Give us a brief account of yourself and your qualifications to hold office. 

My wife and I moved to Greenfield 7.5 years ago, and we are raising our 5-year-old daughter here, who is now entering Kindergarten at Rockford Elementary. I am committed to seeing her grow up in a community that not only retains its rural character but also grows in a way that benefits everyone. This commitment led me to participate in the Internet Task Force, leveraging my 30 years of experience in Information and Network Security Management for major companies like Microsoft, Starbucks, Target, and PwC. 

Since then, I have remained actively engaged with our city’s governance, attending every council meeting and most working sessions for the last three years. My involvement has included challenging various council decisions, from questioning the reduction of assessment fees for certain businesses that brought no apparent benefit to our community, to opposing disproportionately costly road projects that levy undue burdens on our tax base. I have specifically scrutinized assessment disparities, where adjacent property owners face drastically different fees due solely to the location of their driveways. My goal is to ensure fairness and transparency in how our city manages its resources and makes its decisions. 

Why have you chosen to run for office? 

I’ve chosen to run for office because I believe in transparency, accountability, and smart growth for Greenfield. As someone who has consistently attended City Council meetings, I’ve seen firsthand how decisions are made, often without sufficient planning for our financial future. I want to ensure that Greenfield grows sustainably, preserving our rural character while addressing the financial challenges we face. My goal is to bring more effective, transparent governance that listens to residents and plans ahead, so we can avoid unnecessary tax burdens and keep Greenfield a great place to live. 

What do you feel are the chief issues that will face our residents during your term in office? 

I believe the chief issue facing our residents is getting spending under control. The current City Council’s budget is nearly double the inflation rate, with proposals from the City Administrator that lack fiscal responsibility. We need to focus on growing Greenfield in a sustainable way, ensuring services are funded within the budget and expanding our commercial base. The city has also given financial breaks to businesses without clear benefits, as seen with a derelict building that remains an eyesore. My goal is to bring more accountability and smarter financial planning to our city’s growth.

What are your goals if you are elected? 

If elected, my goals are centered on making our city’s governance more transparent, efficient, and equitable. Key initiatives include updating our City Assessment Policy to ensure fairness and clarity; exploring the outsourcing of road and park maintenance to see if it offers a sustainable cost-saving; putting our city engineer and city attorney services out for bid to potentially enhance service quality and cost-effectiveness; and revamping the review process for the City Administrator to enhance accountability and incorporate community and staff feedback. 

What, if anything, would you change if elected? 

Platform goals: 

1. Minimum New Project Approval: Review a minimum amount the city can bond for on new projects without prior voter approval. 

2. Update the City Assessment Policy: City Assessments should be fair, balanced, and transparent. We should be able to trust that the appraised benefit for improvement is equitable for all and easy to understand how that relates to the assessment fees. 

3. Review whether or not Outsourcing additional road maintenance would reduce the budget and be sustainable for a growing community: Nearly 25% of the city budget goes to gravel road and park maintenance. That includes equipment capital expenditures, pay, health and benefits, liability insurance, etc. Many smaller cities have chosen to outsource this at a cost savings to the city. Greenfield should investigate if this makes sense as a long-term cost savings for our city. 

4. RFP for city engineer and city attorney: Two of the city contracts that the city renews each year are the city attorney and city engineer. It is time the city put these services out for bid to evaluate not only the cost savings, but the benefit of hiring firms that may better serve our community. 

5. Revamp the City Administrator annual Review: The most important position in our city is the City Administrator. I am suggesting that this position be reviewed by the entire council annually, not just the mayor and one council member, allow for anonymous staff and public input and provide a set of metrics to evaluate performance that is fair to the city administrator. 

What, if any, email should we use for community members to reach out to you with questions? 

matthew@votemcsheehy.com votemcsheehy.com