Patricia Mierisch: 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 Issues Bio City: GilbertsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Gilberts Village boardAge: Candidate did not respond.Family: Have lived in Gilberts for 24 years and am married for 34 years, have two children and four grandchildren.Occupation: I am a retired telecommunications employee with 28 years of corporsate experience in project management, customer service training for multi-state methods and procedures organization.Education: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: Director on the Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce Board. Serve on the Women In Business Committee for the Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce. Village of Gilberts Citizens Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordinator.Elected offices held: Have been a Trustee in the Village of Gilberts since December 2005.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To ensure the village's financial stability to maintain and improve the villages infrastructure and services.Key Issue 2 To focus on the safety and welfare of residents. Since village staff interface with residents on a daily basis, I have been instrumental in the development of village policies for mandaorty employee background checks,drug and alcohol screening and picture ID cards. Also incorporated into the village the national Homeland Security CERT (Citizen Emergency Response Team) training and a Citizens Corps Counil which joins the CERT, Fire and Police Department members together. The formation of this council allows the village to be eligable for state grant funds for security training and equipment for disaster planning. These programs need to continue to be enhanced and other grant opportunities researched.Key Issue 3 To ensure residents and business owners involvement within our community and value all input when making important decisions regarding the needs of our growing community.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I believe that I am the best candidate for the job because I continue to make positive contributions to the community. Prior to my appointment to the board in December of 2005, I attended most committee and board meetings. I believe that everyone's input should be listened to and respected when determining issues regarding our community. My involvement in numerous committees, such as the Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce and the village's ongoing Economic Development Committee shows my desire to serve the community.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.I feel that a lot of residents do not understand where their tax dollars go and how little of the overall taxes paid go to the actual municipality that we reside in. If you review your Kane County Tax bill you will see that only 3% of the overall tax goes to the municipality. This is a small amount from what I consider to be a high tax base. Having said that, there is a 1% sale tax increase (current sales tax is 7%) being proposed for the April ballot. The proposed tax would be applied to all retail sales in Gilberts except groceries, medicines, medical devices and vehicles. For example it would increase a $50 restaurant bill or merchandise purchase by 50 cents. If approved the added sales tax would generate about $150,000 annually which would allow the village to fund much needed road repairs in the village. The impact of a sales tax increase would be shared by both residents and nonresidents. Public meetings will be held to explain the proposed tax increase. It is then up to the informed voters to determine if they will allow this increase.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 number of officers on patrol per schedule is of major concern. We have asked our officers to work a twelve hour shift. I felt this was not a good decision since a lot of the time officers have to stay over their shifts if there is a situation that they are dealing with and can be tired. A real concern voiced by many residents, which is also a concern of mine, is ensuring that all shifts have enough coverage. Due to budget cutbacks in all municipalities it could take an additional 15-20 minutes for either a Kane County Sheriff or a neighboring municipality's officer to respond to backup call. In an emergency that 15-20 minutes delay could make a very big difference.A new community policing policy is being implemented. Specific officers will be responsible for an area of the village. This should help residents become even more comfortable in getting to know specific officers assigned to their residential or business area who are dedicated to serving our community.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?One area I felt very strongly on and voted against was a raise in the salaries for the board members. The argument for the raise was that a raise has not been given in over 8 years and in order to get individuals to run for these positions the salaries should be increased. Although the amount was not substantial (raised to $3,000 per year) my thoughts have always been that the board members put the employees and village needs before their salaries so that is why a raise was never voted on. These board positions are now salaried and members will automatically get paid, even if they do not attend meetings. This sent the wrong message to residents.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Since serving as a Trustee since December 2005 I have been involved in many committees and have been able to implement some of my ideas into programs for the village residents. An example of one such program is starting a national Homeland Security CERT (Citizens Emergency Response Team) program. This program offers free training on how to prepare for and manage an emergency situation. I was also responsible for the creation of the Village of Gilberts Citizens Corps Council which interacts with CERT members, Police and Fire departments for emergency training. The formation of this council allows the village to apply for state grant dollars. Due to budget cuts the village voted to lower the $5,000 a year emergency budgeted item to $2,500, then removed this item completely from the budget. Currently the council has been able to receive a total of over $15,000 for training and equipment for emergency disaster planning. After I established this council I turned it over to the residents to run and they have done an outstanding job. When I am re-elected in April I will expand this program and extend training classes to churches and businesses within the village. This will ensure that our village is well prepared for any emergency situations.