CARBONDALE - Mayoral candidates Sheila Simon and incumbent Mayor Brad Cole faced off Sunday in a debate sponsored by the Arbor District neighborhood group.

The debate opened with questions organized by the Arbor District committee with time limits on the answers. After the formal questions, the several dozen people in attendance were invited to ask questions of their own.

Simon emphasized strengthening resources already in the community.

"One of the things I love about Carbondale is the willingness to be involved," she said. "Carbondale is a community of opportunity� that's what really makes our community tick."

Cole pressed the need for continued growth, saying at one point that without it, the city would eventually die. He referred to city government as a "business for the community."

A consistent disagreement between Cole and Simon was spending. Simon encouraged conservative spending while Cole insisted the city has seen enough revenue increase to support some expenditures, particularly in adding personnel.

Notably, Cole wants to add eight more police officers and, ultimately, up to five or six more code enforcement inspectors. He said proper budget-making is a matter of prioritization. If law enforcement is a priority, he said, the city budget is healthy enough to support additional personnel.

The idea to add more police officers, he said, came from the police department itself. Cole said he met with police administrators and expressed "dissatisfaction." The plan that came back to him, presented by Chief Bob Ledbetter, sees the addition of eight more officers, the creation of a "street response" team that can react quickly to major crime, training more detectives, and changing patrol from a "quadrant" patrol to a five-district patrol.

Cole said the budget also supported hiring one additional code enforcement officer now, which would bring the total to six. Additional officers would be hired by revenue generated from a fee for mandatory inspections.

"Our goal is to inspect one-third of the rental properties in Carbondale each year. We have never met that goal," Cole said.

His plan is to charge a $25 fee for the first code inspection on the once-every-three-years rotation. Those properties that require a second inspection would pay $75 for the re-inspection. Cole claims that money would generate enough revenue to hire as many as five more inspectors.

Simon said there isn't enough guaranteed revenue to the city to support large increases in spending. She cited the disappointing telecommunication tax, which was to have replaced the property tax the city eliminated several years ago. A court ruling against the city prevented it from taxing cell phones, and the tax revenue has been diminishing ever since, Simon said. While she acknowledges that revenue from the portion of sales tax the city brings in has increased in recent years, she said the tax is not predictable.

"We are tapping into our general fund, and that (balance) is what enables us to get loans at a good rate," she said. "What concerns me about this is funding."

Simon also favors adding another code inspector and also proposed paying for the addition with code inspection fees. However, Simon suggested a $5 fee per inspection. She also wants to create a public-access data base listing those properties with a history of code violations.

"The (Southern Illinois University Carbondale) students (coming here from out of the area) would really take advantage of that," she said.

Simon said safer communities begin with crime prevention in the neighborhoods. She urged increased cooperation between the police force and the citizens to create proactive, neighborhood-based programs.

The candidates also discussed helping overcome prejudice against District 95, Carbondale's urban elementary school district, zoning as a means of preserving Carbondale neighborhoods, promotion of small, locally owned business, and the role of the mayor in the city manager-city council form of government in Carbondale.

Both Simon and Cole maintain Web sites outlining their positions. Find Simon's site at www.sheilasimon.com. Find Cole's site at www.bradcole.org.

andrea.hahn@thesouthern.com

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