John Kupar: 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:BioQA Bio City: Campton HillsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Campton Township Supervisor (4-year Term)Age: 57Family: Married, two daughters; Allison - Senior - attending the University of Montana; Elizabeth - Senior - attending Rosary High School. Married for 27 yesr to Joni. Joni is an accountant. Have been a resident of the township since 1989 (24 years)Occupation: Director - Project Development/Senior Geologist, The DeNovo Group. The company specializes in environmental remediation, impaired property development, and beneficial reuse of waste materials. Please see our website at; www.denovogrp.comEducation: Syracuse University B.S. Geology (Professional) and Economics. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - Registered Professional Geologist- PG002783Civic involvement: Joint Enviornmental Resouces Management Committee (Village of Campton Hills and Campton Township), Village of Campton Hills Planning Commission - Water Resources Stragegic Plan. Campton Township Open Space CommitteeElected offices held: Campton Township Trustee (2001 - 2009) Two terms Campton Township Supervisor (2009 - 2013) Current 12 years of public service.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoQuestions Answers Name the three most important goals or objectives this board should tackle in the coming term. Prioritize them, and briefly discuss why you believe each to be critical, and how the board should go about addressing them.The first priority and objective of the board is to continue with the financial manangement stragegies we implemented in 2009. In 2009, the board instituted new finanacial management, accounting, and reporting systems in the township. We also streamlined our operations and personnel to run efficiently and within budget. Budgets were revised to allow for transpanecy and control, on a line by line item basis. For this next term, the board will continue to exercise close oversight and control over the Township finances. For the last four years, we have lived within our budget, and in some cases we have ended the fiscal year with a small budget surplus. During the next term, the board will be replacing the Townships accounting system. This will allow for even greater accountability and management. One of the goals we will focus on for the next term is developing more of our open space for use by the public. Many of our open space lands are currently used by the public. However, they are not developed to thier full potential. The board will be aggressive, during the next term to identify state and federal grants and other funding sources to help develop some of our open space projects. One of the major goals of the open space program is to provide natural resource and environmental education opportunities for the youth in the community. The board has set a priority, over the next four years, to develop programs to allow schools and youth groups the opportunity to learn about our local natural resources.In the 21st Century, with municipalities gobbling up vacant land, why are townships needed? Should they be serving a new role? If so, what?Campton Township is still considered a rural township. A good portion of the township is still un-incorporated and the township still serves residents in these areas. Campton Township residents passed two referendums over the last decade to purchased open space. Township residents have purchased over 1350 acres of open space. This open space consists of wetlands, prairies, woodlands, farms and historic buildings. In addition, the township has several parks which provide active recreation for our resinents. This includes a multitude of baseball, softball, football, and soccer fields. In addition to the townships traditional roles of a Highway District, Assesor and General Assistance, Campton Township is serving its residents by providing passive and active recreational opportunities.What should be the primary responsibility of township government?Candidate did not respond.In these hard economic times, can you identify some township expenses/programs that could be trimmed or eliminated to reduce the tax burden?The township institued financial controls in 2009. We have a procurement program that only accepts bids from the lowest resonsible bidder. In addition, we have taken advantage of State procurement programs which allow, us to get the lowest competitive cost on capital items. When we took office in 2009, we trimmed several of our programs, and prioritized others. The elected officials this year either reduced salaries or maintained current levels for the next four years.What specific background or experience do you bring that makes you the best qualified candidate to serve as an elected official in the township?I have managed multi million dollar projects and programs over the last 30 years. I have the experience to exercise financial control while meeting project/program objectives. The last four years has demonstrated the boards success in maintaining fiscal responsibility while providing and maintaining quality services to our residents.