Thomas W. Piorkowski: 2025 candidate for Roselle village board

Bio

Office sought: Roselle village board (Vote for 3)

City: Roselle

Age: 36

Occupation: Assistant real estate tax analyst and adjunct instructor

Previous offices held: Roselle Village Trustee, 2021 to present; and Roselle Public Library District — trustee, 2015-21; vice president, 2017-19; president, 2019-21

What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the village board respond to it?

The most pressing issue is funding necessary infrastructure improvements, particularly IEPA-mandated upgrades to our water treatment facilities and expanding capacity at our sewage treatment plants for future development. The passage of the home rule referendum in March 2024 has provided us with better financial tools to address these challenges.

However, we are still in the early stages of implementation, and significant work remains to ensure these projects move forward efficiently and with steady leadership that is aware of the history of these important projects.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

Our community’s financial position is strong. We have had balanced budgets for over a decade and we have a healthy reserve. Additionally, home rule status has diversified our revenue streams, easing the tax burden and, effective this summer, is allowing us to phase out vehicle stickers.

While fiscal responsibility remains critical, infrastructure investment, especially the water treatment facilities and deferred road maintenance, must be prioritized to avoid long-term costs. A stitch in time saves nine, and given these needs, spending cuts in most areas at this time would not be beneficial.

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project the community must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

Due to new IEPA regulations, aging infrastructure, and increasing capacity demands, upgrading the water treatment facilities is the top priority. This project is quite large and will cost an estimated $80 million. Fortunately, home rule authority has helped to generate additional revenue and to distribute the financial burden more equitably.

While we are still in the early stages of implementation, I am optimistic that these projects can be completed with minimal impact on residents. I am concerned about the availability of subsidized loans provided by the Environmental Protection Agency, which municipalities have long relied on to finance these large burdensome upgrades, and this is an issue that may need to be addressed as we move forward with this project.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board.

Having served on the village board for the last four years, the library board for six years prior to that, and our zoning board for the six years prior to that, I have a large amount of experience working in group settings on these types of problems.

I believe the key to effective decision making on these types of boards is to embrace good faith compromises. The hope is that all of us who serve on these boards are doing so because we have the best interests of our community at heart, first and foremost.

In this, each of us represents a viewpoint that others may not represent, so by having good faith discussions that lead to compromise, we can come to decisions that provide the greatest benefits to our residents.

Disagreements will occur and people will often be disappointed with at least part of the decisions that are being made, but as long as we are transparent about the process, clear on why certain decisions were made, and ensure that everyone at least had a chance to be heard, we can be confident that we came to the best decision for the community as a whole.

I believe our current board has been very effective these last few years because of our adherence to this process.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I have served on various governmental boards as an elected or appointed official for over a decade and a half. In addition to this, I have been very active throughout the community, volunteering with organizations such as the Roselle History Museum, Flags for Roselle, Lake Park Educational Foundation, Friends of the Roselle Public Library, and the Roselle Public Library Foundation.

As a lifelong resident of Roselle, I believe very strongly in giving back to the community that has given me so much and that I have been lucky enough to call home. In addition to this, serving on these various boards and volunteering with these organizations has given me insights into the needs of our community and the desires of our residents. As a trustee, I feel that being able to draw on the lessons of these experiences has been extremely beneficial.

What’s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

Roselle’s reforestation program is crucial in addressing the damage caused by the emerald ash borer. This invasive species has caused many trees in our community to deteriorate and die over the last decade or so.

Roselle currently has a reforestation program that replaces these trees with a wide variety of native tree species. In addition to increasing biodiversity, these species are also more resistant to disease. Both increased biodiversity and disease resistance are important in preventing this situation from happening again.

Trees that are more resistant to disease will be healthier, and more biodiversity will lessen the impact of potential future diseases or invasive species since only a segment of the tree population would be affected at any given time.

The reforestation program is one that I believe is essential. In addition to beautification, having large numbers of healthy trees also provides other benefits, such as aiding in stormwater management.

One of the things I would like to see over the next few years is an increase in the funding for this program so that we can, as a community, continue receiving the many benefits that these trees provide.