EDITOR’S NOTE: A story on the two incumbents, Tom Costello and Steve Yacovone, ran in Tuesday’s newspaper.

BOARDMAN — The incumbents have had their say, and now the challengers are making their final case for why they should have the jobs instead.

Four people are running for two seats on the Boardman Township Board of Trustees, and any combination could join board chair Larry Moliterno next year.

On Tuesday, The Vindicator readers heard from incumbents Tom Costello and Steve Yacovone, who was appointed in March to fill the seat of Brad Calhoun, who replaced the retired William Leicht as fiscal officer. They made the case that the township is facing the prospect of unprecedented difficulties and need Costello’s experience and Yacovone’s legal expertise and fresh perspective to see them through it.

But Matt Gambrel and Cody McCormick say the township’s current elected leadership has had its turn and Boardman needs new direction.

“This isn’t about holding a title. If experience was enough, people wouldn’t be fighting this hard for change. It’s called incumbent fatigue,” McCormick said. “The people answering all these doors, when I go knocking on them, are tired of these same old games. They want new and they want fresh.”

After reading The Vindicator’s article outlining the incumbents’ views, Gambrel and McCormick shared their thoughts on many of the same topics their competitors discussed.

Arguably the most pressing concern is the burden residents feel from property taxes, and the prospect of a citizen-led initiative to abolish them statewide, which would eliminate more than two-thirds of Boardman’s operating budget on Jan. 1, 2027.

“We need to be up to speed on it, planning to put things on the ballot next year, and we need to know what the state plans to do,” Gambrel said. “For a township like Boardman, sales tax would be pretty good, but maybe not so much for places like Goshen. We don’t want to be caught by surprise, but we need to be ready to implement new ideas and policies.”

Gambrel, a probate attorney and 2000 Boardman High graduate, took exception to the idea that current trustees are the only ones who can form the relationships necessary to help the township succeed.

“I have a very good relationship with Sen. Al Cutrona and I’ve met with (State Rep.) Tex Fischer a few times. We’d be able to work together well to serve the needs of Boardman, especially with the property tax issue,” he said.

McCormick said he agrees it is important to work with Columbus to determine new or better funding formulas, but doesn’t want to wait for that. McCormick proposes new approaches to how the township does business and works with businesses.

“Other communities are actively courting investment while Boardman continues to play patchwork politics instead of building a real pipeline,” he said. “We have to have modern zoning that sets the conditions for growth. You have business owners tangled in red tape. Boardman’s set up for chicken chains, car washes and excuses, and it’s ridiculous.”

McCormick said he has based his economic development plan on other communities like North Olmsted or Westchester, which he said has a median income of about $100,000 and a poverty level of 5% — compared to Boardman’s $68,000 median income and 13% poverty rate.

“It’s based on using the same tools being used by other townships. We’re not leveraging the tools to make Boardman competitive. We need to change direction and start making Boardman profitable,” he said. “If you look at Market Street, and you have a half empty plaza, that drives traffic away, so what’s contributed (in commercial property taxes) is lower, and you lose the property tax base in the township, and we have to rely more on levies.”

McCormick also proposes using a mechanism called a tax increment financing district, which he said townships like Westchester use.

He said TIFs can finance public improvements by taking increased tax revenue from a designated area. A TIF district establishes a frozen baseline property value and any increase in there from new development generates a tax increment that is diverted to fund the public improvements for the district, such as new roads or sewers, instead of pulling from the general fund.

“The project pays for itself,” McCormick said. “We need to be using these tools townshipwide so we can out-compete places like Austintown and Howland.”

Of course, townships can also be at a disadvantage with businesses, like the looming problem with new Southern Park Mall owner Kohan Retail Investment Group, which is behind on its property taxes by between $200,000 and $300,000 — money Boardman will have to eliminate from next year’s budget.

Kohan has not responded to the township’s calls or emails, Costello said, but Gambrel thinks there’s more trustees can do to apply pressure.

“There’s not much they can do to get the money, but we want to do anything possible to entice someone new to come in there, because that’s a lot of money to leave on the table,” he said. “We need to work with civic groups and any other resources we can to solve this problem. More could be done there with someone who wants to run it for profit, rather than just trying to run it into the ground or whatever this guy’s intention is.”

