Joseph M. McDermott: 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: AddisonWebsite: http://www.addisonunited.orgOffice sought: Addison Village boardAge: Candidate did not respond.Family: Married, three children, two grandchildrenOccupation: Civil Engineer (Licensed Professional Engineer)Education: Master of Science, Transportation Engineering, Northwestern University, 1963Bachelor of Civil Engineering, University of Detroit Mercy, 1962Civic involvement: Addison Chamber of Commerce and IndustryDuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, Transportation Policy CommitteeDuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, Transportation Technical CommitteeIllinois DOT Elgin-O'Hare/West Bypass Corridor Planning GroupCook DuPage Corridor Transportation Policy CommitteeElected offices held: Village Board, Addison, 2003-2011Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Continued forward movement towards Addison's long-term vision and strategic plans, while operating with a balanced budget, adjusted for the uncertain economy and its possible further erosion of tax revenues, without compromising our hard-earned AAA bond rating.Key Issue 2 Keeping Addison public services and infrastructure in quality condition for the long term while operating on a shorter-term fiscal diet.Key Issue 3 Successfully promoting private re-development and occupancy for several vacant commercial and industrial sites, some of which are high-profile neglected properties.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?As the only candidate or current trustee with any engineering background or experience, I bring direct technical and practical knowledge to a wide variety of municipal issues, including public works, transportation, storm water management, water and sewer service, and urban and regional planning. Also, my term as trustee was preceded by 33 years on the Addison Plan Commission, mostly as Chairman.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 Addison sales tax has been ""just right"", and balanced with service delivery to achieve the current Fitch AAA bond rating. The key to the future will be keeping expenses in balance with any decreasing revenues without cutting basic services.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.Some think that Addison has too many apartments and that some multi-family neighborhoods are unsafe at times. We have been addressing the issue of higher crime areas with an improvement program that identifies housing units with problem tenents and informs and trains landlords on how to select better tenants and deal with those creating problems.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?Budget trimming is and has been an on-going process to match expenses with expected revenues. As a result, some activities have been eliminated, others cut, and vacant positions left unfilled. Some activities and newer programs may be placed on the ""back burner"" until a definite funding stream allows re-consideration.What#146;s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?One idea on the ""back burner"" is the Addison Advantage Transit service, a local circulator flex-route bus operation, developed with the aid of the RTA, DuPage County and the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference. This program addresses Addison's lack of significant transit service, despite its 37,000 population plus employment work force in the state's fourth largest industrial park.