard law enforcement pension to attract and retain quality officers.
Traffic Congestion: I'd prioritize completing the draft APFO to address loopholes in phased development approvals, unclear mitigation, inadequate traffic analysis, and insufficient local control. I also support updating our Transportation Plan, seeking more developer impact fees, and creating a public list of local road priorities.
Resident Engagement: Democracy is a modern miracle, it works best when more people can be informed and involved. I want to implement strategies to increase engagement simplifying town information, boosting voter turnout through expanded voting times, Town Council availability for town halls, leveraging local expertise through short-term volunteer projects, and fostering future leadership by encouraging more residents to run for office.
For Better Town Government We Must Increase La Plata’s Voter Turn-out For Our Local Elections
Please Vote on May 6th. You can find contact and candidate information for all the general election candidates on the town website. Please also share this information with your friends and family, and encourage them to vote.
Many candidates are also active on Facebook especially within the La Plata Community Group.
A “Vote Local” Plan For Town Council & Mayor
1. Plan To Vote:
Please Plan A Time on Tuesday May 6th You Will Vote at Town Hall.
2. Share Election Information:
Please Share Election Information with Your Family, Friends & Neighbors Who Live in the Town of La Plata. www.voteguttenberg.org/vote-local/
3. Cast Your Ballot On Tuesday, May 6th 2025.
Voting occurs in person at the La Plata Town Hall, located at 305 Queen Anne Street, between 7am and 8pm.
I ask that you consider voting for me as your Town Council representative from Ward I.
More than anything I hope you take the time to vote, and that you encourage others to do the same. When residents vote in larger numbers, it increases the emphasis for elected town leaders to engage and respond to concerns expressed by the public.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Paul Guttenberg, Candidate for La Plata Town Council Ward I
