H. William Schmidt, District 1: 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: Glendale HeightsWebsite: https://sites.google.com/site/bill4voghdist1trustee/Office sought: Glendale Heights Trustee, District 1Age: 68Family: Married, two children, two grandchildrenOccupation: Surveillance SupervisorEducation: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 1965Illinois Association of School Boards Master School Board MemberGraduate, Glendale Heights Citizens Police AcademyFEMA Incident Command Systems coursesCivic involvement: Member, Glendale Heights Emergency Service and Disaster AgencyMember, Glendale Heights Community Emergency Response TeamDuPage Board of Elections, Technical Election JudgeIllinois Association of School Boards, DuPage Division, Director-at-LargeCitizen Corps Council of Glendale Heights, Vice ChairmanMarquardt School District CommitteesElected offices held: Member, Board of Education, Marquardt School District 15Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Maintaining a balanced budgetKey Issue 2 Continuation of services for residentsKey Issue 3 Commercial developmentQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I intend to be a voice for the residents of District 1, while recognizing the needs of the entire village, similar to the approach I take on the School Board. With over 12 years of School Board experience, I have gained insight and knowledge into budgeting, project oversight, policy making, and being a team player.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.The local sales tax rate is right for the Village. I don't hear residents talking about shopping in neighboring municipalities because our tax rate is too high.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.The biggest concern is street crime since it can happen to anyone at any time. The Village is addressing this through advanced policing and citizen involvement, such as Neighborhood Watch. The addition of the new Crime Reports feature to the Village website is expected to increase public awareness and vigilance.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?Even in these tough economic times, the Village has planned well and is moving forward with facilities and infrastructure improvements.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I would like to see a Village-sponsored volunteer tutoring/mentoring program for at-risk students.