Carl Arriaza: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Mount ProspectWebsite: http://www.carlarriaza.comOffice sought: Mount Prospect Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 40Family: I am a American of Latino descent. I am a 3rd generation Mexican-American. Also I am a 1st generation Guatemalan-American. I hope to be bring more divirsity to the Village Board because of my ethinc background.Occupation: I have been a small business owner for 5 years. We specialize in information technology Consultant with small businesses and individuals. I am the proud owner of Tech on Wheels Ent. we are a Microsoft Solution Provider, and Google Apps Reseller.Education: University of Illinois- Campaign, Urbana. BA in Urban and Regional Planning. Microsoft Certified ProfessionalCivic involvement: Mt. Prospect JayceesElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 The village board has approved two consecutive property tax increases, that occurred in 2012 and 2013, along with a proposed increase for 2014. The residents of Mt. Prospect can expect its current trustees to allow their property taxes to go up by over 13% by 2014. My concern is that senior citizens will not be able to afford these tax increases. Seniors should not be forced to choose between paying their outrageous tax bill or spending their money on other daily needs.Key Issue 2 There is much we can do to open up city government to the residents of Mt. Prospect. If the voters choose myself, to be their trustee I will push the Village to implement The Illinois Policy Institute's Ten-Point Transparency Checklist. I would also like our village budgets, Board meeting minutes, and other important documents to be easily searchable on the Village website. I believe if the Board makes itself and its budget more accountable to the voters, it will ensure that property taxes will not be so easily passed by the Village Board. Other towns in Illinois have implemented this transparency program, I believe it is time for Mt.Prospect to do the same.Key Issue 3 We still have 33% of the city on combined sewers, 48,000ft of sewers need replacing, and $5,000,000 in road resurfacing. Our priority should be getting those fixed. We need to fix our streets, and provide the basic neseecitiys that draw families to Mt.Prospect to ensure growth of our Village.Questions Answers What's working at Village of Randhurst? What worries you about the Village of Randhurst? Talk about the rate of occupancy, the mix of businesses and the customer traffic. What can the village do to improve those things?What is working is the movie theater portion of the center. I use it all the time in the summer to see movies. What worries me about it, is the way the roads are laid out to get around it. Some horrible turns to get around on the frontage drive. It is taking a long time to fill the empty units is another concern in the middle of the mall. With our sales tax higher, that is one area the board needs to work on.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.We need to stay competitive with our neighbors. Prospect Hts is 8.75%, Arlington Hts is 9.25%, Des Plaines is 9%, Glenview is 8.75%, and we are higher than the rest. We have been hit hard with taxes along with our property taxes on the rise Mt. Prospect residents are now forced to pinch their pennies to survive. Also if our sales tax is higher than the rest of our nieghbors people are more inclined to spend thier money in other towns, which does not help the economic development of our own community.Has the village's flooding issues been adequately addressed? Explain.The city did a great job in the July 2011 storm in getting us back up in running. There is still more to do. 33% of the city still uses a combined sewer system. We also have 48,000 ft of sewers in Category 3 failure from out last report made in 2004. Those were expected to fail within 5-10 years of the report. We need priority in the budget to fix those outstanding issues. The Village Board budgets more money to city employees than it does to our infrastructure. I will do everything in my power to bring more money to fixing our sewer systems, without having to raise taxes by implementing a more cost effective budget.What are the village's biggest public safety concerns? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.I think our biggest safety concern is motorists driving over the speed limit on residential streets. I have heard from residents on Burning Bush for example complaining about speeders. We have to look at police, things like extra stop signs, and other traffic devices that will slow down drivers on residential streets.In these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Areas that I can see being trimmed are; Public Representation, Mayor Board of Trustees, Village Administration, Information Technology, TV Services are just a few. But there is plenty of examples we can trim. Example for TV services, why we paying $3800 a yr to host the videos of the meetings? Why not just use YouTube which is free? We can even monetize the YouTube channel, and get money back to the city. It might not be much, but I have a saying I use. "Cents make Dollars". Every little bit helps. Just as residents penny pinch, so does the village council need too. What we are not giving enough money too, is roads and sewers. We have flood issues in many neighborhoods. We have roads that need resurfacing, we have sewers that are ending its useful lifespan. I will work hard to fix these issues by redirecting money in our budget to fixing the infrastructure and trim the fat in our local budget.