McCormick agrees. He said public pressure led Kohan to sell a mall property in the Akron area, which is now being converted to a business park.

“Sheriff’s sales don’t happen in a vacuum. They happen when a spotlight is put on bad actors, and that spotlight has never been applied,” he said. “Silence protects decline, pressure forces action.”

McCormick also said better planning is necessary to solve problems like emergency response regionalization. Boardman tried last year to merge its fire department with Canfield’s Cardinal Joint Fire District but Costello said one person on Canfield’s side ended the deal. McCormick puts the responsibility on Boardman for failing to propose a full-fledged plan to its neighbor.

“I’m all for regionalization but it only works when there’s a written operating plan, cost sharing formula, staffing model and legal framework before you ever sit down with another jurisdiction and that was never done,” he said. “You can’t negotiate serious public safety consolidation on a handshake and conversation.”

Gambrel said regionalization is a strong and viable possibility but also thinks the board should explore other options.

“The hard part is getting everyone to work together, and that’s one of the challenges they’ve faced. You’re going to run into voter pushback unless you can show some hard numbers to the public,” he said. “If you can’t, you have to go around and look at some other private places besides Lane’s, and I don’t think they’ve done that. Maybe see if anyone from Cleveland or Pittsburgh wanted to come down here.”

Gambrel said the township’s safety forces are a priority for him.

“If people don’t feel safe, this doesn’t work, especially if we’re going to have income and sales taxes,” he said. “We need the right equipment to have everything up to speed, have enough in the budget to pay competitive wages and keep good people in there.”

But he said he wants to keep a closer eye on how the police department manages personnel.

“I’ve heard some complaints about too much promotion from within, and that’s something I want to take a look at,” he said. “Look for the best possible people for the job, not just default to internal promotion. You want experienced people who know the job and the area, and if you want to keep good officers, you have to continue that. I get that. I’d just be cognizant of it to be sure we’re always picking the best people.”

Another safety issue for both men is the flooding problem. Both say the township has made great efforts recently, but wonder why it has taken so long to address them.

“I applaud (the Forest Lawn Stormwater Park) but it was very reactionary, and it came decades after hundreds of homes were destroyed by flooding. We need leadership that is not going to be reactionary and play whack-a-mole with a bunch of one-off projects,” McCormick said. “Where was this 20 years ago? I feel like we could have been doing this a lot sooner.”

Gambrel said he’s cautiously optimistic that the park and efforts to repair the Cranberry Run flood plain with a $47 million FEMA Flood Mitigation Assistance Grant will be as helpful as promised, but the township still has much work left to do.

“It looks like some progress is being made and I want to see the long term effects of the park after some big rains,” he said. “But it’s got to be the township, state government, and private citizens, all these different entities trying to maintain the water table. Zoning too. We need to be managing how local businesses keep up with the zoning codes that affect that.”

Like their competitors, Gambrel and McCormick say they love their community and want to make it better for their own families and everyone else’s.

“I grew up here on Ridgewood, and my parents are still there. My wife and I started our family here because we want the kids to have the same great experience I had,” Gambrel said. They’ve started a food bank at Boardman Center Intermediate, and Gambrel served on the Boardman Schools Fund for Educational Excellence for six years. He also has been a member of the Lions Club. “The point is, I dug in to make Boardman a better place. I think I’m an intelligent, reasonable, pragmatic, level-headed person and I want to serve the township from a trustee’s position and these are good qualities for a trustee to have.

Gambrel also took exception with Costello’s comment that he’s rarely been to meetings or had conversations with township officials.

“Not preparing by not communicating with (Township Administrator) Jason Loree, that is totally false. I’ve known Jason since middle school; we’ve been in Lions together and I have spoken with him,” he said.

He said he does not often attend meetings because he can easily read the minutes online.

McCormick, an Amazon area manager, said he doesn’t take political jabs personally.

“I respect all the candidates. It’s nice to be able to interact with everyone,” he said. “I have my take, I know it might be a little bold. I know we all have a difference of opinions but I hope outside this to be friendly with everyone.”

McCormick said he just wants the opportunity to present and hopefully enact his plan.

“The three pillars of my platform are business recruitment, modern zoning reform and accountability,” he said. “I’d love to be able to work with anybody on these issues.”