Richard Wilkie: 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: LisleWebsite: http://None at presentOffice sought: Lisle Village boardAge: 56Family: Married - wife is an Advanced Practice Nurse Daughter 21 - student at University of Kansas Son 18 - student at Indiana UniversityOccupation: Self-employed consultant specializing in sales and marketing with a concentration on business planning, sales effectiveness programs, competitive strategies and segment and channel marketing.Education: Bachelor of Science in Marketing, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 1976Civic involvement: One of the key community members who worked with the Governor#146;s and Attorney General#146;s offices to successfully negotiate Navistar#146;s relocation of their corporate headquarters to Lisle, WITHOUT diesel engine testing. President #8211; Exeter Townhome Association 2004 - PresentVice Chairman of the Lisle Technology Commission 2001-2004Treasurer #8211; Arboretum Woods Homeowners Association 2002-2003 President #8211; Arboretum Woods Homeowners Association 1999-2001Coached Little League and was a Scouting parent when my kids were youngElected offices held: None #8211; This is my first time running for public office.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Fiscal responsibility and accountability: For the past 8 years Lisle has run a deficit budget using reserve funds to make up the shortfall. Reserve funds have been reduced by 57% in that time ($35.5M down to $15.3M). During that time, our debt has been increased by 40%. We have also seen a 41% decrease in sales tax revenues, a 9% decrease in total revenues and a 9% overall increase in spending. Over the past 9 years, the property tax levy has gone up by 42%!! In 2007 the village trustees authorized a 5.15% municipal utility tax on ComEd and NICOR bills that costs each homeowner an additional $100-200 per year.This is not a sustainable model and new leadership is needed to stop the spending before we have a financial crisis that will require increased taxes to bail us out. Residents are already not going to like their next property tax bill and it is no coincidence that they are mailed after the April consolidated elections.Key Issue 2 Transparency in government: Lisle#146;s record on doing things in a public manner has been pretty bleak. Communities should not enter into non-disclosure agreements that have millions of dollars in property tax impacts to their residents. For a community of our size, we also spend way too much on legal fees trying to keep the citizens in the dark. Now our public officials are changing the zoning hearing procedures to limit community input. This past year, the taxpayers got the bill for the village to process a record number of Freedom of Information Act requests (550), largely due to a lack of openness. Lisle is lobbying to get the law changed to restrict FOIA requests. At a time when voters want more transparency, Lisle is giving them less. That#146;s wrong; a community should know how its money is being spent.Key Issue 3 Community involvement and voter apathy: The financial mess that Illinois has gotten itself into did not happen overnight. We keep electing the same enablers term after term. The community needs to be more involved in local government. We need to get off of our couches and be heard. Elected officials need to know that people care and will hold them accountable. Lisle residents should start by voting on April 5th. In the last municipal election only 25% of those registered actually voted. If that happens again this time, change will not occur and incumbents will see that as a sign that the community is not watching what they do.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I am passionate about making Lisle a better community and I will vote on spending issues like it#146;s my own money (after all, it is). At the risk of younger voters not getting the reference (Peter Finch in the 1976 film Network); #147;I#146;m mad as #%! and I#146;m not gonna take it anymore!#148;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 think the local sales tax rate is fine. Most tax rates are too high at the present time but sales tax, as it relates to local business, is a bit different. It#146;s a #147;pass-though#148;, so it is not a tax on local businesses, it#146;s a tax on consumers. I do not believe that sales tax rates in Lisle are driving consumers to shop in other areas. DuPage does not have the Cook County issue where some shoppers are #147;crossing the border#148; to save on sales tax (in fact we may marginally benefit from the current differential). There are much bigger financial issues than sales tax rates for business and residents in Lisle.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.Lisle currently has a little known problem with potential flooding along the DuPage River. The present levees are over forty years old and have not been maintained. They have settled and eroded over the years and need to be raised in many places anywhere from 2 inches to 2 feet. DuPage County did engineering work and planned for repairs in 2006 and the funding was available. But, it was discovered that the easements used to construct the levee were all temporary easements which had long ago expired. Today, the river levees are owned by approximately 55 private property owners, and there are few easements to allow maintenance or inspection by the village or county. The fix: The village and county should make it a priority to obtain easements in perpetuity and include this work in current fiscal budgets (other agencies can assist). This needs to be a priority. A big rain could be a big problem.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?We have spent over $20 million on the downtown facelift and pond and the result is fewer businesses and fewer shoppers. Any future spending for downtown or the Ogden Ave. corridor must be accompanied by a solid plan that brings businesses and a return on investment. The #147;Field of Dreams#148; concept of #147;If you build it, they will come.#148; was a costly mistake. Also, Lisle is not a large community. It is necessary to go line-by-line and eliminate or reduce spending that does not show value or return on investment. You will see things like $15K for an ice rink in the downtown area that is rarely utilized and $10K for a video that is posted on the website. Nice things, but not necessary in these economic times. We need to stop spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers and consultants!More money should be allocated for maintaining roads in our subdivisions. Fewer lawyers and consultants and better pavement (There#146;s a campaign slogan!).What#146;s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?People have been talking about downtown Lisle for years, yet the Village has never had a complete vision. There#146;s been engineering studies, a land use plan, architectural and landscape plans, but there has not been a comprehensive plan to look at ways to attract new businesses and shoppers to Lisle. We need to become a destination, but we have our limits. Lisle is not Naperville, or even Downers Grove, but we do have a great location. We leverage off of the Morton Arboretum in our themes and marketing, but how many people who go to the Arboretum actually come to downtown Lisle? We now need to build a plan that targets specific types of businesses that are key to a prosperous downtown. Can you think of any other town along the Metra line that does not have a Starbucks in their downtown? It says a lot about Lisle's demographics when Starbucks does not want to be there. Before we throw more money at the issue, we must show how we will make the $20M already invested pay off. This is a top priority and I cannot give it justice in a short answer. Invite me to write a feature article and I will expand on my thoughts!