11 Elgin council candidates on spending, economic development

How much the city of Elgin spends and how to spur economic development is a recurring theme among the 11 candidates running for four city council seats in the April 7 election.

The city contracts for economic development services with the Elgin Development Group, a division of the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin.

“We're actually doing economic development cheaper than we were before,” incumbent John Steffen said, adding that performance reports should be constantly reviewed.

Challenger Mo Iqbal agreed. “What they are getting is very reasonable. The city is not overpaying.”

On the other hand, challenger Andrew Cuming called the contracts “ridiculous.”

Challenger Jaime Hjelm said she wants to take a hard look at the services provided. “Elgin has put a lot of money into the chamber and the DNA,” she said. “I want to see a return on investment.”

Challenger Jason Dusenberry agreed. “I am supportive of the chamber overall, but I do have concerns about the current arrangement,” he said. “We have to take a hard look at that contract and make sure we have some sort of measurable results.”

The Elgin Development Group is “pretty good” at bringing manufacturing but not sales tax-generating businesses to Elgin, whose portion of Randall Road lags behind neighboring towns', challenger Fred Moulton said. “We need our own fresh-faced people,” he said.

There's no need to add to the city's payroll, challenger Kyle Scifert said. “A lot of times, public-private partnerships work,” he said. “It has to be balanced.”

The arrangement with the Elgin Development Group seems to be working, challenger Julie Schmidt said. “I can't say the chamber is not doing a good job.”

Tony Lucenko, the economic development director the Elgin Development Group hired in August, is “a sharp guy,” incumbent Toby Shaw said. “It's the people you have. If he goes away, we have to re-look at what you have.”

Incumbent Rose Martinez agreed. “We're very fortunate to have all this.”

The challengers accused the city of spending too much.

“Our income continues to decrease,” Scifert said. “At some point we have to stand up and say, 'Enough is enough.'”

Martinez disagreed. “The budget is very slim,” she said.

The city must reduce taxes and waive business fees, Cuming said. “I feel like a lot of our spending is wasteful and does not improve the quality of life of our residents,” he said.

Steffen pointed to data showing that the average Elgin homeowner pays $1,935 in taxes compared to an average $2,656 in comparable communities. “Performance-based budgeting is one of the major issues I am focusing on,” he said.

Any surplus of sales and income taxes should go to residents, Shaw said. He said he's also concerned about a plan to issue bonds to fix roads while the market is cheaper. “I don't trust the council to cut back in the future.”

The city should spend less on recruitment firms, especially for midlevel management, incumbent Tish Powell said.

“We have to ensure excellent city service and a high quality of life,” she said. “It's a delicate balance in terms of what we're expected to do as a council.”

Spending can be cut without affecting quality of life, Iqbal said. “There is a considerable gap between what an Elginite makes and what the average person at city hall makes,” he said.

The city must reassess staff salaries and benefits, Schmidt said. “We've lost the scope of what government should do,” she said. “City hall is not the city. The city is the citizens of Elgin,” she added.

Hjelm said the city has to ensure its taxpayers' money is well-spent. Elgin has disproportionately invested money into downtown and doesn't hold enough round-table discussions with residents to assess their priorities, she said.

Dusenberry said the city has spent a lot of money improving the aesthetics of downtown but now has to have a specific, aggressive business plan. “What may work to attract a small business may not work to attract a large business, or vice-versa,” he said.

Cuming and Iqbal questioned whether the city needed to spend more than $400,000 on new fitness equipment at The Centre. City council members voted unanimously for that.