Timothy C. Allen: 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: WinfieldWebsite: http://www.Winfield411.comOffice sought: Winfield Village boardAge: 39Family: Married, Two CatsOccupation: Software EntrepreneurEducation: Business/Economics Illinois Benediction College, Lisle ILCivic involvement: Knights of Columbus, Planning Commission, Town Center Committee, Founded the Winfield Community GardenElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Create sustainable revenues utilizing commercial sales and real estate taxes, especially along the Roosevelt Road corridor.Key Issue 2 Properly maintain Winfield infrastructure while living within the village's means and income streams.Key Issue 3 Assist and encourage Winfield businesses to be successful.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I feel that I am the best candidate to be Winfield Village Trustee because I am a results oriented individual with a bias for action. I feel that I can help Winfield to be responsive to citizens needs and I can utilize my experience as a small business entrepreneur to help the village live inside its budget and innovate when revenues are scarce. I believe that Winfield needs more revenue but that it must come from commercial sources not residential.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.Winfield is dead last in sales tax revenues in DuPage County. We collect 400% less sales tax revenue than our next closest competitor. The problem isn't with the sales tax rate, it's with the sales tax generating capability. Winfield has very little retail development and this was by the design of the last 50 years of village boards. This needs to change or every need for government revenue will require another property tax 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.Sidewalks to separate children from vehicles is the number one safety concern that I hear of in Winfield. About half of Winfield has sidewalks and I believe that they are necessary, especially by our schools to keep kids out of the streets and away from the cars.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?Winfield is already starting it's 2011 budget year and has lived through 3 years of budget cuts. I would say that it has done a fairly decent job of cutting where cutting is necessary. What it hasn't done is properly addressed growth. The right time to have addressed growth was 10 years ago and because this wasn't done, we find the village out of options other than to cut the budgets to the bone. We need to start now, to create the revenues that will sustain Winfield through the next economic downturn and we need to never forget what a zero growth policy does to infrastructure maintenance and government services.What#146;s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?A Winfield idea that no one is talking about? How about timing the traffic lights at the intersection of Winfield Rd and where they cross Highlake and Beecher to allow better traffic flow before and after trains cross. The timing of the lights is poorly thought out. A motorist waits for 5 minutes to cross the tracks and once traffic starts moving, they have to stop again for a red light at the cross streets. Cross traffic has ample opportunity to clear while the train was crossing. It's a small issue compared to the other larger issues facing the village but I believe that better traffic flow would help our town center.