Name:   Brenda Lehman

           

Occupation:  Attorney and Brentwood Business Owner

 

 Family:  I have three children: a son, 15 and son and daughter twins age 12, all whom attend Brentwood/Williamson County public schools.  My mother, two brothers, their wives and children also make Brentwood their home.  My brother, Trent and I run a second-generation family owned business in Brentwood founded by my mother, Judy Lehman in 1987.  I count it a privilege that I have family of multi generations living in Brentwood.

1.                 The 2010 Census showed a 58% increase in Brentwood’s population over the last 10 years. What steps do you think the city commission should take to manage growth?

Fast growing communities must be prepared to respond to growth with a broader set of coordinated tools and strategies beyond traditional land use planning.   One of the most fundamental functions a city provides is public services such as police and fire protection, roads, sanitary sewer, water services and parks.  Provision of these services is directly tied to the City’s ability to fund the capital and operational costs associated with the services. Certain land uses have better ratios of costs of services to revenue generation than others, potentially creating fiscal imbalances. It is important to plan for a balanced mix of land use that has the best chance of creating tax revenue streams that allow new growth to pay for the costs of services needed as a result of that growth.  The challenge for the City Commission is to continue to make improvements, primarily in the form of better integrated land use planning, economic development, fiscal planning, and capital facility planning all operating as one coordinated system.

 

 

2.        What should the top three priorities of the Brentwood City Commission be?

 

All issues set forth below are important, intertwined and affect one another in some way. 

* We must keep a low tax rate, attract and encourage revenue through cutting edge economic development ideas and utilization of our commercially zoned spaces to their fullest extent.

* Debt Management and maintaining the City’s Bond rating,

 

* I believe there is an importance to maintain the family unit so I will encourage viable options for our senior citizens and our young adults (smaller home in a sustainable development) located within Brentwood. Too often older residents are forced to relocate because they are unable to afford or maintain the large single-family home/lot. Also, when our elder residents move out of Brentwood we lose a viable aspect of our tax base and valuable access to their expertise as involved citizens in our community. Thus, Brentwood will cease to be a family oriented City. The same is true for our college graduates who desire to move back to their community. If we do not address these needs of our seniors and young adults then what type of community are we designing for Brentwood’s future?

 

3.      What does Brentwood do well and what do you think the city could improve on?

 

Brentwood is a great place to raise a family.  Brentwood is fiscally sound and has a good bond rating.

 

Although, Brentwood is fiscally sound and has a good bond rating today, we need to consider and plan for the economic challenges that we will face in the future!  We need to have forward thinking individuals to represent this City and its residents.