Q&A with Munaretto

1. Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you, and if so, what? What will be your main priority?

I am running for re-election to the county board because I believe I can continue to make a contribution to the quality of life in McHenry County by representing the interests of the constituents in my district. From the outset of my interest in the county board, I have focused on improving the management of the county's finances and on creating financial controls and financial planning that mirror my experiences in business. Through my efforts and leadership, the county has adopted financial policies and financial controls that help it to better manage the costs of county government. We are entering a time period during which there will be major stresses placed on the county's finances. Traditional sources of supplemental revenue such as sales taxes, building permits and recording fees are in a trended decline due to current economic factors. My focus will remain on delivering the best of county services to my constituents at the lowest possible costs by continuing to control the cost of government.

2. For incumbents and non-incumbents. If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of important initiatives you've led. If you are not an incumbent, tell us what contributions you would make.

Pay-as-you-use - DOT: I took a leadership role in convincing the county board, county transportation committee and the county division of transportation to change its thinking about funding for McHenry County transportation improvements. Convention & Visitors Bureau: Tourism is a component of economic development. A strong economic base helps to reduce the cost of government paid by homeowners. The formation of a certified state CVB was one of my initiatives and I succeeded in procuring county funding to seed this organization.

Agritourism: Agritourism is an emerging industry in McHenry County that allows the county to help small farms to supplement their income with farm tourism and it serves to retain McHenry County's rural heritage. Farms are under increasing pressure to sell to developers and agritourism may just save a few farms from subdivision. Under my direction, an agritourism task force produced recommendations intended to make county ordinances less hurtful to this industry.

Internal Audit Program: McHenry County is the only county in the six-county region to have an internal audit policy adopted by the county board and an internal audit program operated by the county auditor. The internal audit program allows the auditor to examine issues relating to departmental compliance with ordinances and other laws, policies and procedures. This program was implemented with my guidance. Moody's AA1 - almost perfect AAA: In 2000, McHenry County had no rating on its debt from Moody's, S&P or Fitch. Today, McHenry County is one rating away from AAA. I have taken the lead to have our debt issuance regularly reviewed by Moody's and to allow Moody's to examine in depth the county's financial model, its policies and the fiscal controls in place to assure that the county is managing its finances at least as well as other counties in the nation of a similar size.

Debt Policy: Although this policy was first adopted in 2003, it was amended in 2005 under my guidance, to better reflect the financing duties of the treasurer. This policy establishes the tasks, duties and responsibilities of the county board, staff and the county treasurer each time the county board requires project or equipment financing.

Animal Control: Although it was subsequently approved, I exercised my right to disagree with my colleagues to spend $4 million to house unwanted pets in a first-class office building in Crystal Lake, when there were cheaper and better alternatives. I articulated my points of disagreement to my colleagues with the hope that they would reject this project as wasteful and not in the best interests of the county. I failed in this regard. However, when the county board voted to approve this project, I used my financing skills to guide the finance committee and the county board to borrow the funds necessary to construct the facility.

3. The county has taken a leadership role in studying the issue of long-term water supply maintenance and protection. What should the county's emphasis be in this area over the next few years? Explain.

I have been a long time supporter of the county's efforts to protect groundwater and recharge areas of the county starting with the county's extensive groundwater study performed by Baxter and Woodman in 2000. The county is continuing to study groundwater dynamics to establish metrics that will provide a better understanding of consumption and recharge. The county should continue its role as facilitator. Most of the groundwater is consumed by municipalities who are outside of the direct control of the county on this issue. The county needs to develop cooperation among these other units of government to control the use, reuse and recycling of water especially in the eastern half of the county. I will devote my energies as a county board member to water conservation efforts; to recycling waste water for alternate uses; and to the examination of ways to regulate water usage in the county.

4. Transportation issues continue to be a major concern to residents. How would you judge the county's response to their demands so far? What would you consider to be of highest county priority in this area and how would you fund its delivery?

McHenry County has done a laudable job of providing leadership in the management of transportation issues in the county with the limited financial resources available to it. There are four noteworthy items that I would like to focus on in this regard. (i) The county has a 5-year transportation improvement plan adopted by the full county board that prioritizes the projects that need to be constructed to mitigate congestion and promote safety. Projects in the approved 5-year plan that are engineered and ready to build will receive priority funding. (ii) The county has adopted a new financing program for transportation funding that allows it to bond a portion of the revenue from motor fuel taxes to provide funding for road projects that would otherwise have to wait 8-10 years to be constructed. This change in the way the county deploys its road building capital initially provided $50 million for road projects which should have a demonstrable impact on the mitigation of traffic congestion by accelerating the pace of improvements. (iii) The county has earmarked the $0.0025 cent regional transportation sales tax revenue to continue to mitigate traffic in the county. This new source of funds will generate about $9 million per year that could service an additional $65 million in new road construction. It should also be noted, here, that the county is considering using some part of these funds to unlock other capital earmarked by the federal government for road improvements (like widening Route 47 in Huntley) that require a state match. The state has been unable or unwilling to allocate funds to these McHenry County projects. And, (iv) the county has been successful in its lobbying efforts to procure funds from the federal government for road construction projects in the county.

5. Not including those issues already identified above, is there another issue you believe will affect the county or your district over the next four years? If so, define it and explain how you would like to see it addressed.

There is a distinct possibility that property assessed values will be adjusted downward and could result in a lowering of real estate taxes for residents and businesses in McHenry County. The multiplier, that is the Illinois Department of Revenue's adjustment to the Assessor's value based on three rolling years of actual sales data, could be less than 1.00. In that event, property tax bills would experience a corresponding decline based on the adjusted assessed values with a negative multiplier. This condition is brought about by market conditions in the residential housing sector. I have taken the initiative to allow for this potential decline in revenue in the county's budgeting process as the county continues to tighten its financial "belt."

6. Please list the names of all relatives employed by or involved in contracts with McHenry County, their relationship to you and their position or area of business.

Risetime Technologies, a Chicago technology consulting firm, has automated the property tax appeals process in Cook County. My son, David Munaretto, was a director and a member of the team that assisted in this work for the Cook County Assessor. At the invitation of the Supervisor of Assessments, Mr. Munaretto negotiated a contract valued at $19,975 to similarly automate McHenry County's property tax appeal process in conjunction with the county's IT department using technology already place in the county. In addition, although my son is no longer an executive with Risetime, the supervisor of assessments has recently requested a proposal from Risetime to integrate the property tax appeals workflow solution with DevNet, the county's new tax cycle software, making staff able to retrieve appeal documentation directly from DevNet. The estimated cost of this work is $12,500. (www.risetime.com).