East Dundee mayor candidates spar on how to close deficit

A six-figure budget deficit awaits the next East Dundee village board.

The candidates who hope to lead that board as its village president have different ideas on how they can best weather the financial storm.

While incumbent Village President Dan O'Leary says adjustments to personnel will generate much of the $200,000 the village needs to make up, his challenger, Jerry Bartels, warns staff changes will hurt residents.

"There is no one ticket item," O'Leary said during a recent candidate endorsement interview with the Daily Herald. "We have one police officer retiring, and we are working to reduce the amount of overlapping and overtime."

Other options include creating part-time positions and a furlough program requiring employees to take one unpaid day off per month. That program alone could save the village $95,000, O'Leary said.

Bartels, however, says the village should not improve its financial situation through staffing changes.

"At the end of the day, the staff provide services to the residents," Bartels said. "It can't all be done with staff. We might save 75 percent of the budget, but we will never get anything done."

The candidates agree, though, that the costs for services such as garbage pick up could be passed on to the residents.

Currently, the East Dundee's $271,000 annual contract with Allied Waste is paid with revenue generated by the village's home rule sales tax. The cost will increase to $287,000 next year.

If the village begins charging its estimated 1,300 waste collection customers, the fee would amount to about $220 per year, or $18.30 a month.