Perry Council candidates speak – Bill Phelps

A spot on Perry City Council will be up for grabs in the upcoming November elections. The position of District 2, Post 1 Councilman will be decided at the polls in just a few weeks. Robert Jones, incumbent, is being challenged by Retired Major William “Bill” Phelps, who recently retired from the Perry Police Department.

Running as the challenger is Major William “Bill” Phelps. Major Phelps is a native of Marshallville, Georgia, where he attended D. F. Douglass High School. Shortly after high school, Phelps enrolled at Fort Valley State University, where he studied business administration while also serving as a member of the collegiate ROTC program. Not long after graduating from Fort Valley State, Phelps commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States military. Major William “Bill” Phelps served both active duty and reserves for 30 years, before retiring as a full colonel.

After the 9/11 tragedy, Phelps was called back into active duty for two years to help fight the war on terrorism. While a reservist in the United States military, Phelps joined the Perry Police Department on March 28, 1989. Known to many as “Bill,” he worked through the ranks from a patrolman, investigator, and commander of patrol, and served even as temporary acting chief.

Outside of his professional life, Major Phelps is married to his wife Sharon, and together they have five children. He is also a man of faith. “I am a strong believer in God, and I am very active in my church. I am a member of Bethel Baptist Church, but my second homes are New Hope Baptist Church and Grady Union Baptist Church,” said Phelps.

Major Phelps also mentioned that he is a very hard worker who thinks of himself as more of a servant. “I like helping people. I have helped numerous people with various problems. I am glad to serve,” remarked Phelps. Growing up with nine siblings, Major Phelps said his core values come from the respect that he was raising to have. “Everyone has an opinion, I always reach out and listen to others, Why? Because sometimes that person could be thinking the exact same thing as you,” he said.

This election year, Phelps believes that it’s time for change. “Doing the same thing year after year is getting old,” he pointed out. “We keep overlooking big issues that are going on in the city, so we need to get away from the status quo. We, as a city, must start thinking outside of the box on a lot of issues.” Phelps went on to proclaim, “As a councilman I will continue to do the right thing and what’s best. We have to be transparent on all accords. When our issues are big topics, people will buy-in, people will support, but we have to do what the people want,” mentioned Phelps.

If given the opportunity to serve on city council, Phelps wants to help change the way the city of Perry interacts with the business community. “We have to do a better job at keeping businesses up-to-date about community issues,” he pointed out. “We must create a balance and realize that everyone cannot be pleased. We have too many unnecessary costs such as Food Truck Friday, which needs to be looked at. Food Truck Friday allows vendors from out-of-town, to make thousands throughout the year, free of charge. These vendors do not pay the city one dime for officers, public works or the event coordinators for working the event.” Phelps went on say, “Currently, the city is allowing these vendors to take profit that is made in our community, back to their communities, but our citizens are the ones who are paying for it. We allow others to make profit for free in our community; we have little to show in return.”

On another note, he stated, “We also need to take a closer look at how property taxes are spent in the city of Perry. I don’t believe it would be a bad idea to see what budget lines need to be cut. We need to give the utmost support to our police department and fire department, because we cannot allow crime to come into our community either.”

Major William “Bill” Phelps is certain that having an available platform before any action is taken is needed in a growing family oriented community. “We must be very careful to make sure growth is planned with families in mind. We do not need three homes on a one-acre lot; we must accommodate accordingly. We have to make streets wide enough for emergency personnel vehicles, we need more sidewalks and we need to make sure that children have somewhere to play,” remarked Phelps. “The police chief, the mayor and the fire chief should have all of the tools and personnel that they need in order to make our city safe. This should be a coordinated effort and every step of the planning toward this should not be done in a box at city hall. Training for city employees should be mandatory. We need full transparency in the city of Perry,” declared Phelps.

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