Yvonne Barnes: 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: CaryWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: McHenry County board District 1Age: 51Family: 7 children: Bryan-20, Alliaon-18, Megan-18, Emily-16, Nikita-14, Daniel-12, Colleen-11Occupation: Technical Communications Small Business Owner - Barnes TechComEducation: B.S. Business Admin/Marketing Indiana University 1982 Public Environmental Affairs-Urban Regional Plsnning IU 1982 A.A.S. Data Processing Triton College 1994Civic involvement: Ss. Peter and Paul Church Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts Senior Citizen Advocacy Youth Sports and Music Environmental GroupsElected offices held: Village of Cary Trustee 1994-1995 1997-2006 McHenry County Board Member 2006-2010Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Conditions of the Economy.Key Issue 2 Quality of Life.Key Issue 3 Government Process and Decision Making.Questions Answers McHenry County has managed the recession without a budgetary crisis like those in other counties. How do you ensure the county continues on that path and that reserves aren't depleted? Are there specific budget areas that need more attention?Expenditures should be for necessities only.Some of the larger projects can be scaled down and/or completed with a different timeline.Thorough analysis of bids and contracts should be a high priority. Overruns and contingencies neeed to be addreesed with not-to-exceed values.Does the McHenry County Board have a good transportation improvement plan? Please be specific and suggest whether you think anything is missing or should be scrapped.1.) Additional non-motorized routes for walking and biking are always cost effective.2.) Additional citizen input early in the process can be improved before the outlay of engineering and design expenses.3.) The opinions of local municipalities should be respected.Does the county need to address its ethics policies' Why or why not? If so, how?The policies are clear and make sense.However, most individuals in the county do not know the procedure to bring forward a concern. Those in a position to address an issue should forward the matter and explain the process. Every elected official should abide by the policy and assist when there is a question.Assess McHenry County's efforts thus far in terms of groundwater preservation and protection. What needs to be done now and in the future?Education, analysis, and adherence to existing principles of preservation and protection must continue.Education needs to occur at all agess and in all the diverse living environments.Outreach to municipalities and schools has started.The Groundwater Protection Plan is a great start for adults.Telling children to turn the water off when they brush their teeth is not enough. Resources available to staff members could be shared across the county.The Unified Development Ordinance will assist the mission of water issues.Assess how the county health department approached the whooping cough outbreak. What should have been done differently?Information was timely and informational.I haven't heard from anyone that the health department should have done anything differently. Each of our schools notified us promptly and shared health department correspondence with us. I've also seen health department literature in area pharmacies.As always, local newspapers participated with the flow of information to a broad base of individuals.