David Paluch: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: Sugar GroveWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Sugar Grove Village Board Age: 49Family: Wife-DeboarhOccupation: SalesEducation: BA-Fine Arts, Columbia CollegeCivic involvement: Village Trustee 2011-present Police Commissioners Board 2009-2011 Sugar Grove Planning Commissioner-2010-2011 Sugar Grove Corn Boil-2009-presentElected offices held: Village TrusteeQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have been serving on the board for nearly 4 years. I am proud to represent the village, and residents. This is a job I am excited about, and I am looking forwarding to serving another four yeras for the people of the village. I have done a lot to help serve the village in different capacities, and I also love volunteering as a member of the Corn Boil. Having the first term under my belt, I bring experience to the budget process, have an understanding of our various departments and how they operate on a daily basis. It's also important to have an answer resident's questions on a variety of topics.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.I don't think anyone is going to say they want to pay more in property taxes. I agree, they are too high. But, the village is #4 on funding distribution. Our residents rely on us 24x7 to bring them the best possible services, and we have delivered! I can't speak for other taxing bodies, but our residents have the greatest dependency on the village, and we have been able to meet their expectations as best as possible with what we have from a financial stand point. Our sales tax revenue is pretty small compared to what other taxing agencies are getting. The village does not have much control over that, where county, state, and in some cases, the federal government have a bigger stake in the rates.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?We don't have jurisdiction over the fire department, but they are great to work with. As for our police department, we have an excellent team servicg the residents of Sugar Grove! Our Police Chief, Pat Rollins has been wonderful to work with, and the officers are proud to work for him. Pat has been very pro-active in keeping up with technology in our vehicles, getting new vehicles,and a deploying a new and improved dispatch system. We have continued to maximize our dollars and helping reduce overtime costs by utilizing part time offiers that was started under our previous chief. Chief Rollins has also been a strong advocate to have his officers attend training classes, so they can keep up with the ever changing world of police work. The department has also been working close with other local departments, as well as the county sheriff to improve the way they serve and protect our residents. We have also been open to exploring any way to help us respond faster, and have greater efficiencies in the event of a disaster. Based on a conference I attended a few months ago, I have started the conversation to help us prepare for an event like a tornado, and what can the village do to better serve the residents in the event a disaster strikes. I have great confidence in our first responders, and their ability to be there for us over the next decade.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?We are always looking for ways to trim the budget, and help save wherever possible. Our budget sessions will be starting in several weeks, so that discussion on what we can do better will be taking place. We have saved money over the years with reduced electric costs, re-financing our bonds to save more on interest payments, and hiring part time workers to help reduce overtime costs, to name a few things. I also have to credit our various department heads, who have managed to come up with ways to best spend the tax dollars. Despite the economy over the past several years, we have managed to maintain a small surplus, and we have been recognized for several years, for outstanding financial responsibility to our residents. We have a very strong credit rating, which helps us pay lower interest rates on borrowed money. We have to work with what we have, and our residents are getting wonderful services in return. If we had more money available, then I would like to see that go to roads and sidewalk improvements.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I have always been a promoter of greater community involvement with various organizations. Our two key events; Corn Boil, and Holiday in the Grove, could always use more volunteers. While we are grateful for everyone who helps out at either event, more volunteers would be great! Last year, a citizen started the Sugar Grove Beautification Commitee, and he's always looking for more residents to get involved, and help with this great project.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?When I ran four years ago, a common theme I heard was the need for more tax revenue, more jobs in our village. Over that time, we have done our best to bring what the residents wanted. Over the past four years, we have seen slight increase in new home development, and we have had a boom in new business making Sugar Grove home. Since 2011, we have welcomed; Mc Donald's, Walgreens, Jimmy Johns, two banks, two health care facilities, a fitness center Producers Chemical, Ace Hardware, hair salons, and soon to be two apartment complexes geared towards senior citizens, and assisted living. We are also looking at ways to continue bringing jobs, and tax revenue to our village. We are looking at have property developed to bring in "town sqaure" where we would like to see a hotel, small shops, restaurants, and a public area for concerts and entrtainment. We are also looking at bringing in light industrial parks, and ways to maximize the space near Rte 47 I88 for residential and business use. We will continue to work for our residents to help with the tax base, as well as create a destination for people to live and work. I am excited about our progress, and looking forward to bringing our residents more! My goal four yeras ago was to make Sugar Grove the best town in the county, and I like what we are doing!Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Gov. Scott WalkerWhat's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Family is importantIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Buying Apple stock in 1983What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I have always been a US History. What a great country to live!If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Treat everyone with respect