Michael Hovde, Jr: 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: BLOOMINGDALEWebsite: www.your2017townshipteam.comTwitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: @your2017townshipteamOffice sought: Bloomingdale Township Supervisor Age: 47Family: Married to Jackie with three step children and 2 grandchildrenOccupation: AttorneyEducation: Lake Park High School 1987, B.A. English, Southern Illinois University Carbondale 1991, Juris Doctor, Southern Illinois University School of Law, 1994Civic involvement: Bloomingdale Village Trustee, DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference (DMMC) Intergovernmental Committee, Chairman of Bloomingdale School District 13 Education Foundation. Member of Bloomingdale, Roselle, Glendale Heights and Carol Stream Chambers of Commerce. President, Clare Oaks, Bartlett, Secretary, Hank Gianvecchio Natural Habitat Area Foundation, Board Member, Bloomingdale Parks Foundation. Lake Park Student to Business Partnership. Fifty Men Who Cook. Chair Qualified Arbitrator, DuPage County 18th Judicial Circuit. Character Counts award recipient.Elected offices held: Bloomingdale Village TrusteeQuestions 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.1. Exploring consolidation and cooperation opportunities with the Municipalities in the Township. The Township already has intergovernmental agreements for mosquito abatement, transit and roads. I would like to find other areas where local governments can work together to provide for lower cost services. As a member of the intergovernmental committee with the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, I understand the complexity of consolidation and believe certain services can be administered more efficiently through the township. As a Village Trustee, I understand that intergovernmental agreements can be used to reduce costs without seeking legislation from Springfield. 2. Maintaining a low tax rate for residents. While the township portion of Property taxes is very low, it is important to keep it low while still providing needed services. 3. Using technology to cut costs to improve services for residents. The township should use technology where appropriate to cut costs and improve services to residents.What should be the primary responsibility of township government?By statute, townships are mandated to provide three services: general assistance to qualifying residents, property assessment, and to maintain township roads and bridges. Townships can also provide various programs including social services, senior citizen and youth programs, mosquito abatement, transportation, and electronic recycling, all while still maintaining a low tax rate and staying within the Township budget. Those areas of responsibility are separate and distinct from municipal government, and for the areas that overlap, Townships should enter into intergovernmental agreements to avoid duplication of services and to provide the most efficient delivery of services.In the 21st Century, with municipalities gobbling up vacant land, why are townships needed? Should they be serving a new role? If so, what?Bloomingdale Township still has a significant unincorporated population. By statute, townships are mandated to provide three services: general assistance to qualifying residents, property assessment, and to maintain township roads and bridges. Townships can also provide social services, including senior citizen and youth programs, mosquito abatement, transportation, and electronic recycling. It is more efficient for townships rather than municipalities to provide general assistance, mosquito abatement, electronics recycling and social services. If the mandated duties of the Township were transferred to municipalities there would be a corresponding increase in the budgets and taxes of each municipality in the Township, with a likely duplication of services and additional personnel needed. Bloomingdale Township already has adapted by entering into intergovernmental agreements with municipalities for transportation, mosquito abatement, and certain road maintenance.Are there any township offices that should be eliminated or consolidated?In Bloomingdale Township, all opportunities for intergovernmental cooperation should be explored. The mandated services for the Township would still need to be performed, so eliminating offices would merely shift the tax burden, not lower the tax burden. Consolidation can be achieved without legislation as Bloomingdale Township has done with mosquito abatement, and transportation.Can you identify some township expenses/programs that could be trimmed or eliminated to reduce the tax burden?I certainly want to maximize consolidation and cooperation opportunities with the Municipalities in the Township, by intergovernmental agreement, and I would like to find other areas where local governments can work together to provide lower cost services. As a member of the intergovernmental committee with the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference, I have studied the issues relating to eliminating expenses and programs. Minimizing expenses can be achieved by running an efficient office and cooperating with other units of government to deliver needed services at a lower cost. If Township programs such as mosquito abatement and electronics recycling were eliminated it would save taxpayer dollars, however, there is a public health component to mosquito abatement with the West Nile Virus, Zika and other disease that is spread via the mosquito. The State of Illinois banned electronics from landfills without providing a solution for residents or municipalities. Bloomingdale Township stepped up to the challenge by providing electronics recycling for Bloomingdale Township residents and serves as a very popular program for residents that is not offered by any of the Municipalities in Bloomingdale Township.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?With my experience as a Bloomingdale Village Trustee, a tax paying small business owner in Bloomingdale Township for over 20 years with a payroll that provides for several employees, and deals with government on a daily basis, I understand the importance of the tax burden on our residents. I want to keep costs as low as possible without sacrificing services to the residents. Township government is here to serve the people and should be run efficiently and intelligently to keep taxes as low as possible.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Theo Epstein, for his long term vision in building the Cubs to win the World Series.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?The importance of personal responsibility as well as accountability.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?None. We have all experienced regrets, but without them, we would never experience the lessons life has to offer us.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?English, as reading and writing are essential to my business and in processing information needed to make good decisions.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Time heals all wounds.