Four mayoral hopefuls, four views in Wauconda race

With four candidates campaigning, the race to be Wauconda's mayor is a crowded one - and all of them have different priorities.

Incumbent Salvatore Saccomanno is facing challenges from three would-be usurpers: Thomas F. Larkin, Roger Wojcicki and Mark Knigge.

Saccomanno is wrapping up his first 4-year term as mayor and is leading a slate of candidates for the clerk job and three trustee posts.

Without question, the economy is the biggest issue facing the village, Saccomanno said. Sales-tax revenue is down, property-tax revenue is down because of foreclosures, and residents are having trouble making ends meet, he said.

The national recession has directly affected village operations. Eight village employees were laid off last year to save money. Officials must stay fiscally lean and hold on until the nation recovers and developers again are confident in the economy, Saccomanno said. That attitude is key to the current budget-making process for the next fiscal year. Planners are trimming administrative costs and long-term projects, he said.

"We cut back a lot last year," he said. "We ended up with a balanced budget, and we're aiming to do the same thing this year."

Saccomanno couldn't predict if more layoffs will be necessary this year.

"The last thing we want to do is lay off other employees," he said.

Larkin believes village leaders need to be even more fiscally prudent.

"They need to rein themselves in," said Larkin, a retired police officer and former Wauconda Unit District 118 school board member. "Spending is out of proportion compared to what they're taking in."

Larkin didn't call for more layoffs, but he said the village staff should be restructured.

"I don't think you need a department head for every department, and every one of them doesn't have to make $100,000 a year, and every one of them doesn't need a secretary," he said.

He specifically took aim at the police department, which he said is top-heavy with two deputy chiefs and a superintendent.

Wojcicki feels the biggest issue facing the village government is economic development.

Area residents shop, eat and spend recreational time in other suburbs, he said.

"Wauconda was once a destination town. It has since become a pass-through town," said Wojcicki, who narrowly lost a bid for the village board in 2007. "We have to change that."

The village must do more to become a business-friendly town, Wojcicki said. Encouraging local businesses to remain open is key, he said; so is attracting new operations.

Wojcicki supports tax-sharing deals and other incentives as lures for businesses.

Knigge said the village's top priority should be developing a long-range strategic plan, one that stresses economic development.

Such a plan will be built, he pledged, with input from the board, village staff and residents. Reaching out to the public is key, he said, because residents know what the town is lacking and what it needs.

"You tell us what you would like to see," said Knigge, a trustee since 2005 who's leading a full slate of candidates.

To foster the growth called for in such a plan, the village should create the position of economic development director. That employee shouldn't be a new hire, he said, but someone already working within village hall.

A staff reorganization would make that possible, he said.