Robert Schurmieir on the Issues -- C-

Robert Schurmieir on the Issues -- C-


Robert Schurmier doesn't use email, but I called him on the phone and he answered my questions.  (He has computers at home, but he doesn't use them.   He said that if people want to reach him, they should call him.)

Y = Yes  N = No     IDK = I don't know.

Favors working with the Town on Representative McCoy's and Senator Thurmond's bill to reunite the Town.	Y
Won't Send Trent Kernodle to oppose bill in Columbia like he did last Spring.	IDK*
Supporta Joint Administrative Facility on Dills Bluff.	Y
Won't Put Garbage and Sewer Trucks on Dills Bluff as  was proposed last Spring.	Y*
Will Help Town with Tax Credit on Tax Bill	Y*
Trusts more in Attorney General Office's Legal Opinion than Trent Kernodle's Opinion	IDK*
If Kay Kernodle is elected, it's is a conflict of Interest for Trent Kernodle to remain JIPSD Attorney	IDK*
No More Tax Increases without Public  Notification as was done in 2013.	Y*
Total Score	72%
Grade	C-

Questions:

1. Should the JIPSD work with the Town to support Representative McCoy's and Senator Thurmond's bill to reunite the Town? Would you oppose sending JIPSD Attorney Trent Kernodle to Columbia to organize opposition to the bill as he did last Spring?

Mr. Schurmieir  supports reuniting the Town, but when asked about Trent Kerondle's efforts to sink Thurmond and McCoy's bill, he explained that he didn't know what was in the bills and wasn't sure whether sending Kernodle to fight them would be a good idea.

2. Do you support a joint Town of James Island/James Island Public Service District administrative facility on Dills Bluff Road?   Would you oppose parking District garbage and sewer trucks on the property next to a residential neighborhood as was proposed last Spring?

Mr. Schurmieir said that there was much misinformation and that the Commissioners opposed putting garbage and sewer trucks on Dills Bluff.   He appeared unaware that the plan to put garbage and sewer trucks on Dills Bluff was on the JIPSD website for a year. 

3. Do favor having the JIPSD cooperate with the Town to provide a tax credit on the tax bill?   Do you trust the South Carolina Attorney General Office's opinion that it would be legal more thanJIPSD Attorney Trent Kernodle's opinion that the Town is legally obligated to mail checks?

Mr. Schurmieir said he would favor working with the Town on a tax credit on the tax bill if it was legal.  He also said that the Town should mail checks this fall.   He said he didn't know what the Attorney General's Opinion said.

4. If Kay Kernodle is elected to the Commission, do you think it be a conflict of interest if  her husband, Trent Kernodle, continues to serve as JIPSD Attorney so that the JIPSD should look for a new attorney?

Mr. Schurmieir said that having Kay Kernodle as a Commissioner and Trent Kernodle as JIPSD attorney is no different than Lyndy Palmer's husband working for the Town.     (Lyndy Palmer's husband does not work for the Town.   Jim Palmer, the Town's Code and Safety Officer, is no relation to Lyndy Palmer, candidate for James Island PSD.)

5. Would you join Chairman Hollingsworth in voting in favor of a tax increase that never appeared on any written agenda as was done for the 2013 JIPSD budget? Or would you insist on transparency and vote against such a tax increase until the public was properly notified?

Mr. Schumieir said that there was a good bit of misinformation on this, since the JIPSD didn't raise taxes this Spring.   I told him it was about what happened for the 2013 budget.   He said he didn't remember what happened in 2013.   I said that really the question is about what he would do in the future.   He said that he thought that it should be on the agenda.

Mr. Schurmieir is a fine elderly gentleman who unfortunately has aligned himself with a slate of candidates who oppose cooperation with the Town, including Kay Kernodle, Sandi Engelman, and Donald Hollingsworth.   I fear that his "I don't knows" would change to "no" as soon as he find out what his position is supposed to be.