Kurt U. Giehler: 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: Prospect HeightsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Prospect Heights MayorAge: 53Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: ArchitectEducation: Bachelor of Science in Architecture - Kent State UniversityMasters in Architecture - Univ. of Illinois - ChampaignMasters in Business Administration - Univ. of Illinois - ChampaignCivic involvement: PH Streets Flood Committee MemberNorthwest Tax Watch, DirectorD23 D25 Citizens CommitteesElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Heavens no!Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Ensuring that the $15M Road Bond funds are spent entirely and effectively on road and flooding improvements.Key Issue 2 Ensuring public safety.Key Issue 3 Developing a viable long-term fiscal strategy that doesn't tax residents out of their homes and ends the downward spiral in property values.Questions Answers Where do you stand on Prospect Heights water ? Should all the city be on lake water; if so, how quickly and by what process? If not, explain your reasoning.No resident, whether currently served by the City's municipal water system or private well system should subsidize or be hoodwinked, in any way, expansion of the municipal water system. All effort should be made to control the costs of the existing system prior to any discussion of expansion.Should Prospect Heights actively try to raise more revenue to run the city, and if so, how? Could the current budget be cut? Where?Way too much taxpayer money is wasted on unnecessary legal expenses. Raising taxes without having first eliminated perks and seriously cut expenses is foolhardy. It serves only to endorse past bad policy. We need to publish every invoice, from eraser to banquet hall rental to auditor, on the City's website.The city needs to attract new businesses and encourage existing businesses by getting out of the way. Residents and businesses have not been served well by the past ""gotcha"" philosophy.Are you satisfied with the level of staffing in the police department? If not, describe what level of staffing the city should work toward.The police department has become the latest victim of the egregious fiscal mismanagement of the past. Exacerbated by current economic environment, the present disaster was highly predictable, yet there was no planning for the inevitable crisis.This is not to say that the police department gets a blank check. We have to learn to maximize police protection given the limited resources that are available. Increasing taxes is not the answer.The political culture in Prospect Hts. is poisonous. How do you, as an elected official, balance the needs and desires of people whose point of view is opposite your own? Or is that impossible?A view opposite my own is always welcome. But persuasion works best when accompanied by common sense and rational thought. I am not always right, but I sure wish the City officials would have heeded my advice about the those items that have forced our City to its knees: the arena TIF bonds, the corrupt City Attorney, the City Hall fire, and the grossly underestimated costs of installing and maintaining a municipal water system.What should the city do for economic development? Should it focus on commercial or industrial? What is the best use of the land formerly meant to hold the arena?The City should attract new businesses and encourage existing businesses by removing obstacles that serve to dissuade development. High taxes, high inspection and licensing fees do nothing to encourage compliance and seriously undermine the mission of local government to promote life safety.As to the mix of commercial or industrial, one would have to consult the zoning map. One of the successes of previous administrations was the excellent job that was done on long range planning/zoning. I am confident we can work within this framework to protect residents from politically-connected spot zoning and ensure a sustainable commercial property or sales tax base.