MiMi said:

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Just requested mine!

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Thank you! 24 in a half day through the website. That's extraordinary. Honored and humbled. I'm going to need more signs. :-)

Respectfully

Yancy '95

Valen said:

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Excited for this season to kick off. I look forward to the opportunity to earn your vote and be on a council that can work to earn the public's trust back.

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Respectfully, I struggle with this statement. You've been very outspoken about all the popular hot-button issues but there doesn't seem to be any substance behind the words. What is different about you this time? From all indications, it appears you've already fallen in line with Woods.

Let me ask this in no uncertain terms, do you believe that city management needs an overhaul? Yes or no?

With all due respect, if you don't believe there's substance behind what I'm saying, then you haven't actually paid attention.

I don't do yes-or-no answers. Very few things in this world are that simple. I may be the only non-elected candidate who's been this vocal, this specific, and this consistent with City Hall. Don't put the rec center in Macy's. Don't raise the tax rate just because you're afraid of the state. Don't burn through all our lines of credit. Don't drop a data center between two neighborhoods and hide behind an NDA. Don't put a student tower in the middle of Northgate. And most importantly, stop telling businesses it's a privilege to operate here.

The best part about my claim is that it's verifiable. You can look it up, every interview, every statement, every time I've spoken in front of Council. There will be candidates who share a lot of words. Far fewer have put those words on the record, publicly and repeatedly.

As for the question of alignment with city management: it would be irresponsible for me to give you a definitive answer without the full picture. My word is everything I've got, so I won't take a firm stance until I know what actually happens in executive sessions and behind closed doors. From the outside looking in, the alignment appears off and I think that's been apparent to most people. Once I have all the pieces, I'll be completely transparent about where I stand. Things seem to need adjusting. To what extent, I won't pretend to know yet.

- Valen Cepak
Candidate College Station City Council Place 5

Great question. I'll try and keep it shorter so you're not wading through pages.

I genuinely love and respect our police and fire personnel. I've completed both the police and fire citizen academies and used those experiences to build real relationships and stay connected. I make a point of talking with officers and firefighters every week just to stay in the loop.

We have excellent departments, some of the best trained and most accredited in the region and even the state. I'm proud of the standard those men and women hold. That said, here are the clear areas where we still need to grow:

Pay This year they received a 3% cost of living increase plus their annual step increase. That's progress, but we still aren't truly competitive with surrounding cities.

Retention Because our training is so strong, younger personnel often get solid experience here and then leave for larger, higher paying departments with different cultures. One of my first 100 day goals would be anonymous surveys on culture and retention so we can hear directly from the ranks.

Family life & mental health Are we doing everything possible to support their mental health and home lives?

Long term readiness We need to plan for the next stations and make sure funding is locked in for staffing once the SAFER Grant expires. (Credit to Chief Mann, he's been proactive on ordering trucks and ambulances so they're ready when we need them.)

Those are the four biggest issues I see right now. Once I'm in the weeds listening to the people actually doing the job, there will almost certainly be more to address.

- Valen Cepak
Candidate College Station City Council Place 5

So how do you plan to address the fact that PD is the lowest paid department in the county? How do you plan to address that FD is consistently near the bottom of salary surveys that include comparable cities. Are you for or against civil service for the fire department?

I have heard from sources with the City that PD is as much as 12-15% behind its benchmark cities used in a recent salary study (that was not conducted by PD employees). They are currently the lowest paid in the county, but there's more to it than that. Also, I believe COB is slated for a larger cost of living adjustment this year than COCS, broadening this gap.

How many officers have been recruited due to sign-on bonuses? Why is 3% all COCS is doing if it's abundantly clear they are so far behind? If you answer with step increases, it shows you don't really understand how their pay structure works. It's a given to have step progression unless the employee is maxed out in-grade. Having that in the budget each year just shows council's commitment to keep funding that pay structure.

You seem very confident in your relationships with employees at FD/PD. Use those to figure these things out. Then share them here. You continually say on here you don't want to put things in text. The problem is you continually lose credibility by saying that. Put it in text, or stop being involved in discussions here. Yancy does a great job of doing that.

