Benny White: 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: NapervilleWebsite: www.bennywhite.orgTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Benny White for NapervilleOffice sought: Naperville City Council Age: 53Family: Wife...Kimberly WhiteSon....Benjamin WhiteDaughter...Logan WhiteOccupation: Retired Army, JROTC Senior Army Instructor at Joliet West High SchoolEducation: BS: United States Military Academy at West Point.MS: Indiana UniversityM.B.A.: Webster UniversityD.B.A: Benedictine UniversityCivic involvement: Board of Fire and Police CommissionersUnity PartnershipElected offices held: Indian Prairie D204 Board of EducationQuestions Answers What should be the city's role in promoting availability of housing for people of all ages and income levels in Naperville? What should be more important in making decisions about proposed housing developments -- the opinions of neighbors or the housing needs of the community as a whole? Why?First, the city should promote and support the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; requirements mandated for all recipients of Community Block Grant Funds, such as Naperville. Second, Seniors represent 17% of our current population, a number expected to rise to 27% by 2019. Increasing senior attainable housing should be a top priority for the city. Population loss to other municipalities is significant because state funding is based on city population. Currently, we receive approximately $100 per citizen; a loss of 1000 seniors represents a $100K loss in state income. The city should consider offering incentives to developers that build housing to support this growing population in our community. Third, Naperville has outstanding schools that attract young families to the city. Having attainable housing is crucial to attracting an appropriate number of families to assist in sustaining quality demographic growth for our city. A failure to do so could affect our schools and other industries that support our school districts.Finally, the housing needs of the community as a whole should be most important. Opinions of our neighbors must be considered to hold council members and the city accountable. Opinions and public views will be weighed with the overall needs of the community. Individual neighbor opinions are often about the immediate future, and rarely take city growth and strategic planning into account. The public's views should be heard, public officials should better help articulate future city strategy, and betterment of the community should prevail.How should the city prepare and pay for major expenses in its public utilities such as water, wastewater and electric service? How can this be done within the current financial principles of passing structurally balanced budgets, reducing debt and increasing reserves? Should those principles remain, or do they need to be changed? Why?Due to fluctuating and unstable energy prices, the City of Naperville has been forced to approve annual electrical rate increases upon Naperville residents and business owners. Aside from simply raising our utility rates to offset the anticipated and unanticipated cost increases, the City has explored some other options to close utility budget deficits. I will continue to work with the council to explore other solutions. For instance, one solution is to look into additional interdepartmental borrowing. In 2014 the electrical department borrowed $13.2 million from the water department and they are currently paying back that debt to the water department in good faith. Another option we should explore is working with the other 31 members of IMEA of which Naperville owns roughly a 33% voting right. When added with Winnetka and St. Charles, we could form a more consolidated effort to seek more favorable utility pricing and reduce our utility rates by tapping into the IMEA's sizable reserves. It has been said that cost overruns on the Prairie State project is now costing each household in Naperville over $5 per month. We can put some of those reserves into the pockets of the rate payers who have footed the bill for the past decade. The water department should also be encouraged to continually monitor and repair its water lines for leaks thus saving Naperville taxpayers thousands of dollars each year by decreasing the amount of underground water that would otherwise be wasted through leaks and cracks in the water lines.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?There is a reason why Naperville was named the safest city in America. As a Commissioner on the Board of Fire and Police Commission (BFPC), I can confidently state that our coverage is very good and meets the needs of our city. Our public safety departments are forward thinking and receive the best training available. We have hundreds of candidates who consistently seek out Naperville for employment which allows the BFPC to pick the most qualified men and women available. Furthermore, many of our high ranking personnel are highly sought after by our neighboring cities to become Fire or Police Chiefs which speaks to the quality of these individuals. For our future, I agree with the Fire and Police Chiefs that building trust between our citizens and public safety officials is vital and I will support programs that work to develop and strengthen these relationships. The perception of one negative incident has the potential of tarnishing Naperville's reputation. The recent heroin epidemic is a small example of this. Our investment in our community will prove invaluable in the event of a crisis by mitigating the potential fall out of an incident. My specific safety concern is the growing number of calls that involve individuals with mental health challenges. I will support initiatives that encourage mental health training for our law enforcement and fire departments so they are better equipped to handle these situations.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?I would first look at different departments in our city government to ensure they are using best practices in an effort to run as efficiently as possible. I would exam the shelf life of some of our vehicles and equipment to determine if they can safely go beyond the manufacturer's suggested replacement date. If they are in good working condition, then can we keep them a few years longer before replacing them. I would like to see us further fund SECA for our non-profit organizations who do a wonderful job addressing the social needs of our community.It would be worthy investment to provide additional funding to our public safety departments so they can employ mental health professionals who are available to go out on calls as needed. They can be on call or could potentially accompany law enforcement officers so they are readily available to service individuals in need of help. It would also be worth establishing a database (within HIPPA rules and regulations) that would be available to public safety officials to alert them if they are encountering someone with a mental illness.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Having the great privilege to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, and ultimately serving my country as an active duty officer in the United States Military for twenty-two years, I lived and worked in many diverse communities both in the United States and around the world. Based on my life experiences, embracing diversity and understanding one's culture and background is a win-win for any community. One of Naperville's greatest strengths is its diversity. In order for a community to reap the benefits of its diverse population, it is imperative to understand the cultural differences, and backgrounds of those who live in the community. Naperville is fortunate to be a community made up of families and individuals from all over the country and world. Because of this, I would like to see Naperville support a "Getting to Know your Neighbor" initiative. This initiative would encourage neighborhood communities to have conversations and host events in an effort to get to know their neighbors. By doing this, we will discover that we have more in common than not and we can rid ourselves of some of the biases and stereotypes that many of us have; thus making Naperville a more "inclusive" city rather than "diverse."What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I would like the city to step up our efforts in attacking the Heroin and Opiate epidemic that is plaguing DuPage and Will Counties. The formation of a Task Force would be a great initiative to address this concern. 2015 saw a 50% increase from the previous year in heroin related deaths and the number skyrocketed to 78% from 2016 to 2017. This task force could focus on educating our public with a special emphasis on our youth. The task force would work closely with our law enforcement personnel as well as the fire department to help eradicate this threat from our community. Working with groups such as 360 Youth Services and Kids Matter would also go a long toward solving this issue.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Colin PowellWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Being accountable for my actions. Don't blame others. Ask what I could have done better when addressing an issue.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Spending more time with my family. Military life is very demanding and our families are often "bill payers" for a military career.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I have always enjoyed History. But I learned more about life playing on the Army Football team. Attributes such as teamwork, commitment, and perseverance.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be a good person of integrity and live by your Christian values. If you do this then everything else will fall into place.