Mayor Profile - Phillip Surles

1. Name: Phillip Surles 2. Age: 30 3. Family (spouse’s name, children’s names and ages): Wife: Ashley Surles; Children: Benjamin Surles (age 2) & Jackson Surles (age 1) 4. Education: Bachelor Degree in Technical Management with a concentration in Accounting from DeVry University. Graduated 2013. 5. Profession/Title/Company: Commercial Real Estate Agent/ KW Commercial 6. How long have you been a resident of Sanger? I have lived in Sanger since April 2015 7. Why did you choose to run for City Council/Mayor? I care deeply about our community, and I believe our city is on the verge of economic expansion. Some of our most visible streets while driving through town are riddled with potholes and generally failing. I believe we can do better. The current government has become stagnant, elections have been cancelled, consistently low community turnout to council meetings. It’s time to get excited about Sanger! The first mayoral race in 8 years can help put a spotlight back on Sanger, and push Sanger to the forefront for new development. Sanger is my sons hometown, I want to make sure it’s one that everyone can proud of. 8. Why do you believe you are qualified for the seat of Councilman/Mayor? I am passionate about Sanger’s future, I want to ensure that our future is taken in the right direction and I plan to use my ability to identify talent in others to make sure we have the right people in the right place to get the job done. 9. What would you say to residents – primarily east of downtown – who are currently affected by sewage smell about efforts/plans to fix the problem? By this summer the odor should be contained. The treatment plant is already in the midst of a significant upgrade. However if this does not solve our problem, I am dedicated to finding an alternative and more effective solution. 10. What would you say to residents about the current state of the streets that are in need of repair? And if you believe more money should be made available for ongoing street repair, where will this money come from? The roads in many places of Sanger are terrible, the real problem lies in the utilities underneath the street that also need updating and the costs to do both are very high. However, I believe we should allocate more funds for ongoing street repair and updating infrastructure. Since street and infrastructure are very large expenses, I believe that first Sanger needs to concentrate on expanding its tax base with commercial businesses (consumer retail, office, and warehouse) to minimize any increase in taxes on current residents or take away from Sanger’s other operations. 11. What do you believe are the most important projects to be either started or completed in the city in the next two years? First, and foremost is the completion of the current upgrade to the waste treatment plant and confirmation of its efficiency. Second, we need to start repairing our roads and updating our utility lines. Third, I believe we should develop a plan to either update or replace our outdated school buildings west of city hall. 12. Is it important to you to keep the property tax rate from rising for the residents of Sanger? It is imperative that we keep the property tax rates as low as we can. This is an especially important subject as we see our property values begin to rise due to Denton residents moving outward to escape the high costs of living in more urban areas.