Constance "Connie" Schmidt: 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: WarrenvilleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Connie for CouncilOffice sought: Warrenville City Council Ward 1 Age: 62Family: Connie and her husband Michael raised their two children, Sarah (29) and Daniel (27) in their small farmhouse in Warrenville. Sarah is now planning her wedding to Jamie Sowell and living in NYC. Dan was married to Korneilja in the Schmidt's backyard August 2016 and now resides in Wheaton. Michael and Connie share their home with several resident horses, two adoring golden retrievers, a small flock of chickens, and an aging cat. They have been dedicated Warrenville residents for over 34 years.Occupation: Retired TeacherEducation: Bachelor in Elementary Education from Northern Illinois UniversityMasters in Educational Therapy (Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders) from National Louis University60 hours of continuing education courses while working at CUSD 200.Civic involvement: "circ;cent;30 years of experience in education/ last 18 years with CUSD200"circ;cent;Dedicated volunteer and professionally trained leader with Sierra Club for 25 years"circ;cent;Sunday School teacher and Vacation Bible School volunteer for Trinity Lutheran Church"circ;cent;Youth Activity Volunteer with the Warrenville Park District, Local Cub Scout Troup (68) and Boy Scout Troup (514)"circ;cent;President of Trail Riders of DuPage for 8 + years "circ;cent;Legacy Volunteer of the Illinois Prairie Path"circ;cent;Environmental advocate and lobbyist to the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County and Springfield legislators"circ;cent;Union Representative for Illinois Education Assoc.Elected offices held: None in governmentMany in community involvementQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I care deeply about Warrenville. We are on the cusp of new development with the constraints of financial responsibility, and I would like to see Warrenville maintain it's unique small-town character while growing into a more diverse community with increased businesses, restaurants, and shops for residents. I bring to the table a wealth of leadership experience. I am prepared to both listen to my community members' opinions and voice suggestions constructively to others on the council. My opponent has been on the council for 12 years (3 terms). I believe it is good to have new resources brought to our city's government.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.This information on local sales and property taxes was not readily available on the city web site. The property taxes in Warrenville are approximately 6.1%. Averages for surrounding communities are Winfield ~6.8%, Wheaton ~6.2%, West Chicago ~8.1% and Naperville ~5.9%. This puts Warrenville on the low end for property taxes; however, local sales tax is on the higher end at 1.25% according to a 2016 DuPage county tax chart. Surrounding communities sales tax rates are Winfield .5%, Wheaton 1%, West Chicago .75%, and Naperville .5%. Warrenville boasts of having a balanced budget, which is required by Illinois state law, but does borrow from reserves for short-term projects then saves in the long run for infrastructure improvements like roads to be done on a rotational basis. At this point I think the tax structure is adequate; however, we do have citizen comments on a regular basis concerning this issue, and I believe that their remarks should be researched.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?Police and Fire are covered separately in Warrenville. We have an independent taxing body for the fire department, and the fire district is roughly twice the size of our actually city. I am aware that there are seven candidates running for three positions, and in talking to them to be aware of their issues, I've learned that there are some equipment needs for the fire department. Manpower seems to be adequate, and response time is good. The police department, however, is under the city government. They have a helpful website with information for citizens, such as services offered and resources for other services. Our city is part of Du-Comm, which is an intergovernmental agency formed in 1975 to provide public safety communications services to Police, Fire, and EMS agencies. According to their site, Warrenville reported crime in 2015 was less than 21,000 incidents, while West Chicago was more than 30,000, Wheaton was greater than 51,000 and Winfield was less than 11,000. Our crime rates are low compared to Illinois and the nation, but not the lowest of our suburban neighbors. Regarding our staffing, we have 39 full-and part-time employees in the department. It appears that Warrenville meets the needs of the community with the available staff. There are additional volunteers available such as the Police Explorer Scouts and the City's Emergency Management volunteers who support the staff for special events or emergency situations. Our city seems to be functioning well under the current leadership, staff and funding.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?After reading the financial reports on line, it appears that the budget is in good shape. An independent audit was made at the end of FY 2016 and submitted along with the report stating that the city's finances were in good standing. One comment I have is that some funds are designated for specific needs and available as grants to deserving projects within the community. Some of these funds remain unclaimed each year. Increased diligence in letting community entities know that they are available may be helpful for some local organizations and benefit Warrenville at large.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?We are a great town with plenty of wonderful things going on; however, many residents are not aware of multitude of opportunities in and around town. I would like to see better information sharing in a variety of modes to help get the word out on what is happening in Warrenville. Suggestions like moving beyond Facebook and a four-page newsletter from city hall sent to homes bimonthly to a weekly on-line e-mail blog that citizens can sign up for would be a start to fill in this gap. There are existing grant funds available for this service to be provided.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?The environment is very important to me: "circ;cent;Ensuring safe drinking water from our community wells."circ;cent;Protecting the riparian zone and flowing waters of the West Branch of the DuPage river that bisects our town, providing recreation and flora and fauna habitat as well as flood control. "circ;cent;Maximum recycling efforts for waste, including minimal use of plastic bags and a possible municipal compost opportunity. "circ;cent;Discouraging the use of toxins on our yards and driveway surfaces that pose dangerous health threats to our children, pets, native species, as well as us."circ;cent;Reducing the use of fossil fuels by increasing renewable energy sources such as using solar panels to energize outdoor lighting and minimizing lights left on in government buildings overnight. "circ;cent;Continuing to explore alternatives to traditional salt for de-icing pavement. While Warrenville does use a combination of sand with salt on streets, increase diligence may be helpful in protecting the runoff into our sewers and ultimately the river.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Canadian prime minister, Justin TrudeauWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Follow through on your promisesIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I feel pretty lucky with my life. Even my mistakes have helped make me who I am today.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?English/literature - I love to read and to go to book groups and discuss book of all genres. I am a life long learner.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Follow your dreams.