Michael Camerer: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: BartlettWebsite: http://Camerer4Trustee.comOffice sought: Bartlett Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 54Family: Married to Robin 27 years Three boys, Jonathan, Daniel, MatthewOccupation: Chiropractic PhysicianEducation: Bachelor of Arts in Math Science, Judson College, 1981 Doctor of Chiropractic, National College of Chiropractic, 1984Civic involvement: Bartlett Chamber of Commerce, member Bartlett Rotary Club, member, past President, Rotarian of the year Bartlett Veterans Memorial Foundation, past member Bartlett Learning Center/Clare Woods Academy, board member Bartlett Park District Aquatic Committee, past member Village of Bartlett, Person of the Pillar Boy Scout Troop 227, past assistant scout masterElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Unfortunately, Bartlett has become a village with a lot of political division, even on a non-partisan board. As someone with a long history of community involvement, my first objective is to restore confidence, trust, and civility in the leadership of our village. We need to treat all members of the board fairly, and listen to the concerns of the residents with regard to the needs of our community. I believe the leadership of Bartlett needs to be committed to public service and not political self interest.Key Issue 2 Bartlett needs to pursue a broader small business initiative. The perception is that Bartlett is not business friendly and the village needs to work on changing that perception through marketing and public education.Key Issue 3 I believe we need to re-imagine and double our efforts in the development of the town center area in downtown Bartlett. As a village we need to focus on what has made other cities downtown areas prosper and emulate other models of proven success.Questions Answers What can the village do to encourage more development into Bartlett, particularly in the Brewster Creek Business Park?The Village of Bartlett needs to develop a new strategic marketing plan that entices businesses into the village. We need to make Bartlett a village that is less restrictive and more encouraging in our effort to help businesses succeed. As a village we need to find ways to enforce building codes without micro-managing businesses with extra expenses and restrictions that discourage and frustrate the business owner. We need to engage successful business owners who live or work in Bartlett in a conversation on how to make Bartlett a business friendly community. By asking people who have a stake in the success of Bartlett, instead of consultants, we will gain a clearer picture and focused direction of the changes we need to make in our village to encourage small business development.With millions of dollars in budget cuts the last few years, how will you make sure the village continues providing good services to residents?As a small business owner you soon learn to live within your budget. The Village of Bartlett is no different; we need to formulate a budget that manages the revenue that we receive without inflicting further charges or taxes on the citizens we serve. We need to make sure that all village departments are as cost effective as possible and any redundancy in spending is eliminated. Future services such as road re-surfacing and public works projects require planning and we should continue to allocate funds proactively. Having educated foresight for future needs should allow the village to provide good services to residents for years to come.Weigh the value of late liquor licenses to local businesses (4 a.m. in the case of the Cadillac Ranch) against safety concerns. Should 4 a.m. licenses continuie to be permitted? If so, what can be done to curb the number of incidents?Safety in our community should always be of the highest priority. The village should not place itself in the position of dictating what a business does once the business has been granted a license. However, the village can enforce penalties on businesses and patrons of those businesses who fail to respect the safety of others by over indulging. If statistics prove that more incidents occur between the hours of 12-4 am, then perhaps having Police paid for by businesses to enforce safety concerns as a condition of having a late liquor license would be appropriate.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of Bartlett's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.I believe that the village is currently functioning well on its present revenues. I also believe that the village should be run like a business. As with a business, if the revenues are decreasing then appropriate cuts may need to be made or productivity increased. Increasing productivity should not mean increasing surcharges and taxes on the citizens of our community. We always need to be looking for innovative ways to keep our taxes low in our village. Our village should explore any opportunity to work with other neighboring cities, counties, or park districts on projects that could provide mutual benefits, reducing costs to the village and ultimately the tax burden on the public.What are the village's biggest public safety concerns? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.The Village of Bartlett was recently listed as one of the safest places to live in the U.S. As a village we need to ensure that we continue to give the police force the tools and technology needed to effectively combat crime. Most people in our village would list safety of children as the highest concern. As a village we need to focus on safety in and around our schools. Our village needs to maximize our supporting role in the schools by utilizing our resources to protect children from drugs and violence, providing an environment where children are able to learn and develop without fear.