Peter J. Ponzio, 2 years: 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: Hawthorn WoodsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Hawthorn Woods Village board, 2-year termAge: 56Family: Married to Palma; 2 daughters, Lisa and Nicole.Occupation: Humanities Instructor, McHenry County College AuthorEducation: Loyola University - B.A., 1981CPA, 1983Northwestern University- M.A., 2008Civic involvement: Trustee, Village of Hawthorn WoodsChairman, Finance Committee, Village of Hawthorn WoodsGreat Books Discussion Leader, Fremont Public LibraryElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To continue the work that the Village has started to stabilize Village finances and provide the infrastructure to enable development when the economy improves.Key Issue 2 To provide transparency to the public in the way the Village conducts its business, serves the community and conducts its finances. The current administration has made strides in this area, and we want to continue this progress.Key Issue 3 To ensure that the Village responds to resident needs.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?Our slate, which includes Michael David, Dominick DiMaggio, Steve Riess and me, believes that we can serve the community through our experience in public service through Committee and Trustee involvement, and through our dedicated efforts for 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.Sales tax primarily affects consumers, but indirectly affects local businesses by making a taxing district less competitive vis-a-vis other taxing districts. We believe the sales tax level for Lake County is appropriate at this time. An increasing sales tax rate could lead to Lake County becoming less competitive compared with the other collar counties.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.Residents have told us that they want us to balance public safety with the cost of providing adequate neighborhood protection. On the one hand, it might be more cost effective to look to the county for protection services. This needs to be weighed against the time required to provide emergency services. Local protection services can be provided on a more timely basis than county services. When talking to residents, the timeliness seems to be the factor which tips the scales in favor of locally provided protection services.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?For fiscal 2010, the Village started a new budget process, whereby every expenditure had to be justified on a zero-budget basis. As a result of this budget review, we were able to identify areas where spending could be cut or deferred. In addition, the Finance staff began a monthly review process with every department head, to ensure that budgets were being adhered-to. As a result of these new processes, we were able to begin to re-establish our reserves, fund police pension, and establish a more solid financial foundation for the Village. We undertook the same budget process for 2011, and are optimistic that we will operate on a sound fiscal basis.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Our slate is active on the Board, as well as on the Committee level. Because of our activities, we've been able to share our ideas and put them into practice throughout the year. We don't have any ideas that people aren't talking about yet, since we believe in putting these ideas into practice as quickly as possible. We encourage idea generation at the Committee and Board level from our membership, and encourage good ideas to be implemented as quickly as possible.