Mary Krueger: 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: Arlington HeightsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Krueger4TrusteeVoW/?ref=aymt_homepage_panelOffice sought: Wheeling Village Board Age: 54Family: 1 Son (29)Occupation: Executive Assistant, Legal Dept., UL LLCEducation: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: Trustee, Village of Wheeling 2013-2017Board Member, 911 Regional Emergency Dispatch (RED) CenterVolunteer (and Shavee) for the St. Baldrick's Foundation (sponsored by Wheeling Professional Firefighters Local 3079)Elected offices held: Trustee, Village of Wheeling 2013-2017Board Member, 911 Regional Emergency Dispatch (RED) CenterQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?First, my inaugural term afforded me the latitude to meet and get to know the Village staff leadership (Manager, Police/Fire Chiefs, Public Works, Community Development, Human/Social Services, etc). These are the people who actually DO the work necessary to implement the vision and direction of the Board of Trustees. Strengthening these relationships fosters professional discussion on issues facing the Village. I believe mutual respect and approachability help the overall decision-making process. I have earned their respect in 4 years and they know they have mine. In addition to creating good working relationships with staff leadership, I have served as the liaison to the PW, Finance and, currently, the Fire departments. Serving in this capacity allowed me to interface with employees in these departments to ask questions and hear their feedback about how decisions I make affect their day-to-day operations.Second, my relationships with the citizens of Wheeling have grown exponentially in 4 years. Early on, I knew I had the support of my neighborhood of about 40 households. What I didn't know was how the REST of the community would get to know me having never served the community before. Certainly, garnering the most votes (1514 or 24.66%) in the 2013 election was a confidence builder, but, since then I created a social media presence for myself (see link provided in this profile), attended and volunteered for many public events (Wheeling Helping Hands, St. Baldrick's Foundation, and others). I also make responding to resident/business inquiries (electronically or in-person) a priority.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.Sales Tax: Wheeling's rate in Cook County as of 2/11/17 is 10% for general merchandise (8% in Lake County). Buffalo Grove, (also with dual county rates) is the same. Des Plaines, has a Cook County only rate of 10%. I submit that Wheeling's rate is in-line with our neighboring communities and "just right". The Village takes a cautious approach to projecting sales tax receipts due to the (still) volatile nature of Regional and National economies. We do well in Wheeling especially when you consider we don't have a shopping mall or casino.Property Taxes: I have discovered that MANY taxpayers do not understand their property tax bill and, thus, gives me an opportunity to help them. Residents that have asked "Why are you killing me with property taxes?" have been informed that the Village receives less than 13% (2015) of one's total real estate tax bill. The bulk of a tax bill actually goes to the school districts (67.32% in 2015). In support of the Village's responsible use of the annual tax levy, I have approved 4 budgets with the last 2 resulting in a BALANCED budget with small surpluses. Our fiscally responsible efforts are keeping our core services operating at levels "just right" for our residents and businesses. Rating taxes as "Too High" only to support everyone's wish for lower taxes is not prudent when considering rising costs to provide services. Decisions by the County and State of Illinois that negatively affect a municipality's bottom line doesn't help either.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?Wheeling has experienced moderate population and industrial business growth in the last 2 years with more on the way. This is a double-edged sword where public safety services are concerned. We want to certainly bring new development to our community for the good of our economy, but we also have to be able to take care of that additional population.For both organizations, increases in population directly affects the need to consider increasing headcount. I believe our Fire Department has an additional burden since the age of our population is growing exponentially (Baby Boomers) AND County, State and Federal funding of mental health support has been all but depleted. 61% of all calls to the FD were for EMS (Emergency Medical Services) in 2016. This trend is only going to increase with the new development already occupied (Northgate Crossings, Phil Haven, Richelieu Foods) and about to occur in the next 2 years (Town Center, The Whitley, and 2 speculative industrial sites). That said, and perhaps unfortunately, much of this growth is happening in one of our TIF districts. It is of great concern to me how we can responsibly allocate our revenues to hire more first responders to support these positive economic development decisions.We have some time to prepare, but not a lot. The time is NOW to develop a plan to get ahead of this topic of concern. If I am privileged to serve a 2nd term as Trustee and FD liaison, this would be my primary focus.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?As alluded to earlier, the financial decisions of the County, State and Federal governments play a role in impacting a municipality. I have learned the term "un-funded mandate" all too well during my first term. In spite of the fiscally responsible decisions our staff and leaders have made in the last 2 years, Wheeling is still operating on a (now) balanced budget that funds all of our operational needs without having to bond (aka take out loans) to assist in funding them. That is a good thing! However, when considering the pension requirements imposed by the State of Illinois, although we are on a consistent path to full funding, we struggle to make those annual employer contributions. We are consistently in-the-ear of our State Representatives to enact responsible pension reform, but, until that happens, the gap must be closed by the municipality.If I had to declare where else the Village should allocate funds, it would be toward headcount in the Fire and Community Development departments. I explained my concerns about FD above, but our CD group is understaffed where inspections and code enforcement are concerned.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?To take a positive recognition program already enacted by the Village - the George Heiber Citizenship Award - to another level. I would like to see the Village of Wheeling work closer with Community Consolidated School District 21 (of which 6 of 13 of their schools are within our Village limits) and High School District 214 (Wheeling High School) in an effort to recognize and showcase the talents and accomplishments of our students at our Village meetings throughout the school year. It is uplifting to a community when its youth (and their parents) are supported and honored for exceptional achievements. It also encourages them to be more involved members of the community.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?The BIGGEST issue of concern for our Village is the volatility of the decisions (or lack of decisions) being made by the State of Illinois were LGDF (Local Government Distributive Fund) and a Property Tax Freeze proposal is concerned. I know I mentioned this earlier, but I believe that passage of either or both of these initiatives will cost every resident and business dearly over time. We worked hard to stabilize our budget and improve our bond rating over the last 4 years. I would hate to see that stability in jeopardy. It really would be another "un-funded mandate" in disguise.The next other issue I would like to pursue is FOIA reform. I thoroughly support transparency of government to its citizens, but the current requirements can be an administrative burden (that costs money) on the already minimal staff of a municipality. There simply must be a better way to share data with the public.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Elaine NekritzIL State Representative - 57th District She is level-headed in her governance style as well as down-to-Earth whenever I have spoken with her.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Hard work always pays off.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would have built a one story house!What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Art. It allows for creativity to mingle with the other 2-dimensional decisions that face me.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Do your homework. Knowledge is powerful and will get you farther than swag.