Roger Byrne: 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: Vernon hillsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Vernon Hills Mayor Age: 67Family: Kathy my wifeErin McElroy my daughterPatrick Byrne my sonKellan,Toran and Isley our grandchildrenOccupation: Insurance AgentEducation: BA Parsons College 1971Civic involvement: Village Trustee 1987-1993Village President 1993 to presentElected offices held: Village Trustee 1987 -1993Village President 1993 to presentQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?It has been an honor and a privilege to be the President of Vernon Hills all these years. When I became a trustee in 1987, the population was around 10,000 people. The saying was "in order to move up you had to move out of town." Hawthorn Club subdivision was first approved in 1987. It was upscale and many people living in town moved to this new subdivision. Our home values in town range from $100,000 to over $3,000,000. Our population now is over 25,000 people. Last year more than 1,500 residents responded to our National Citizen Survey questions on our website. 94% of respondents feel they enjoy a high quality of life in town. A majority also rated the sense of community as excellent or very good and nearly all would recommend living in Vernon Hills. Business Insider posted a report on the best town to live in each state in America and we were their no.1 pick in Illinois.I've been blessed to work with great trustees, committee members, Village staff and citizen volunteers these many years. Myself, the trustees and Village employees serve our residents everyday and are cognizant of the fact that we should exceed your expectations when you need us. I am proud to be from Vernon Hills. I still have the energy, passion and time to help run our town for another term as your Village President.How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services that people want?The Village's main source of income is our sales tax. It accounts for nearly 55% of our total general fund revenues. We don't levy a property tax to provide vital Village services.We pass a resolution on an annual budget for the Village of Vernon Hills for the fiscal year which commences on May 1 and ends April 30 of the next year.In FY2015/16, total expenditures for all departments and activities were budgeted at $29,208,148.I believe our sales tax percentage doesn't need to be changed unless the State of Illinois decides to keep more of the sales tax revenue. Currently, we generate nearly $14,000,000.We send over $60 million a year to Springfield. The State is considering reductions in the LDGF amount that is paid to us on a per capita basis. We receive nearly $100 for the 26,000 plus people living in town or $2,600,000. If the State reduces our amount by 20%, we would lose over $520,000. We have to work to safeguard our current revenues.Your Village does not levy a property tax. We have worked diligently to create a $24 million budgetary surplus which has allowed us over the years to help other taxing bodies in town complete capital improvement projects. For example: "circ;cent;Donated the land to the Library District, "circ;cent;Loaned Vernon Hills High School $1.6 million to build the track and football stadium, and "circ;cent;Loaned Vernon Hills Park District $2 million to purchase the former YMCAWhere, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?In the 90's, 127 full time employees worked in town that dropped to 107 in 2009 due to attrition. Our revenues across the board dropped to $2 million during the Great Recession. Fortunately, our sales tax is now 37.3% above the 2009-10 recession level. During the fiscal year 2009-2010, we reduced staff by 10 employees by offering early retirement packages. We review every department's budget line by line to see if we can save any money. I am proud of the fact that over the years, we have accumulated a surplus of $24 million. Our budgets have been balanced for decades.Group purchasing agreements that we have entered into over the years have helped reduce our budgets. I would like to accelerate certain capital projects dealing specifically with improvement to our infrastructure.Pavement Management Study "â#128;œ The study, which was conducted in 2014, denoted an overall condition of the pavement network within the village at 83 out of 100. The findings reflect that the overall health of the pavement infrastructure is sound. It included a cautionary note that the shortage of funding requires that decisions be made wisely.Road Programs - Over 8.3 miles of pavement has been rehabilitated over the past four years. These projects have been conducted on primarily residential streets and opportunities for Federal Aid and other funding has been pursued. Lakeview improvements from Fairway Drive to Center Drive are in the Phase 2 process and most items are eligible for 80% matching funds.Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.The first year I was elected, we started communicating in a new way with our residents by broadcasting our Board meetings. Since then our ability to disseminate information has exploded due to electronic media.An example was the time and effort I put in to bring Vernon Hills High School to our community. Under the BRAC Act, the old Nike site was declared government excess land. I chaired the Nike site reuse committee. 22 different taxing bodies had the right to claim part of the land. We then took the lead in creating a comprehensive land use plan along with School Districts 103, 125, and District 128. After almost three years, the Federal Government deeded the land to the Village and School Districts. Vernon Hills High School is now recognized as not just one of the best schools in Illinois and the USA. The high school is built on 20 acres that was purchased prior to the Nike site being annexed into town. I established a second site selection committee to find land in Continental Executive Park that was contiguous to the Nike site. The cost of this land was $6 million. I was glad to have helped facilitate the high school and the open space. This has given our town a great sense of community.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Consolidation of municipalities, if the parties are mutually agreeable and other governmental services.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Not many towns could help the schools, park district, library district and fire protection districts like we have over the years.We gave Vernon Hills Park District $1.5 million to purchase the 37 acres that is now home to the Sullivan Center and Aquatic Center.Districts 128, 103, and 125 were helped by us spending $15 million to help convert the property and build Fairway Drive. This 165 acre is now known as the Vernon Hills Athletic Complex.We've never gone to referendum to build anything due to the Village's AAA bond rating and a large reserve account.The Menards and Mellody Farms are two projects that will help our community's tax base thrive for years to come. The Pulte subdivision will fund Loyola University's rehabilitation of the Cuneo Mansion in the amount of $3 to 4 million and help bring it back to its old grandeur. State roads need to be improved especially the five miles of Route 45 running through town. The cost is a minimum of over $60 million. Engineering of this project is still going forward by the State. Route 60 and Milwaukee Avenue intersection will be improved at a cost of $6.5 million.With internet sales growing and biting into our sales tax base, we are strong supporters of the Marketplace Fairness Act being passed through Congress. This legislation would guarantee the collection of sales tax on all internet purchases. We will let our voice be heard through our Senate and Congressional representatives.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Sid Mathias was a great mayor of Buffalo Grove, a respected Illinois House member, and current County Board member.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Not to come home with a note from Sister Marie Patrick, Principal of Our Lady of Loretto Elementary School.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Spending more time with my children growing up.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History which lead me to major in political science in college.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Never look down on anyone except if you're helping them get up.