Peter Connolly: 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: WayneWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Wayne Village boardAge: 63Family: Married (Kathie) with one son and one grandson.Occupation: Retired commercial banker, 34 years with JPMorgan Chase.Education: Bachelor of Science in Finance, Wright State University,1969Civic involvement: Member - Wayne-DuPage HuntMember - Conservation FoundationVolunteer - Wayne Depot ResorationElected offices held: Trustee, Village of Wayne since 1995Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 How to best maintain necessary and desired municipal services in a weak economy with reduced resources. Our residents clearly are not in favor of an increase in real estate taxes in this environment and have made several suggestions for increasing other revenue sources at Town Hall meetings held in 2010 - some of these are now ""in the works"". In addition, we have reduced expenditures over the next five years by $1.5 million and expense control continues to be an ongoing effort.Key Issue 2 We need to continue to maintain open communications with both our elected representatives in Springfield and with our residents. Communicating with Springfield to ensure that the municipal share of state income tax revenue is maintained and that unfunded mandates are held in check. And continuing our Town Hall meeting initiative so that our residents are updated on Village issues and have a forum to communicate with their elected officials.Key Issue 3 We need to continue to strive to preserve our heritage and the tranquility of our rural environment. This tranquility is currently strained by both the increased activity by the Canadian National railroad and the proposed bridge at Red Gate. We are initiating discussions with the CN to establish a ""Quiet Zone"" to address the first issue. We contend that the recent opening of the Stearns Road bridge will provide the traffic relief to our neighboring community to eliminate the need for a bridge at Red Gate.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have been a resident of Wayne for 18 years and have had the privilege of serving our citizens as Trustee for 16 years - this provides me with a good insight to many of the needs and concerns of our residents. In addition, my financial background provides experience in addressing budget issues during these tough economic times.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.Wayne does not levy a local sales tax and only shares in that portion of the state sales tax that is allocated to municipalities. Our total sales tax revenue is less than 5% of our total revenues. As a non-home rule community, this and other potential revenue sources are not available to Wayne as they are to larger communities.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.My friends and neighbors have two major concerns. The increased rail traffic on the CN line has created safety and noise pollution issues. In addition, residents want the village to maintain it's existing high quality 24 hour police protection. I feel both concerns are important. As mentioned above, we are starting discussions with CN on the ""Quiet Zone"" issue and the existing Board is firmly committed to maintaining 24 hour police protection.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?Wayne has limited areas that allow for substantial long-term cost reduction as 59% of our budget is allocated to police protection. We have deferred a large portion of our road maintenance program to achieve expense reductions over the next several years but those costs will increase in the future. I think the Board has fairly allocated planned reductions in our long-range plan and we will continue to measure the pros and cons of each line item in our budget.What#146;s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?As a current Trustee, we tend to share our ideas with each other on an ongoing basis. The one key issue I will stress in the coming year will be more communications with our residents.