On Tuesday, voters in the City of Georgetown will go to the polls to elect three city council members and a new mayor.

The contenders were recently asked questions about their candidacy, the use of utility funds and the possibility of a police-fire merger.

The answers given by the mayoral candidates were published Wednesday.

Running for city council:

n Jeanette Ard, a Democrat newcomer. She is a Georgetown native who has been in the floral business since 1984. She has two children and three grandchildren.

n Brendon Barber, a Democrat incumbent. He has served on City Council since 1998. He is a native of Georgetown and is Safe and Drug Free Schools Coordinator for the Georgetown County School District.

n Dedric Bonds, a Democrat newcomer. He did not respond to the questions.

n Jim Moody, a Republican newcomer. He settled in Georgetown in 1980 after moving from Riverside, CA. He has owned and operated Moody's Mechanical for 26 years. He and his wife, Fern have a large family in Georgetown.

n Paige Sawyer, a Republican incumbent. He is married to Susan McDaniel. They have two sons, Cary and Philip, two daughters in law, Kerry and Abby. He has owned Paige Sawyer Photography since 1974.

n Bruce Yablin, a Republican newcomer. A Georgetown resident since 1983. He moved to the area to work with Daniel Construction at International Paper. He has also owned a mobile home repair business.

Why are you the best person running for the office you are seeking?

Ard: I am a very honest, hardworking business person. I have owned and operated a business in the city of Georgetown since 1984. It has been very challenging at times and I have always met the challenge. I have the proven ability to resolve conflicts and reach out to others. I presently serve and am a past board chair for the Waccamaw Regional Workforce Investment Board. I am presently the Vice-Chair of the Regional Education Center which serves Georgetown, Williamsburg and Horry Counties. I am the only candidate actively involved in Job development and the creation of an educated work force.

Barber: I am the best person running for the office I am seeking because I truly want the city of Georgetown to be the best community possible for all it's citizens and for Georgetown to be a safe and prosperous city.

Moody: My goal is to redefine government.

Government is a business and the people are the stock holders.

Governments' role should not be all things to all people. It should provide basic services, cost efficiently and create an environment for growth.

When government spends, it creates tax burdens, when people spend, it creates jobs. I will speak out for the stockholders.

Being a councilman is not just about showing up to meetings, it is about making a difference. That is my pledge to Make a Difference

Sawyer: I vote against our budget because of tax and fee increases.

A one day a month furlough for six months would save $220,000. I supported consolidating our water department with GCWS which failed. Our water and wastewater budget increased $506,000 in 2009-2010.

I voted against raising the annual Christmas bonus from $100 to $150. $20,000 to $30,000 in five minutes.

I was successful in having the front desk of our police station closed after 11 p.m. thus saving $40,000 per year.

No more twice a week garbage pick up. It's not fair to citizens who recycle and need once a week pick up.

Yablin: I am retired and, therefore, have the time to be on city council without outside interests to distract me. I would be a full time, full service councilman. I have a background in engineering and have worked in construction, plumbing and have also worked as a stevedore.

Should the city continue the practice of using profits from the sale of electricity to balance its ordinary budget?

Ard: No. We should be setting a budget that we can use as a standard to go by. The city should seek out best practices being used in other areas and learn to do more with less. We can do without purchasing some of the budgeted items such as replacing the boardwalk until economic times at better or at least more stable. We need to repair and maintain our city until other revenue streams are identified. We're facing more than a normal amount of business closings which will result in a loss of revenue in the electric dept. and all other dept. It may not be our rainy day fund any longer.

Barber: No, I don't think the city should continue the practice of using profits from the sale of electricity to balance its ordinary budget. Eventually this fund will be depleted and it will have a negative impact on the bond rating.

Moody: No That is back door taxes and that is wrong.

Sawyer: I admit this is not a good practice and thankfully, the utility department recovers enough of its expenses to help balance the budget. This should not continue. Otherwise, taxes will have to increase every year to meet budget needs. Until our tax base expands, Georgetown is either going to have to lay off employees, consolidate services or contract out some services.

Yablin: City-owned services are supposed to be nonprofit, therefore, there should be minimal surpluses which are for maintenance and expansion. I would be in favor of selling off the electric department which would lower the electric rate to about the same level as outside the city.

Should the city think about combining the police and fire departments into one "public safety" department as some other municipalities have done?

Ard: I would not be against this if it make our city safer and more efficient. It could possibly help eliminate some of the burn out that these professionals experience. I do not like to make uninformed decisions and this one would require a lot of research to understand if we would be better served. We would need to look at best practices in other areas that have completed this task and have community involvement in this to make an informed decision.

Barber: I believe the city should perform a complete assessment of the practice of combining the police and fire departments into one safety division in order to reduce the budget and provide service.

Moody: Yes, if it will save money and be more efficient.

Sawyer: Several years ago Georgetown had a special meeting with representatives from Florence and Orangeburg. One of the cities had tried to initiate a public safety department and it fell flat.

The other had a public safety department and the representative told about the problems they experienced. Most of the policemen didn't mind going into a burning building while most of the firemen didn't want to go into a building with someone shooting at them.

The concept sounds great on paper but from what I learned it was more trouble than it was worth.

Yablin: No. Both departments are too important as standalone entities. With a combined department, we would end up with one more department head trying to manage two separate chiefs and too much specialized training. The taxpayers cannot afford this.