Robert Fieseler: 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: NapervilleWebsite: http://bobfornaperville.comOffice sought: Naperville City councilAge: 55Family: Spouse: Mary Ellen (married in 1980) Children: Son: Bobby, 29; Daughter: Lauren, 27; Son: Billy, 25; Daughter: Annie, 20.Occupation: Intellectual property attorneyEducation: Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1984.Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., M.S. Operations Research Statistics, 1978.Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., B.S. Biomedical Engineering with honors, 1977.Civic involvement: Naperville City Councilman (2007 #8211; present).Naperville Public Library (Council Liaison, 2007 #8211; present).Naperville Fair Housing Advisory Commission (Council Liaison, 2007 #8211; present).Naperville Smart Grid Initiative Steering Committee (2010 #8211; present).DuPage Mayors Managers Conference Regulatory Issues Committee (2009 #8211;present).KidsMatter Board of Directors (2009 #8211; present).Naperville Heritage Society Board of Directors (1998 #8211; 2007).Friends of Fermilab Board of Directors (1986 #8211; 2000).Boy Scout leader (12 years).Youth sports coach (soccer #8211; 14 seasons, baseball #8211; 5 seasons, football #8211; 2seasons)Elected offices held: Naperville city councilman (2007-present)Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Keeping Naperville united while we undergo the process of dividing the City into 5 districts to be represented on the Council.Key Issue 2 Restoring City employee morale that has suffered after 3 straight years of layoffs, diminished employee benefits, and non-union salary freezes.Key Issue 3 Emergency preparedness. Naperville needs to upgrade its communications capabilities to keep residents and businesses informed and provided with instructions during natural and man-made disasters. If there is anyone thing that residents expect of their elected officials, it is making sure that the City can keep them safe during a disaster. We are not prepared to do that at present.Questions Answers The city has slashed dozens of jobs in the last year in an attempt to balance the budget. Do you see more of this in the future?Yes. There were 1070 Cityemployees when I took office in May 2007. There are 940 today. Of the 130 positionsreduced, 42 were from involuntary layoffs and the remaining 88 were from theelimination of vacant positions. To maintain our efficiency gains, we will have tocontinue to resist filling vacant positions until it is determined that core services (likepublic safety) would suffer if the positions remained vacant. With the improving City revenue trends (sales tax receipts increasing, home value declines moderating), furtherinvoluntary layoffs shouldn#146;t be necessary in the near-term.Based on your experience as council member or mayor, are there any programs that you already know you would seek to eliminate if you were to be elected mayor?I would eliminate providing Naperville City Councilmen with full-time City employee benefits (health insurance with 85% City subsidy, $100 per month cellphone internet stipend, retirement benefits). I was thwarted in my efforts toeliminate those benefits during recent budget discussions by the majority of Councilmen who now accept those benefits. Health insurance benefits for the 6 Councilmen currently receiving them amount to about $15,000/year, or $90,000 collectively, which if eliminated would have saved a police officer position. The refusal of part-time Councilmen to part with these full-time employee benefits undermines the Council#146;scredibility in urging City employees to sacrifice for the good of the City.What are your thoughts/concerns regarding the city creating a shuttle bus service to help seniors and others commute to and from the downtown and other popular locations?Ride DuPage is a government service that is already available to provide such rides to seniors. Low ridership and preference for individual cars have discouraged the institution of shuttle bus service in Naperville for the general public. I would be open to reconsidering the feasibility of such shuttle bus service, but I#146;d be surprised to see that ridership volumes were enough to justify the costs.The city recently purchased the site of the DuPage Children's Museum on the city's north side. Do you support leaving the museum in place or freeing up the potentially valuable real estate at the city's northern border for economic development?I support leaving the Museum in place so long as it complieswith its obligations under the recently executed lease agreement with the City. Naperville children benefit from the learning and family bonding that goes on at theMuseum every day, and data shows that Museum visitors patronize downtown retail stores and restaurants in substantial numbers. If the Museum fails to comply with its obligations under the lease agreement, then I would not hesitate to evict the Museum and consider how to best derive value of from the land, including by selling it.What can be learned from the furor over the city giving police officers 3 percent raises then enacting layoffs? How should the city deal with its unions? Should it agree to raises when it knows layoffs will be a result?It was wrong for the City to enter into a collective bargaining agreement with terms that it offered to the police union, including 3 percent annual raises and a 15% employee health insurance contribution effective on 11/1/11, and then immediately dismiss a number of union employees to offset the projected cost increase. Public safety employees should not be dismissed when there are back-office positions that can still be eliminated. The immediate dismissal of police union members also subjected the City to an Unfair Labor Practice claim, which the Executive Director of the Illinois Labor Board just last week concluded should be adjudicated before anadministrative law judge. There is a substantial chance that the City will lose the ULP action, which would seriously undermine the City#146;s bargaining strength in upcoming union negotiations.How should the city deal with its unions? By following the law, sharing complete and accurate information as to the City#146;s finances and service priorities, putting fiscally conservative but fair offers on the bargaining table, and then engaging in a restoration of constructive working relationships once the agreement is in place. Unfortunately, that didn#146;t occur during the recent negotiations with the police union.Should it agree to raises when it knows layoffs will result? In the case of public safety union negotiations, the City is required under State law to participate in Interest Arbitration, in which an arbitrator will select from one or the other of the City#146;s andpolice/fire union#146;s best and final offers. If the City and the public safety union cannot come to terms on their own, and the arbitrator imposes terms that the City can#146;t afford, then layoffs will result. In the case of non-union employees, the City should not agree to raises when it knows layoffs will result.