Connie von Keudell: 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: HampshireWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Kane County board District 9 Age: 59Family: Married 17 years to Nils von Keudell, 3 adult children, 4 granddaughtersOccupation: Office book keeper, part time bus driver. School bus instructor Regional office of EducationEducation: Elgin Community College and Business Management certficationCivic involvement: Work with Hampshire Twp. transporting senior citizens. Involved in Hampshire Coon Creek Festival, American Legion Ladies Auxiliary, VFW Ladies Auxiliary. Volunteer work at Zion United Methodist ChurchElected offices held: Hampshire Fire Protection District Trustee 2005 - 2017 Hampshire Twp. Republican Precinct Committeewoman Kane CounyQuestions Answers The county commissioned a study to determine which services are mandated and which are not in preparation for a deeper budget cut. Do you believe the county must continue to reduce costs? If so, which non-mandated services would you cut or reduce? Under what circumstances would you support a tax increase?First of all the county doesn't determine which services are mandated, that is set by state statute. The county should continue to find ways to reduce costs, however, the study that was commissioned was a waste of money because it was rightly criticized by several elected officials as being simply erroneous. The county paid for and received a detailed study of mandated services when the county's Strategic Plan was adopted under the previous administration. The appropriate question should be whether even mandated services are subject to management as to the time and level of delivery. An example would be that while the circuit clerk is mandated to accept court filings no law mandates how many clerks may be employed just because someone doesn't want to stand in line. Both the building and zoning functions and the health depart are non mandated services but I would be opposed to eliminating services that the public as come to expect merely because there is no law that requires that the county performs them. If I were to eliminate a non mandated service it would be Kane County Connects. The county already has a web page and most articles that appear in KCC are taken directly from local newspapers. Instead of focusing on mandated and non-mandated each service should be evaluated on its own merits. Tax increases should be employed only as a last resort.The mandated services study said the law will require a reduction in the number of board seats as the county's population grows. Reducing the number of seats might also save money. What is the right number of board seats? How soon should the reduction occur?The county board will be required to redistrict after the 2020 census results are certified in 2021. At that point the county board may be required to reduce the number of board seats if the county's population falls with those statutory provisions. The county board could reduce the number of seats as it did after the 2010 census but doing so could further reduce representation for the residents outside of the large river communities. The county board undertook a thoughtful and bipartisan review of redistricting in 2011 and should do so again after the next census.Do you support adding a sunset clause to any toll created to fund the Longmeadow Parkway?Yes I do support the sunset clause because when the bridge was originally discussed nearly 25 years ago, part of the discussion involved a toll bridge that would help pay for its construction saving the taxpayers of Kane County money. The toll bridge was added as a means of paying it with the stipulation that it would be removed when the funds were repaid. Kane County is not the only county benefiting from this bridge. Many McHenry County residents will also benefit and they should pay their share so that the entire expense isn't on the taxpayers of Kane County. It's a users fee. Those opposed to the toll bridge fear that the toll will not go away after the monies has been recouped. It should be mandated that the toll on the bridge will be eliminated at that time.Was ending the county's GPS and electronic monitoring program the right decision? If not, how would you restore the program?While it is the board's job to set the budget for each department, it is not the their job to tell the elected official where to cut their budget. Each elected official should know best what monies are needed to run their offices most efficiently. I would never have ended GPS and electronic monitoring because it is my understanding that the majority of the funding actually comes from those in the program. It also saves the taxpayers money because the individuals are being monitored at home and not in the jail, adding to the overcrowded conditions and costs of incarceration. Instead of cutting the budget or improving it we have actually just transferred the overage from one department to another.Do you support keeping the Aurora Election Commission?No I don't. The people serviced by the Aurora Election Commission are actually being taxed three times. First by the city of Aurora for the benefit of the election commission. Second by Kane County to pay election costs for the rest of the county, and third Aurora residents pay taxes to the county so that the county can send the money back to Aurora for the county's required share of the election commission. the Aurora Election Commission is the poster child for a unnecessary unit of government that spends taxpayers money. The County would spend less money by taking over the election commission's functions then it currently spends subsidizing this unneccesary duplication.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?the Kane County Transportation Impact fee should be regularly reviewed to ensure that the smaller more rural communities are not disadvantaged by the fee structure.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Candidate did not respond.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Candidate did not respond.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Candidate did not respond.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Candidate did not respond.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Candidate did not respond.