Mary Krueger: 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: Arlington HeightsWebsite: https://sites.google.com/site/krueger4trustee/Office sought: Wheeling Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 50Family: Divorced, One son (25)Occupation: Executive Adminstrative Assistant Global Accouting and Shared Services Underwriters Laboratories Inc.Education: Wheeling High School Graduate (1981)Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected 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 Communication. My 25+ year experience as an administrative professional has been most successful when all parties are well informed with timely, accurate data. Although existing Village communication tools (i.e. http://www.vi.wheeling.il.us/, Comcast channel 17, and ATT U-Verse channel 99) are available, I feel they need a facelift! An informed community is an active community!Key Issue 2 Storm water/flooding issues West of Schoenbeck Rd. Having lived for 40+ years on a street that floods almost every time there is measurable rain and witnessing the distress of my surrounding neighbors when their yards and basements are damaged by such an event, I propose a moratorium on any development of vacant property in this area until a reasonable and equitable solution is in place. This particular area of Wheeling has been "officially" part of the Village since involuntary annexation in 2003. It's time that band aids are no longer implemented during a rain event and real healing of this area begin.Key Issue 3 Wheeling Town Center. The old Wickes property has been vacant a LONG time. Although there has been an exclusive developer of record assigned for over 2 years, we haven't seen much in the way of progress. I'd like to help facilitate "shovels in the ground" on this redevelopment during my term as Trustee.Questions Answers What should be the relationship between the village and businesses? Should the village encourage busineses to move to town and if so how? What types of support should the village give new or existing businesses?A good portion of the business/industrial areas of the village are robust. Some of the blighted areas are currently being worked on. Although I don't believe the sole purpose of the village is to broker commercial real estate deals, it is absolutely necessary to bring new businesses to town for the sake of revenue. The Village currently has 5 TIF districts which offer various incentives benefiting both the business owner and the village. I would like to see the recent national "Small Business Saturday" initiative utilized in Wheeling. Perhaps, offering such a program once a month or once a quarter would encourage consistent participation in the program.Do you agree with how the village has spent its TIF dollars? How would you spend them going forward?Yes. The village has made good investments in development and infrastructure improvements in spite of a slow national economy. I would like to see the continued use of TIF money spent on community development and infrastructure improvements especially in the areas burdened by inadequate storm water retention and drainage problems.What are other issues facing Wheeling? Does Wheeling put too much emphasis on economic development and not enough on issues such as public safety? How would you rate quality of life for Wheeling residents?We are all facing the same issues when you consider the effects of the great recession and the sad state of Illinois finances. State and Federal funding has fallen off the mark for many. In spite of these hurdles, I rate the quality of life for Wheeling residents to be good. We are a resilient and diverse community that, as recent as 2008, was considered to be one of the 10 best communities to raise a family (Family Circle Magazine July, 2008). I was raised here. I raised my family here. I will continue to urge others to do the same.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of Wheeling's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.At 9% as of December 2012, Wheeling's sales tax rate is in line with many surrounding communities. When you consider that we do not have a large shopping mall (Schaumburg Mount Prospect), or a large commercial and industrial district (Elk Grove Village), or a casino (Des Plaines), Wheeling is holding its own at the same rate as those communities.What are the village's biggest public safety concerns? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.Core services (Police, Fire, and Public Works) are this village's life's blood. Without them, our residents and businesses are at risk. Budget cuts made during the recession reducing manpower in these departments were especially mindful that there would be NO reduction in the service levels expected by and provided to our citizens. I commend the leaders of these areas and will support their efforts going forward. Ideally, being in a financial position to bring staffing to pre-recession levels is paramount. It is through progressive ideas for additional revenues along with prudent spending of said revenues that our core services will flourish.