- Protecting our Residential Neighborhoods
Our residential neighborhoods are the backbone of the community and can be fragile. We are a “family-friendly” community and our neighborhoods are where our families live. We must stand fast and protect our neighborhoods from negative intrusions.
- Strong and Healthy Financial Position
Maintaining a strong financial position is paramount. While our finances are strong and well-funded, I am deeply concerned about our Village’s increasing debt levels and the impact that the debt levels may have on the overall financial health and tax burden in the future especially if there is an economic downturn. Going forward, we will need to knock down these higher debt levels with as little impact as possible to our taxpayers.
- Emphasis on all Aspects of Life Safety
I believe in providing “extremely” strong “life safety” services as this is the most important service our Village government can provide to citizens. When you have an emergency, you need paramedics, fire fighters, or police to come to your aid, you need them to arrive quickly and prepared. Nothing is more important to you at that moment.
- Ongoing Economic Development
I will promote appropriate and compatible re-development. Properties that remain vacant or undeveloped for too long are a financial drag on the Village and can affect community desirability by prospective residents and businesses which in turn impacts property values.
- Strong Business Community
Maintaining a healthy and vital business community and economic environment is key to the overall financial well-being of Mount Prospect. I will continue to support policies to keep Mount Prospect a place where individual business owners to large corporate entities want to invest, do business, and put their risk capital to work. The fact is that healthy Residential Community goes hand in hand with a healthy Business Community.
- Focus on Basic Village Services
Providing strong basic services such as Police, Fire, Public Works, and Human Services is the primary reason Village Government exists and I will continue to support policies to appropriately fund these departments into the future.
- Fiscal Responsibility
By policy and purposeful action, the Mount Prospect Village Board has always maintained a responsible, careful approach to Village finances and maintaining a healthy Village budget which has provided us with great flexibility. As such, our Village has been able to weather the storm during economic downturns and move forward in strong economic environments. Today our financial condition is extremely strong. We have well-funded General Fund Reserves (our Village saving account) and our various accounting funds are more than adequately funded to assist us with necessary capital expenditures in the future. We have also put policies in place to more aggressively fund our future required pension payments so as not to come up short. We (I) have voted to expend the funds necessary to stay ahead of our infrastructure repairs and improvements with the goal of minimizing the funds required to be spent. If deferred, the cost of capital improvements tends to grow exponentially.
Finally, we have accomplished this with a stated goal of minimizing increases in taxes. In fact, given our current strong funding situation, I proposed and found support for a 0% (no increase) in our property tax levy in the 2019 budget. I proposed the same for the 2020 budget but unfortunately could not find the necessary support. The 2021 budget had a 0% (no increase) proposed by staff which I supported with my vote.
- Long standing and Consistent Platform Positions
While I can be extremely flexible in my day-to-day viewpoints, I have maintained long standing and consistent positions around my basic platforms as they pertain to our financial position, fiscal responsibility, taxes, development, and quality of life.