Ben Isaak Gross: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: NapervilleWebsite: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ben-Gross/126349970760306Office sought: Naperville City councilAge: 25Family: SingleOccupation: Freelance Reporter, Community College Instructor and Administrative AssistantEducation: Bachelor of Science in Political Science, Northern Illinois University, 2008Masters of Arts in Political Science, Northern Illinois University, 2010Civic involvement: Boy Scouts of America Troop 101, Alpha Phi Omega (national co-ed service fraternity)Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 A sense of civility and the ideal of the servant-leader needs to be brought to the Naperville city council; the city needs statesmen, not politicians. A statesmen needs to know those who he represents and do what is best for his constituents. This requires a statesmen to know those who he represents. As a lifelong resident, I do not know a city council member who regularly met with average citizens of the city. I have seen multiple events and organizations where city council members have been present. But, while collecting signatures to run for city council, a theme came clear to me. The people I talked to in the neighborhoods, at the train station and around town felt no connection to their city council. As a candidate for Naperville city council, I promise to be connected to the average citizen of Naperville. This can be achieved by meeting with different neighborhood groups, holding informal meetings around town on a regular basis, holding advertised open office hours and through an online presence. Not only does this statesmanship need to be extend to the citizens of Naperville, but to the city manager and the department heads. Barking orders, yelling demands or other actions will not produce real results. Instead, both sides of Naperville's government need to corporate to work together to produce positive action for the citizens of this town. An attitude of statesmanship, not politics, can achieve this relationship.Dedication to the ideal of statesmanship, I freely and openly announce that I am running for only a single-term as a councilmen for the city of Naperville. I have no desire, nor intentions, to become a career politician. My goal is to return to private life after completing public service to achieve my private goals. This is how democracy worked at our beginnings and I intend to honor this tradition.Key Issue 2 It is my goal to bring meaningful changes in the city's budget deficit. According to a Dec. 13, 2010 Naperville Sun Article, ""Council to consider new taxes, fees for services,"" the council is proposing new fees to solve the budget deficit. This includes a yearly fee of $32.64 for leaf collection. The council either needs to reduce the budget by making real cuts - for example, in the case of leaf collection, there can either be a reduction in the number of leaf collections or temporarily use a system where residents bag their leaves and the city will pay for the refuse to be collected - or increase the property tax instead of passing small additional taxes and fees.While I do not want to see property increased long-term, a short-term increase could be used to help solve the budget deficit, if, and only if, further reductions are first made to the city's budget. The advantage of increase property tax instead of adding additional fees is that home owners can take a tax deduction on property tax. What the city is currently proposing would not offer the tax benefits. While a short one or two year increase in property tax is something no one wants, it is better to pass this option - therefore allowing for citizens to gain a tax deduction - than to nickel and dime them via new fees.Key Issue 3 I will bring a fresh but thoughtful voice to Naperville's city council, which will represent a large section of the city's population that is currently without a voice. In 2009, the City of Naperville updated its demographics. This updated listed the median age of the city at 35. According to the Census Bureau, in 2005 there were 21,300 Naperville residents between the ages of 20-34.The youngest member of Naperville's city council is in his early 40s. This is young, but there#146;s a whole section of our city that is not being represented. It will be my duty to make sure their voice, in addition to all other voices in Naperville, are heard in the city council chamber.In addition, as a Naperville lifelong resident I am familiar with the issues that effect our children who cannot vote. I plan to help the city connect with the children by finding ways the city can make the town more friendly to middle school and high school aged children.Questions Answers The city has slashed dozens of jobs in the last year in an attempt to balance the budget. Do you see more of this in the future?I think the presentations by the different department heads to the city council on Nov. 30, 2010 made it clear that staffing levels are stretched thin at the current moment; perhaps even too thin. The city can no longer cut jobs to balance the budget. Other avenues must be pursed to to fix this problem. One example, that would increase productivity and cost, is to end printing materials for meetings. The city of Naperville already posts all documents for city council meetings, workshops and other meetings online. I propose the city council purchase electronic devices, such as an Ipad or tablet computer, to be installed at the critical points that are needed for meetings. This would require somewhere in the range of 12-15 of these devices to be purchased. While there is a large initial cost to this, the savings will easily pay this cost. This will reduce the amount of paper and inked used by the city of Naperville. In addition, time, energy and money will no longer be needed to copy, bind and distribute these documents. Instead, all documents will be available online. This change will also reduce the environmental impact of the city government, helping make Naperville a more green community.With a fresh outlook, I will be able to bring ideas like this to help balance the city's budget, while reducing the stress on city employees.Based on your experience as council member or mayor, are there any programs that you already know you would seek to eliminate if you were to be elected mayor?While I have not served as a city council member, there is a program I would like to reduced. Naperville's Special Events and Cultural Amenities Fund (SECA) has grown past its original intent. The city's website states it purpose as, ""aiding eligible organizations in providing new and continued cultural experiences."" Since 2005, the SECA fund has been used to pay for items the city used to fund directly. This includes items such as the Fourth of July fireworks. In addition, events such as RibFest and Last Fling, which existed prior to the SECA fund and collect admission, receives funding. The easiest way to show the growth in SECA is through it's administration cost. In 2005, the SECA administration cost $58,457. In 2010, the total cost of SECA administration was $157,381. Naperville's restaurants, bars and other sources of entertainment are funding events and expenditures they should not be asked to. The tax should either be reduced or the city should spend the SECA fund on events, items and activities that truly meet the ideal of this fund.What are your thoughts/concerns regarding the city creating a shuttle bus service to help seniors and others commute to and from the downtown and other popular locations?Offering an increase in public transposition should be welcomed with open arms by the citizens of Naperville. An increase in public transportation provides multiple benefits towards our infrastructure, global impact and cost. Increasing public transportation will decrease road wear and tear, parking problems, emissions/green house gases and our dependency on gasoline. Overall, public transportation leads to a reduction in cost in multiple areas.The main concern I have with creating a shuttle bus service is making sure the cost of that service can be supported by the users of that service.The city recently purchased the site of the DuPage Children's Museum on the city's north side. Do you support leaving the museum in place or freeing up the potentially valuable real estate at the city's northern border for economic development?I believe the citizen's of Naperville need to direct this question. The DuPage Children's Museum is a wonderful part not only for the city of Naperville, but of the entire county. Yet, with plans of extending downtown Naperville all options need to be examined. The city council needs to listen to the citizens of the city of Naperville to see what direction they would like the city to move in.What can be learned from the furor over the city giving police officers 3 percent raises then enacting layoffs? How should the city deal with its unions? Should it agree to raises when it knows layoffs will be a result?The city and unions need to work together to produce realistic and attainable agreements. On paper it may be an argument over dollar and cents. But, at the end of the day, that paper represents the safety/service of the city; and more importantly, someone's livelihood.