William Grossi: 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: Mount ProspectWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Citizens for Bill GrossiOffice sought: Mount Prospect Village Board Age: 63Family: Mari Otto: SpouseWilliam T. Grossi: SonOccupation: AttorneyEducation: Marquette University, B.S., Business Administration:FinanceDePaul University, M.S.A., AccountancyIIT/Chicago-Kent College of Law, J.D.Civic involvement: Past Board Member of the River Grove Chamber of CommercePast Volunteer for the ACSMember: American Bar AssociationMember: Illinois State Bar AssociationMember: American Institute of Certified Public AcountantsElected offices held: NoneQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I believe my background, experience and knowledge of the village will help the board make informed, knowledgeable, and meaningful decisions that will ensure future growth and at the same time respect the values of our residents. People should vote for me because I will listen to everyone and will always act with their best interests in mind.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.The level of sales taxes that Mount Prospect collects can be improved if we can attract more businesses to the downtown area and Randhurst. Our village has been seeing increased sales tax revenue over the past few years by having created a better business environment. The sales tax rate is about right when compared to our neighboring cities and villages. Illinois and Cook County have extremely high sales rates when compared to other states and other counties within Illinois. As trustees, we don't have much control over the rate, we control only the village portion which is 1%.Increasing assessed value of property in the village does not mean that property taxes need to go up. In fact, the assessed value of property is only part of the method used to calculate a property tax bill. Do the taxpayers in Mount Prospect pay too much? Yes, but the entire state has this problem. Illinois property taxes are among the top five highest in the country. The village component of the Mount Prospect real estate tax rate is under control and shows the fiscal discipline the board has shown over the past years.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?Currently, I would give a grade of A to the village police and fire coverage. The village has requested an independent study on space issues for the police and fire departments. Once the independent study is completed and presented to the board, I will review the options presented. Now is not the time to speculate on alternatives. However, the village must address the police department space issue soon. The police department facilities need to be expanded and updated to allow the department to meet the challenges of the next ten years. The fire department has challenges ahead. These challenges will become more defined over the next few years. As the issues become more clear the board will need to address them.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?The board just finished the approval process on this year's budget. I listened to the current board's questions and concerns and believe that very little can be trimmed from the budget. The board and village management have been fiscally conservative and have done a great job keeping increases as low as possible while maintaining great services for the community.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I would like an extension of a college or university to locate near the train station. This extension would draw individuals to the downtown area. Night classes would help the shops and restaurants in the area. The responsibility of bringing any business or other entity to Mount Prospect resides with village management but I would help in any way to better the community.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?My biggest concern is the tax burden that has been placed on our residents. The uncertainty of the state's financial condition may mean that the village will receive less money from the state. We must do everything we can to protect the resources we currently receive from the state so that we can continue to provide the excellent services our residents expect and deserve. I believe our residents cannot be expected to pay more in taxes due to the inability of other government units to properly fund their promises made to their residents.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.John RobertsWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would spend my do-over on the ability to thank my parents one more time for all that they did for me during their lives.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Federal Income taxation. This course was the starting point of my professional life.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Take responsibility for all your actions.