Glenn W VadeBonCoeur: 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: WinfieldWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Winfield Village boardAge: 52Family: Married, owners of two Golden Retrievers.Occupation: School SafetyEducation: University of Illinois, ChampaignBachelor of Science in Finance, 1981Civic involvement: In addition to my primary responsibilities as Village Trustee, I work with and support a number of Village committees, including the Finance and Administration Committee, the Riverwalk Committee, the Communications and Technology Committee and the Public Works Committee.The Winfield Police Department is a strong supporter of the Special Olympics. I enjoy the opportunity to help them on various fundraising events for the Special Olympics.Elected offices held: Village Trustee, Winfield. 2007-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 We must work to successfully develop our Town Center. A successful Town Center will play a critical role in increasing tax revenues from businesses. Our residents have consistently said that they want to have a thriving, bustling Town Center - a Town Center where they can enjoy a nice selection of restaurants and stores. They see the successes of Wheaton or Geneva, and recognize the benefits that a thriving Town Center could offer to Winfield.We have taken a number of steps to make that happen, including the production of the Marketing and Capacity study #8211; a concrete, actionable and well thought out plan for building a successful Town Center. We have had 10 new businesses come to Winfield in 2010. We need to build on that trend by marketing ourselves to businesses that would do well in Winfield, and creating a business climate that would be attractive to those businesses.Of course, the proposed Riverwalk will play a key role in this plan. The Riverwalk will add a unique and attractive natural feature to our Town Center, making the Town Center even more desirable to businesses that are considering coming to Winfield. The Riverwalk will also provide our residents with the opportunity to enjoy one of Winfield#146;s most beautiful natural resources.Key Issue 2 In addition to developing our Town Center, we must pursue other opportunities for smart development that respects our Village#146;s long-term plans, and protects our Village#146;s natural resources and beauty. Winfield has a number of opportunities where we can benefit from well-planned development #8211; both residential and commercial. For example, the corner of County Farm and St. Charles has strong potential for commercial development. The property east of the County Farm/Churchill intersection would be well suited for quality homes. These are in line with our Village#146;s long-term development plan, and would bring valuable revenue to the Village.We must evaluate each opportunity and look at parameters that include available land, the cost to develop, the overall timeframe, the probability of success and the overall benefit to our Village and our residents.It is imperative that we listen to the residents that would be affected by potential development, and give serious consideration to their concerns, suggestions and issues.Key Issue 3 We must continue to follow responsible fiscal practices and keep our Village financially sound. This is a foundation issue for me. During my time on the board, we have made it a top priority to maintain a balanced budget. Throughout the economic downturn, we saw numerous news stories about towns around us who were running deep into the red. In Winfield, we were able to weather the economic storm reasonably well - because we had already put tight controls on our spending. We are not Washington, and we#146;re not Springfield. We cannot and should not spend beyond our means.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have a strong background in business and finance. I have worked in large, medium and small companies, and have well-rounded business experience. I graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in finance, and worked in the banking industry for 20 years. To keep our Village financially sound, we need to run it in the same manner that one would run a successful business. We need to work to generate revenues and hold the line on expenses. I am not a politician. I am simply a resident who is working to help his village. I have no political aspirations and am not beholden to any special interest groups. My support comes solely from our own residents #8211; not outside interests or developers. I have only one personal agenda item - to make the best decisions that I can for all of our residents.Over the past four years, I have emphasized the importance of respect, civility and honesty among our elected officials. Our current board has shown that it works together with respect, professionalism and courtesy. We continually hear from residents who appreciate that. The residents are happy that they do not have to listen to the nastiness of some of past boards. Gone are the days when Winfield was routinely in the news for the petty arguing between trustees and politicians who harbored personal agendas. We are able to a better job when we respect each other and listen to each other#146;s opinion. We#146;re a small town, and we should be above the ill-mannered behavior demonstrated by some folks.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Although Winfield receives a 1% sales tax from the state. we currently do not have a local sales tax #8211; i.e. our local sales tax rate is 0%. As with our real estate tax rate, we have kept the taxes down - across the board - in Winfield. We are working very hard to attract new businesses to Winfield, to help with the tax base. We need to have an attractive climate for new businesses to come to Winfield. It would be ill advised to raise our local sales tax when we are trying to attract new businesses. Our present sales tax rate is right, in my opinion.Talking with your friends and neighbors, what seems to be their biggest public safety concern? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.I think that our Police Department does a very good job of keeping us safe, and minimizing crime in Winfield. We are really pretty fortunate to have a safe town. I know that residents were concerned about the reported assault from last summer. When it was reported, our officers really stepped up, worked around-the-clock, did an extensive investigation and even brought in outside resources to strengthen their investigation. Their investigation is ongoing.In these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?During my last 4 years on the Village Board, we have engaged in significant cost cutting. We knew that we had to cut costs to ensure that the Village budget did not go into the red in the economic downturn #8211; particularly given the state#146;s economic disaster. We were committed to maintaining a balanced budget, and each year we did painful cost cutting to achieve that. We operate with one of the leanest staffs in the suburbs. Certainly, we need to maintain a tight reign on expenses going forward.Where do we need more funding? I think it is clear that our road maintenance program needs more funding if we are to properly maintain the roads.What#146;s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?As previously noted, our road maintenance program needs more funding. We know that heavy trucks do the most damage to roads. I suspicion that the garbage trucks are causing significant wear and tear on our roads. As they go down our streets, they are continually accelerating and then braking hard - repeating this cycle throughout the year. If the collection company is making money from doing business with the village, it seems like they should help to pay for the wear and tear they cause. As we negotiate a new contract with a waste collection company, I would like to look at ways to build in some revenue to help maintain our roads.