Kane County Sheriff candidates face off on issues
In the Nov. 2 election, voters in Kane County will decide whether to return Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez, a Democrat from Sugar Grove, to office or replace him with Republican challenger Donald Kramer of Geneva.
The Daily Herald asked both candidates to answer questions about issues facing the county and the sheriff's office. Here are some of their responses.
Q. What is your number one campaign issue?
Kramer. The most critical issue facing the sheriff's office is maintaining a balanced budget while providing effective public service. I will restructure management positions to ensure that department heads maintain a strict financial plan and develop operational strategies that efficiently address the needs of the community. Upper management will be more involved with overseeing the functions of their departments and looking for opportunities to reduce expenses. They will also work closely with supervisors to assist in planning activities that are cost-effective and have measurable results.
Perez. To continue to provide proactive law enforcement and ensure the safety of the citizens of Kane County and the safety of our deputies. We have expanded our partnerships with our communities through expansion of Neighborhood Watch, Too Good for Drugs and School Resource Officers programs in our schools, TRIAD Senior Services, Citizen Police Academy, Domestic Violence Reduction Unit and have 250 jail volunteers. We have raised our accountability through mandatory drug testing, established our first Office of Professional Standards and worked hard to gain public trust in our public safety, corrections and court security functions of our office. We have also embraced technology to make all phases of our operations more efficient.
Q. What is your number two campaign issue?
Kramer. The second issue I will address as sheriff is to reduce crime and make our roads safer through developing comprehensive plans that direct deputies to accomplish specific activities. Officers that are currently assigned to specialty units will be added to the patrol division and continue with their specialty as an additional duty. The increase in uniformed officers will allow more activities that target neighborhood crime and traffic violations that result in crashes. There will be an increase of patrols during rush hour traffic to combat reckless driving and late-night patrols that target drunken drivers. Neighborhood patrols will include more communication with homeowners association groups, Neighborhood Watch groups and children. Several deputies will receive advanced domestic violence training and use that skill to work with families in need. Deputies will be assigned specific geographic areas and work as teams in order to become better known and committed to the community.
Perez. To continue to streamline our organization and seek fiscal efficiencies. We have weathered the economic downturn by eliminating 10 positions in our organization, all upper management. We also negotiated a wage concession with the public safety union members, and nonunion workers have endured a wage freeze. Even though I am authorized for 90 deputized positions, I have only been funded for 85, down from 95 just two years ago. We have reduced overtime spending in public safety from $450,000 in 2006 (previous admin.) to $308,000 in 2007, $220,000 in 2008 and $159,000 in 2009. We managed this with reduced staffing levels. Our fuel consumption dropped from 155,000 gallons consumed in 2007 to 139,000 in 2008 and 125,000 in 2009.
We have, and will continue, to pursue grant funding to ease the burden on the county. We have secured more than $450,000 in grant funding for training, vehicles and equipment over the past three years. The jail is our biggest expense, but the x-factor is the cost of housing inmates, and we can manage our population, but have no say over how many inmates are placed in our custody. We have excelled in our new, direct supervision operations, and have had a major reduction in overtime and litigation against our corrections staff and facility.
Q. What is your view of the use of red light cameras? Should Kane County continue to issue permits for them? If so, what should be the qualifying criteria?
Kramer. I do not endorse the use of red light cameras as a means to reduce crashes at intersections. Cameras should only be used to collect data to better assist the police in determining the frequency and times of violations. I believe that marked patrol vehicles should be used for traffic enforcement. An effective traffic plan that uses crash data as the motivation to enforce red light violations is fair to the public, while still addressing the need for enforcement.
Perez. This is a hot-button issue, and I view them as a tool to aid us much the same as in-car cameras and radar units to detect speeders. When first launched, there were agencies who used them inappropriately and created bad publicity in those communities. The review process was also suspect. There has since been legislation that has addressed right turns on red and all tickets (except Chicago) must be reviewed and issued by a police officer and not the vendor.
The same judgment that the officers are allowed to use on the street should be applied when reviewing alleged videotaped violations. If you wouldn't write it on the street, don't write it here. If Kane County allows it, my recommendation has already been the two highest accident-related intersections. One does not have a dedicated right turn lane, so right turn on red is not an issue. I would also implement education in Burlington and Kaneland High School Driver's education programs. If students are taught both compliance and shown videos of accidents caused by drivers running red lights, we can influence good driver behavior and reduce accidents and increase safety. Anytime a driver disobeys a red light, all others who occupy the same intersection at that time have their safety compromised.
As for the review and adjudication process, I have a commitment from two recently retired Kane County judges who have agreed to hear all appeals. They have informed me that they would only support citations on clear-cut violations. If we influence better driver behavior and compliance with the law, there will be fewer violations and increased safety on our roadways. The city of Aurora has three red light cameras, two in Kane and one in DuPage. They have a 43 percent accident reduction at those intersections. I consider that a success. If the county does not authorize their use, we will continue to enforce the traffic laws to the best of our ability with the limited resources we have.
Q. How should video gambling revenue be utilized in Kane County?
Kramer. I do not have an opinion on how any revenue from video gambling is used and believe that decision should be made by the governing body receiving the funds.
Perez. That is not a law enforcement issue, and it is the responsibility of the county board members to determine the distribution of those funds. I have no recommendation.
Q. What is the appropriate level of service the Kane County Health Department should provide? Was downsizing the department the right move?
Kramer. I believe the services can be handled by other nongovernmental agencies that may have a better record of being reimbursed by the state. The size and scope of the local health department should be determined by the county board, with the input of the citizens.
Perez. Once again, the Health Department and their services are the responsibility of the experts in that field. Just as the director of the Health Department doesn't have knowledge of my operational needs, I don't have knowledge of his. Ultimately, the needs of those less fortunate in our community will determine levels of service necessary.
Q. Name a specific area of the county budget in which you can support a reduction. Also, what new revenue generator(s) would you support?
Kramer. I think it is the job of the county board to determine any reductions in the budget of the county (excluding elected offices). My opinion on areas where savings could be made are contractual services and equipment. I will seek grant money to offset costs, but state and federal grant money is limited and short term. Also, fees and fines should only be set at a point where they offset the cost of the provided service. To generate revenue, someone pays, and it is usually the taxpayers. A better way to balance a budget is to reduce expenses.
Perez. The county needs to make an honest assessment and ask the taxpayers what they consider core essential services and fund those services first.
The county also benefits from the 1/4 cent RTA sales tax that was instituted in 2008 to support operational and capital expenses for public safety and transportation projects. Eighty-three percent of that has been allocated to road construction and maintenance projects, 14 percent for public safety (split between six entities) and 3 percent in a contingency. The percentages could be altered on a temporary, non-precedential basis to make sure public safety is properly funded during this difficulty economic time.