We all win when government is more innovative, accountable and transparent.

For the past 8 years, I’ve had the privilege of serving the people of La Grange as a Trustee on the Village Board.  Over the past 25 years, my wife and I have called La Grange our home.  Its the only home our two children know.  For us, La Grange is great because of the people.  Neighbors that help each other in times of need and enjoy block parties together, that volunteer for the numerous local charities and as coaches to help our kids learn teamwork and grow individually, that invest their hard earned money into their homes and businesses and much, much more.

I see the role of a Village Board Trustee to ensure that local government is responsive to the needs of the people for the role it plays--Police, Fire, EMS, Public Works and Zoning.  That it should deliver these services in the most cost effective way possible to keep La Grange taxes and fees low.  The Board should define the objectives for each department based on regular community-wide feedback, hold staff accountable to meeting each objective in a timely fashion, and make sure the people’s business is conducted transparently.  

We live in very challenging financial times here in Illinois and La Grange has its challenges too.  Our Police and Fire pension funds are underfunded by millions of dollars due to use of unrealistic savings assumptions coupled with poor market performance.   The 5 year budget (that will be voted on this evening) calls for 5 consecutive years of property tax increases, 3 consecutive years of water rate increases, 3 consecutive years of sewer rate increases as well as increases in parking stickers, parking fines, utility taxes...you get the picture.   But despite all the increases, the budget calls for continued reductions in many service levels and limited street and sewer repair projects.  More taxes and fees coupled with reductions in service levels is the “status quo” right now and it will keep working that way unless changes are made.  I my opinion, this model  is not in the best interest of our community.

I believe we can do better than that.  That will require changing how some things have been done for a long time.  And change requires leadership.  Even simple things like asking our staff to drive their cars a little longer to save money met with strong resistance and was defeated in a recent vote.  Or embracing the simple fact that people live longer today than they did thirty years ago so we can responsibly meet our pension obligations to avoid a future debt crisis met with strong resistance and ultimately no action taken.   Common sense ideas.

If re-elected, I’ll take the same approach to the role of Trustee as I do in the company I co-founded.  Hard on the problem and easy on the people.  Adopt “best practices” wherever you find them and make decisions based on sound research.  Hire smart people and hold each other accountable to a well-defined plan and a high ethical standard.  That’s why I chose to support independent candidates Joan Hoigard and Jeff Tucek for Village Trustee and Lisa Sher for Village Clerk.   We share similar views on how to bring more innovation, accountability and transparency to Village government. 

While we can all be proud of the successes our Village has had in the past, this election is about how Village government will meet today’s challenges and prepare for future ones.  Some prefer the status quo, but I prefer to “Make It Work Better”  not just “Keep It Working”.