Revitalizing West York, maintaining staffing of the police department and holding the line on taxes top some of the candidates' lists when it comes to serving on borough council or as mayor.

In the mayoral race, Democrat Varlen Gibbs is running against incumbent Republican Samuel Firestone.

Seven people are running for four, four-year terms on the council. Democrats Brian Wilson, Dawn Shue, Donald Knaub will square off against Republicans Nicholas Laughman, Michael Druck and Shane Louthian. Shelley Metzler, a Republican, appears on the ballot as both a Democrat and Republican.

And for an unexpired, two-year council term, Democrat Scott Green is facing Republican Steven Herman.

Wilson, president of council, said he and others are trying to move West York forward and keep costs down.

Some of the borough's vehicles, including police cars and a highway truck, needed many repairs, which cost the borough money. So the council decided to get new ones, which will help save money in the long run.

"You can only put a band-aid on something for so long," Wilson said.

Revitalization of the town is another priority among many of the candidates. Some businesses have moved out of the borough, and candidates said they'd like to attract new ones to West York to help with the tax base.

In addition to businesses, the town needs to attract more homeowners "to help spread the love a little bit," Shue said.

Several candidates said the service levels of the fire and police

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departments also need to be maintained.

"People are afraid to come into West York," Metzler said. "Our officers are tough."

The council needs to continue to look for state and federal grants to help with expenses, the candidates said.

"We're just a small little borough," Metzler said. "We're doing the best we can."

Louthian said he'd like to handle revenues more efficiently, and he has numerous concerns, such as plowing the streets. The crews do not hit the side streets, he said.

"It looks like it's the 1800s in the borough," Louthian said.

Parking is another problem in the town, and a solution needs to be found, Louthian said.

He'd also like to see more transparency besides the information available on the borough's Web site. Residents are busy, and he proposes an open public forum for addressing problems.

Knaub, Laughman and Druck could not be reached for comment.

Knaub, however, did respond to questions for the York Daily Record online voters' guide. He wrote that he would work hard for the residents, and the town could possibly scale back some services to hold the line on taxes.

For the two-year council term, Herman is running again after being defeated two years ago. If elected, he said, he would check the town's financial records to see how it is doing. He, too, suggested looking for grant money to help offset expenses.

"We're trying to give the taxpayers the best bang for their buck," he said.

Herman's opponent, Scott Green, said he'd like to go through the budget line by line, cut the waste and keep things that count.

Green said he feels safe with the town's police coverage, but he'd like to see officers walking or riding bicycles to create a better rapport with residents.

In the mayoral race, Gibbs had served on council a few years ago before taking a break. He said he would love to see policing stay the way it is. The department's presence has increased, and without a good police force, problems will grow.

"We want to keep things in check," he said.

Gibbs also said the borough has to be mindful of spending and putting money where it needs to be for the right reasons.

Firestone could not be reached for comment.