Jim Nutschnig: 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: MundeleinWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Mundelein Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 66Family: Married, two children, four grandchildrenOccupation: Retired Motorola Sales Executive Currently employed by the Secretary Of State, Department of Motor VehiclesEducation: Associates Degree in Business, City Colleges of Chicago Bachelors Degree in Business, Wright StateCivic involvement: Girl Scout Leader, Troop 195, Mundelein Cub Master, Cub Scout Pack 295, Mundelein Mundelein Park District, Little League Baseball Coach Mundelein Planning CommissionElected offices held: Santa Maria Del Popolo School Board, as Finance Director 1984-1987 Santa Maria Del Popolo School Board, as President 1987-1990 Village Trustee, 1991-2013Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To keep Mundelein a safe community to live in, work in,and educate our children in.Key Issue 2 To Keep Funding at a high level for street reconstruction and repair.Key Issue 3 To eliminate the blighted and or run down areas of the community. This can be done by offering lower cost loans for businesses. Applying for State and Federal grants to offset costs that these businesses may incur.Questions Answers The village is moving ahead with plans for a municipal hub near the train station that would include a village hall, retail space and office space. What is your vision for that area and how would you fund the project?My Vision is to have this area as the economic stimulus for downtown Mundelein and develop high pedestrian usage of restaurants and retail establishments. This project has been funded with no additional tax burden for our homeowners and businesses. The Westin Corp is leasing a large portion of the initial Village Hall which will defray any potiential related costs.Talking with your friends and neighbors, what seems to be their biggest public safety concern? Explain the concern as you see it, an discuss how you think it should be addressed?The biggest public safety concern among friends and neighbors is the continued safety of our streets, neighborhoods and schools. We all know that Chief Ramond Rose is retiring at the end of this month. When we hired Chief Rose twenty years ago, he worked endlessly to develop plans, operational protocols and school safety programs. Chief Rose not only planned these programs, he implemented them which made Mundelein a much safer community in which to live. He has chosen his replacement, Deputy Chief Eric Guenther, who has been groomed for many years to be a proactive leader in our police department. I feel very strongly that Mundelein will continue to be a very safe community.In these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed? Conversely, is there something that should be reinstated or have resources directed toward?Mundelein has, for many years, been eliminating wasteful spending. We have implemented a hiring freeze, the consolidation of departments and department heads, as well. Mundelein has cut back on vehicle and equipment purchases. My attitude is that we can fix it, refurbish it and or recycle it. Our department heads are not getting raises as scheduled, others are taking furlough days without compensation. We have made all employees pay a higher percentage of their insurance costs. So as you can see we are trimming the yearly budgets significantly on an ongoing basis.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I have had this idea for a few years now and I will be working to bring this to a reality if elected. There are some vacant properties North and West of Mundelein that need to be developed for the baby boomer generation. This entire generation is looking to downsize and live among their friends and peers in their age bracket. Look how well the Del Web (Grand Dominion) development has gone. Even with these economic times they are almost sold out and the baby boomers are just arriving. They are well constructed with a $300,000. to $500,000. price tag and no burden on the school systems. I just think that this would be a great opportunity for our community.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.A few years back many of us on the Board were realizing that inflationary times were upon us. Costs were going up and the villages income remained flat. Most, if not all of our surrounding communities were facing the same issues. The majority of those communities started implementing various utility sales taxes on their residences and businesses. In Mundelein, we did not think that burdening our residents and businesses with additional taxes on utilities was fair to them. We decided to forgo the utility tax, and added three quarters of one percent to the sales tax instead. This way the tax would be spread to others,rather than just Mundelein residents.