Geneva 4th Ward hopefuls disagree on dining tax

Ronald Singer, a Geneva alderman since 2001, is facing his first opponent in challenger Jeanne McGowan.

Singer said there is going to be a lot of change taking place in Geneva in the next four years, and his experience will be an asset.

McGowan, who has lived in the city for 11 years, said she gravitates toward opportunities to make the world a better place. As an alderman, she said, she can be "a person of service."

Interests and issues

• The city does not need an assistant administrator, Singer said. Batavia and St. Charles, with larger populations, don't have them, he said. "I feel the present administrator can see to it that the present responsibilities can be shared on the staff as such," and the cost of one is "prohibitive," he said. Last year, the assistant was promoted to administrator, and the council refused to authorize a replacement.

McGowan said the issue needs to be studied a little more. "Stephanie Dawkins is essentially doing her position plus her previous position. It is difficult to take two major positions in City Hall and just combine them," McGowan said.

• Singer opposes the city's 2 percent places-for-eating tax, even though he voted for it. He wants to repeal it. "I am very much opposed to it," he said. If it stays (it is due to take effect May 1), the money should be spent on items that benefit restaurants, he said.

McGowan disagrees. "Many Geneva residents already kind of pay that tax throughout the course of a typical week and don't even realize it," if they dine out at neighboring towns that have liquor taxes. And she said she has heard nonresidents account for 70 percent to 80 percent of retail spending in Geneva. Unlike an increase in sales tax, which could only go for capital projects, the dining tax money is flexible, she said.

• McGowan was "vehemently against" the proposed five-story apartment-and-retail Seventh and State project downtown, due to its "massive" scale. She would like to see affordable housing built on that site instead.

Singer agrees. "You have to sit back and listen to what the community is saying to you," he said, and the residents were calling the plan a monstrosity, he added.

• McGowan opposes having the city seeking home-rule power. Singer supports having a referendum on it.