Red-light cameras a hot topic for Dist. 13 candidates
Two candidates are running for election to represent District 13 on the Kane County Board. Democrat Stephen R. Bruesewitz is challenging incumbent Philip H. Lewis, a Republican. Both are from St. Charles. What follows are the candidates' answers to a Daily Herald questionnaire.
Q. What is your view of the use of red-light cameras? Should Kane County continue to issue permits for them? If so, what should be the qualifying criteria?
Stephen R. Bruesewitz. I do not believe that red-light cameras should be used as revenue generators. They should be used primarily for monitoring intersections where a demonstrable safety hazard exists. Since red-light cameras are set off on a sensor, more dangerous driver activities (such as darting through a red light after a complete stop) go unticketed while minor infractions may be ticketed. Ideally, the placement of these cameras would be reviewed at regular intervals, and allowed to stay only if there is a measured improvement in safety.
Philip H. Lewis. I don't like them and I think most citizens see them as a revenue tool of government. I don't think Kane County should issue new permits unless a county road is in a local community and the local community has made a request for a red-light camera.
Q. How should video gambling revenue be utilized in Kane County?
Bruesewitz. The best use of video gambling money would be as a source for bonding authority to improve infrastructure. Interest rates are extremely low so this would leverage more money to improve county roads, mass transit, bike trails, etc. Video gambling, though not an ideal means of revenue, will ultimately put people to work and improve the quality of life if utilized in this way.
Lewis. I opposed video gambling. My expectation is there will be minimal video gambling revenue available for Kane County to utilize. What revenue we do get, we should assign to Public Safety.
Q. What is the appropriate level of service the Kane County Health Department should provide? Was downsizing the department the right move?
Bruesewitz. I don't think downsizing or outsourcing is ever the way to go. Herbert Hoover tried to cut the budget to restore prosperity during the Great Depression, and it wasn't successful then either. If the county had managed to attract 62 new jobs would they be patting themselves on the back? Discarding 62 jobs, as was reported in the papers, in the middle of an unemployment crisis is no help. After all, in the long run, the state of Illinois would have had to make good its promises for payment of services rendered. Government overspending is not the main economic issue that our county is facing. The issue is in decreased government revenue. The public is spending less due to lost wealth, lower wages and higher unemployment rates, and thus lowering their tax obligation. This not only made our employment situation 62 jobs worse, it all but guarantees that some people in need of help will go under or under served in the transition of the outsourcing.
Lewis. The county health department should provide statutory services and do it as efficiently and as effectively as possible. The health department should also maintain adequate financial reserves to respond to emergencies. Providing state health grant services should be left to philanthropic providers who have multiple funding sources. The decision to downsize the department was difficult for me but I felt it was unavoidable when the state of Illinois imposed lengthy delays in paying the county for the grant services. By this action, the state was consuming the county's financial resources and jeopardizing our ability to respond to a county emergency. I am hopeful that most of the health department's displaced employees will be hired by the new providers.
Q. The county board sets budgets for departments run by other elected officials whom the board has no control over. How should the county board enforce the budgets it sets for these officials?
Bruesewitz. This is not a question that has an easy solution if it was, it would not be of such concern to the county. It is easy to see how competing needs can throw a budget off, especially in this time of shrinking revenue. I believe that the fairest solution is to retain an independent, neutral auditor to seek out and eliminate wasteful spending.
Lewis. As Public Service Chairman, I have been involved in setting the budgets of the following elected officials in Kane County: Clerk, Treasurer, Recorder and Regional Office of Education. These offices have successfully operated within their budgets. The best way for a budget to be achieved is for the elected official to agree with the board that the new budget is achievable and commit to it. Enforcement is tough given the conflict in state statute. At this time, the board is seeking a legal opinion.
Q. Name a specific area of the county budget in which you can support a reduction. Also, what new revenue generator(s) would you support?
Bruesewitz. There is so little in the way of new growth right now. The least harmful way to generate new revenue is probably user fees and license fees.
I would be hard pressed to find a fair way to increase any significant revenue. Property taxes should not be raised, because they are not dependent on income and are hard to justify given the current housing situation. Sales taxes are by their nature regressive, and discourage consumption, making them deadly to small businesses in the area. I do believe that the county should address impact fees. The current concern about additional courtrooms would not have been an issue if the county had been collecting cost-appropriate impact fees for developments all along.
Lewis. The county's tax levy in 2009 is .2831, lower than the 2006 tax levy of .2847. The county has been providing services without increasing taxes. In this economy, the county must be even more efficient in providing services and I believe there are opportunities in every department. I support a review of service fees and fines to align the amount collected to the cost of the service provided.