I'm confident in my ability to listen, learn, and weigh potential solutions. I will happily continue that tread and bring information back here as I discover and learn more.

I am trying to improve in my ability to relay information concisely and still convey my point. Mr. Yancy has a bit more experience doing it than I do, but I'm learning and trying to be better in my response. Will grow with time, happy to continue to engage as I get better over time. Thank you for bearing with me.

With that I hope everyone has a restful Saturday night.

- Valen Cepak
College Station City Council Place 5

I would but I can't. I don't live in CS. But I do have very close friends that work for COCS, so understand some of their frustration and concern.

As far as the other candidates…the COCS elections page doesn't have anyone listed for place 5 at all. I'm aware that Tre Watson is running again. Which is laughable. Anyone who uses mention of legalization of a drug prohibited at the state level as a reason for running for city council is a joke in my small opinion. It's been mentioned on this thread that Padon Holt is running, but haven't seen anything official about that. I'd love to hear his opinions as well but don't believe he's on TexAgs (that I've ever paid attention to). After all, it's not a requirement to campaign on TexAgs.

I don't want to derail this thread so I'll gather my thoughts and make a post of my position in better detail today or tomorrow.

Short answer - After a lot of homework and a conversation with our DA there is no court evidence or precedent that these cameras break the 4th amendment. That's not my opinion, that's just the current legal precedent.

Voters - Yes, I 100% support this going to the voters if it were to go to the ballot.

Will give a more in depth in that thread

- Valen Cepak
College Station City Council Place 5 Candidate

Anyone watching Council meeting tonight? Mayor called Elons project "TerraBond...or whatever its called"

Doesn't instill a lot of confidence in what is coming our way, and how we are preparing for it

It wasn't a joke, and it happened over and over. Yes, he will be gone soon, but the decisions in this budget for FY27 will be with us for a while

He got confused on the motion Wrong made for the public hearing on tax rate. Mayor said passes 7-0 (but Yancy is absent). Lady corrects him 6-0 with 1 absent. Mayor says "yeah, whatever". I think he forgot his hearing aids.

They passed the special election tonight for Councilman Yancy's seat. I've officially filed and will be on the ballot for place 5.

Marlin39m said:

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EFR said:

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So how do you plan to address the fact that PD is the lowest paid department in the county?

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Is this true? How is that possible? It might explain an encounter I had. When you pay the least you have to hire the least.

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I spent a number of years working around A LOT of the local officers. Working vehicle accidents. BPD, UPD, and CSPD. I always found CSPD to be waaaay ahead of the others in politeness and professionalism. Every job in this town has always paid less than other areas. A lot of officers might take a job here because their odds of getting shot are lower than a higher paying area. The population is generally friendly and easy to work with. It's not only about the money. Very common for people to take positions here below what they are qualified for too. People want to be here, so they accept less than what they might get in a lesser town. It's a local dynamic that goes back decades.

"Short answer - After a lot of homework and a conversation with our DA there is no court evidence or precedent that these cameras break the 4th amendment. That's not my opinion, that's just the current legal precedent."

Just because something may be legal doesn't mean it's a good idea or morally right.

Cops and firemen can get the quality of life working at any department in the county. My question is how the most affluent tax base in the area justifies paying the lowest salary. I find that hard to believe.

Marlin39m said:

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Cops and firemen can get the quality of life working at any department in the county. My question is how the most affluent tax base in the area justifies paying the lowest salary. I find that hard to believe.

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You find it hard to believe? Really? Look at all the money the CoCS blows on buildings, failed real estates projects, etc.

Also I bet the city manager isn't paid on the low end of the spectrum

Would you say paying public safety officials lower than average is the right thing to do because this community has statistically less risk? In my memory we've had an Officer shot and killed and several firefighters killed on incidents in Brazos County.

There is always inherent risks in these jobs and if someone is willing to risk their own safety for ours I say pay them top dollar, period.