Kyle Chaney has been a resident of Clovis for approximately 20 years, is running for Clovis City Council. Chaney, a sales manager for Guarantee Real Estate said his catalyst for running for City Council was because of aspirations he had since majoring in political science at Fresno State.
“Since I was a political science major through college, I’m grounded in the understanding of what civic duty but my decision to run was also based on how unique Clovis is. In the sense that as far as our municipalities are concerned, people have a positive relationship with Clovis and I am fighting and running to keep that uniqueness and the Clovis way of life moving forward,” Chaney said.
Chaney’s focus is centered around the issue of no neighborhood left behind, safer communities, and building a stronger Clovis. Chaney hopes to accomplish his goal of maintaining Clovis’ reputation of being a safe community to live in by meeting the goal of ensuring that the Clovis Police Department will have one officer for every 1,000 residents. A goal that Chaney calls a “minimum” that he hopes to meet.
Chaney hopes to accomplish his goal of having an officer for every 1,000 residents through the transient tax on the ballot this year, Measure B.
Chaney said that Measure B is a “fantastic way” of accomplishing his goals because it won’t “impact the citizens” of Clovis. But Chaney admits that it may not be enough, but it is a step in the right direction.
“It’s all about exploring grants and being creative again on the budgeting side and looking to see if there are areas that we can maximize for better use towards the police and fire department or are there other areas that it needs to stay,” Chaney said.
Chaney said since Clovis is known for being the safest city in the Valley, he will “do everything to retain that title,” so other families want to live in Clovis.
On the issue of no neighborhood left behind, Chaney hopes to lead an initiative to repair broken streets and upgrade older parks, trails and canals to pristine condition.
“Unfortunatley over the last five to seven years there seem to be more potholes out there and there are a few other things that are making it a little more difficult for residents. I don’t want to send somebody to have their alignment done just because they drove down the street. That’s just unacceptable. That’s just not the Clovis way of life,” Chaney said.
According to Chany in order to accomplish his goal of no neighborhood left behind paired with anticipating any costs to Clovis residents to accomplish his plan starts with looking at the budget.
Chaney said that in order to proceed with a plan like no neighborhood left behind, he would have to “analyze the budget” and identify where there are efficiencies that can be improved upon along with looking for ways to get funds that do not impact the general fund and taxpayers.
“ I know the cost of doing nothing is higher from a liability standpoint. We don’t want our citizens to trip on something and get hurt. So making sure that we’re proactive and going out and searching …but the risk of doing nothing far outweighs the cost of doing something,” Chaney said.
With experience working for fortune 500 companies and managing budgets and price expectations, Chaney said he feels he has the necessary experiences to qualify him for a position on the City Council.
Chaney said set against the other candidates he feels this experience will distinguish him in the crowded field of candidates.
“My experience in budgeting is understanding what you do in one area affects what happens in another. So if we are providing services in the city such as water, trash, police, and fire you have to understand that they need a chunk of our money which comes from the general fund. Understanding that when you add and put things there may be some services somewhere else that need to be balanced out and what you are doing at the expense of another are things you need to know,” Chaney said.