Mike Domrzalski: 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: Mt. ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Wheeling Township Board (4-year Terms)Age: 63Family: Married 38 years to Leah One son Christopher, a recent NIU grad.Occupation: President and owner of Micom Forms Systems, Mt. ProspectEducation: Bachelor of Science in Marketing, DePaul University 1974Civic involvement: Board member Greater O?Hare Networking Executives 1 yr. Member Greater O?Hare Chamber of Commerce 12 yrs. Member Print Services Document Assn. 28 yrs Assistant Scout Leader, St Emily's troop 235 12 yrs. Venture Crew Leader for Crew 235, St Emily's 6 yrs. Currently Venture Crew adviser for Crew 235 Merit Badge counselor, Northwest Suburban Council, 11 yrs. Former Member Engaging Speakers, 5 yrs. Member Business Networkers International Director for Township Officials of Cook County, Trustees Division 2 years Current Secretary for Township Officials of Cook county, Trustees Division 4 yearsElected offices held: Wheeling Township Trustee. 2001 to presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: no.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Trying to do more with less while maintaining fiscal discipline and balanced budgets in a time of increased demand for services in a stagnant economy. We are committed to maintaining a balanced budget without a tax increase.Key Issue 2 Increasing public awareness of township government and the services we provide. You would be surprised how many people do not know that there is a township government or what we do. Too many confuse the township with the Village of Wheeling. We provide valuable services and we do want the people who need them to use them.Key Issue 3 Reducing our reserves in both the town fund and GA fund to 1.5 times. We can do this while still providing adequate funding for all of our programs and staff needs.Questions Answers Name the three most important goals or objectives this board should tackle in the coming term. Prioritize them, and briefly discuss why you believe each to be critical, and how the board should go about addressing them.The reduction and proper management of the township reserves to meet the boards goals while at the same time making sure adequate funds are available. Transportation funding. As the population ages, demand for senior transportation continues to increase especially for medical rides. We strive to keep the cost down without jeopardizing the service. It's an important service that in many cases allows seniors to remain in their homes. The township provided over 26,000 rides last year. Keeping the food pantry self sustaining though volunteers, private donations and other contributors.In the 21st Century, with municipalities gobbling up vacant land, why are townships needed? Should they be serving a new role? If so, what?There has been plenty of debate the past few years as to whether or not township government is necessary, especially in urban areas and Cook County. Before being elected to the trustee position I might have said no, but after having served three term's I can emphatically say yes!! Township government reflects the vision of our country's founders who wanted elected officials to be close to the people and accessible. We certainly are that. Given the services township governments are mandated by law to provide, numerous questions should be asked, and here are a few for starters: If township governments were eliminated, would the need for the services be eliminated too? If not, can these services be provided more efficiently and at a lower cost by another unit of government? Will other governmental units be willing to step in and take over these services? If not who will provide them? If township services were to be administered by the County as some have proposed,will the services be easier to access or more difficult? If more difficult, will people use them? Who knows the makeup and needs of the community better, someone locally, or someone downtown? My personal feelings are that the County has enough problems to deal with and would not be able to provide our current services more efficiently or economically. If someone came up with a viable solution for the villages to step in, I would keep an open mind. As far as a new role for townships, that would have to be addressed through the state legislature since we are limited to what we can do by state law. Remember also, that the villages may not be amenable to taking over our responsibilities, especially in today's economic climate and stressed out budgets. A good case in point could be our highway dept. We are down to about five miles of roads for which we are responsible. Would we like to see the remaining unincorporated areas annexed, allowing us to eliminate our highway department. Yes we would but annexation is not a given. Areas under 60 acres can be forcibly annexed but over 60 requires a referendum. One of the areas does not want to be annexed and I doubt that they would approve a referendum. In addition, the cost of annexing is terribly expensive: New sewers,curbs, gutters, waters systems, sidewalks and upgraded roads would be needed and the villages do not have the money. The dollars that the County President is offering cities and villages for annexation is a drop in the bucket. So we may be stuck with them for some time to come. The only unit of government left that will service roads for areas like these is the township. As for General Assistance, townships are the only unit of government providing this service and it is mandated by state law. People who do not qualify for GA are not only directed to the proper state or federal agency, but are assisted in properly filling out the paperwork to avoid errors and delays. Just this help alone may make the difference between someone getting help or falling through the cracks. While the assessors office no longer does property assessments, it plays a vital role in helping residents with their property tax appeals or senior citizen exemptions. All done locally with out the need to go downtown.What should be the primary responsibility of township government?The township's priorities should be dictated by,and reflect what our lawful priorities are: 1. General assistance for the indigent. 2. Assessment of real property for the basis of local taxation. 3. Maintenance of roads and bridges outside of federal,state and other local jurisdictions. Beyond these mandated services, township governments provide other vitally related services to local residents, which may include senior citizen programs, youth programs, assistance to the disabled, medical transportation for the elderly, health services and cemetery maintenance. General assistance provides funds to temporarily help qualified low income residents in numerous ways. These can be food, clothing, shelter, medical care, catastrophic insurance coverage, and even dental care. Townships are the only unit of government to provide this service. Our general assistance budget currently addresses these needs. A good portion of our Town Fund budget funds 29 different programs through 25 social service agencies.Services such as shelter for abused spouses and children, teen counseling, various types of senior care, tutoring for minority students, and others too numerous to name are provided. The Town fund also provides for senior transportation and disabled services. The highway department has done a tremendous job of addressing road and drainage problems in the unincorporated areas. Over the past 10 to 12 years a few areas were annexed by local villages but only after improvements were made by the township first. Overall the Township budget reflects our lawful priorities and wise use of taxpayers? dollars to provide these services for about $ 79.00 per year. Taken from my tax bill.In these hard economic times, can you identify some township expenses/programs that could be trimmed or eliminated to reduce the tax burden?Explore all employee training programs that could help reduce insurance costs. All dirvers must receive PACE training and must have a CDL license with a P endorsement. They also participate in a random drug testing program. In the transportation department we have an agreement with the village of Arlington Heights for maintenance, storage of vehicles and the purchase of gas. This cost sharing saves money. Several townships build and maintain their own storage and maintenance facilities at a much greater cost to taxpayers. We also entered into an agreemnet with pace to lease busses. We currently lease 6 busses at a cost of 100.00 per month. This as opposed to buying vehicles at 50 to 60 K each. We have an ongoing spot audit program for the social service agencies that we fund. This is done to insure that the money we provide is being used properly and for Wheeling Township residents. We have eliminated funding to agencies in the past for fraud and misuse of funds. We also partner with other townships to share the cost of the Mobile Dental Clinic.What specific background or experience do you bring that makes you the best qualified candidate to serve as an elected official in the township?First of all, being an incumbent is an advantage. Most people would not believe the intricacies and complexities of government. Secondly, being an entrepreneur and business owner, the skills and instincts I have developed to be successful in business, are also necessary and beneficial to my serving the Township. People skills: Working with employees, partners, suppliers, and clients; all apply to this position. Budget skills: Being able to make decisions in good times and bad and to stand by them, even when unpopular, certainly apply. The ability to cope with change: No business today can survive without changing and reinventing itself. Township government needs this creativity and vision, too. The ability to think outside the box: skill in dealing with changing economic conditions, demographics, and so on; critical to government. Planning skills or vision. Today in business you have to anticipate change and adapt before it catches up to you, the same goes for government.