NORWICH – When asked why voters should re-elect him, 6th Ward Alderman Robert Jeffrey said: “I want to continue to serve the people of the 6th Ward to improve and keep our neighborhoods safe. I care about the City of Norwich and I want to see us continue to move in the right direction.”

And what qualifies candidate Dan Palmer to replace him? “That I’ve been able to run a successful business for the past seven years through the rising costs of doing business in New York state,” Palmer replied. “I plan to be easily available. Any problem you have, I’ll work with you until we come to some resolution.”

Jeffrey beat Palmer 94-15 for the Republican ticket in the September primary. His priorities if re-elected: Mitigate the city’s rising state retirement costs; continue to secure funding for cleaning up blighted properties in the 6th Ward and elsewhere; encourage developers and landlords to build and rent quality housing; and keep working to restore the safety and sense of civic responsibility once prominent in his neighborhood and others before manufacturing jobs faded.

Palmer says he’s making his first run for office to get involved in the community, be a visible leader in the 6th Ward, and better understand city spending and policy making. Since the primary, he’s added that increases in state retirement costs are also one of his major concerns. There’s also opportunities worth looking into that could strengthen Norwich’s economy long-term, he said, such as transforming the city’s Morrisville State campus into its own college and investigating the possibility of creating a municipal utility.

The city currently makes 100 percent of its employee retirement contributions. Its cost – which was $428,000 in 2009 – is expected to go up nearly $130k next year. That could create a significant budget gap in 2010, officials say, considering state aid is expected to go down and health insurance, equipment and other costs will likely go up.

“We need services like police and fire, and our police and fire departments do an excellent job; they are second to none,” said Jeffrey, stating that rather than cut jobs, new city employees should pay a portion of their retirement to offset the cost. “New employees will need to contribute their fair share of these increased benefit costs for health insurance and New York State retirement.”