McHenry County board District 5 Yensen: Candidate Profile

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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: Lake in the HillsWebsite: www.paulayensen.comOffice sought: McHenry County board District 5 Age: 65Family: Husband: Michael Bissett Children: Jamie Boyce and Jason BoyceOccupation: Executive Director, United Way of Central Kane CountyEducation: Ph.D. and M.A. in Adult Education, Michigan State UniversityCivic involvement: Village Trustee, Lake in the Hills, 2001â#128;#147;2008 National Operational Volunteer for Girl Scouts USA Ingham County Women's Commission Former board member of the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County Former president of the YWCA of Hamilton, OhioElected offices held: McHenry County Board, District 5Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoQuestions Answers Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?My focus is always on protecting taxpayer interests. I look closely at county government expenditures to ensure we are not wasting money, and I look at government programs to ensure they are well-run. I have identified and eliminated a number of wasteful practices during my tenure on the County Board, and I will continue to find ways to make government more effective and responsive to the public.Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today, then describe the chief threats you see looming in the future and how the county should deal with them.The county has used conservative budgeting to build an enviable reserve fund, and has been able to draw on that reserve in lean revenue years to ensure that essential services are not interrupted. County revenues continue to face shortfalls from property value erosion, reduced licensing and fees, and from the loss of taxable land to annexation. This loss of revenue is partly a reflection of a reduced demand for some county services. We should take this opportunity to make county government more flexible in the way it delivers services, and by building stronger public-private partnerships to reduce fixed costs.If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?As liaison to the Mental Health Board, I identified and eliminated over-spending and ineffective programs. I opposed the Mental Health Board's wasteful building expansion, and I am working with the current board to find creative ways to recover that investment for the taxpayers. As Vice-Chair of the County Transportation Committee, I have been a strong advocate for context sensitive solutions such as the Fleming Road rebuilding that saved ancient oak trees while containing project costs. As Chair of the Stormwater Commission, I am leading the overhaul of the County's stormwater ordinance to make it more user-friendly and easier to apply.How do you rate the county government on transparency and the public's access to records? If you consider it adequate, please explain why. If you think improvements are needed, please describe them and why they are important.We can always do better. There are at least two ways to improve transparency: be more responsive to FOIA requests, and make more information public to begin with. The County already posts a lot of information on-line, but the average citizen might have a hard time finding what they are looking for. Anything we can do to make it easier to search on-line documents would be valuable. I'd also like to see video added to the audio recordings. We must resist efforts to weaken FOIA laws. Very little of what we do in County government needs to be secret.Name one concrete program youâ#128;™ll create or personnel move youâ#128;™ll make to improve efficiency in the office or make it more successful. Explain how it will be funded and how you will overcome any obstacles to initiating it.I think there are opportunities to streamline county government and consolidate some operations within a single department. As Chair of the Management Services Committee, I will be leading the review of County Government practices to find the best opportunities to cut management costs.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I support reducing the number of County Board members, as a way to trim costs, but also to increase the accountability of each member. We have one of the larger County Boards in Illinois, with 24 seats. It's been very easy for some members to take long vacations or skip numerous meetings, all while collecting their full salary, benefits and pension. That's wrong. With fewer members, it would be far more difficult for that spotty attendance to go unnoticed and unchallenged.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Bill and Melinda Gates.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Self reliance.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I have no regrets.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Public policy. I use that training every day to help me make decisions.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Always do your best and take risks.