Palatine District 5 candidates disagree on budget

Just one of the three Palatine village council seats up for re-election is contested, and even those candidates don’t differ on much.

The exception is a disagreement between longtime District 5 Councilman Jack Wagner and political newcomer Kollin Kozlowski on how the village balanced its 2011 budget.

Wagner, the longest serving council member with 24 years of service, defends the council’s decision to raise property taxes by an average of $40 per household in order to cover a $843,000 spike in the village’s public safety pension obligation.

The 66-year-old specialty chemicals company executive said the hike came only after more than $20 million was cut from the budget during multiple public workshops. Those cuts included layoffs to an already lean staff.

Kozlowski, a 39-year-old risk management manager with positions on local youth baseball and football boards, said the village should have found a way to keep cutting or tapped into its $18 million-plus reserves to plug the budget hole.

“All that hard work everyone put in and then you get down to the very bottom and you’re short $800,000 instead of working that extra day or finding that one other thing,” Kozlowski said in a Daily Herald endorsement interview.

Kozlowski, who said he oversaw a $500 million engineering budget when he worked at Motorola, wished the board “went that extra mile.” He pointed to the beautification committee and cell phone budget as potential places to trim.

Kozlowski also wants to see more shared services with the park and school districts, and said turning to reserves likely wouldn’t have hurt the village’s strong bond rating.

Wagner said the village already takes advantage of reciprocal agreements with other local governments where it can, from snow removal to leveraged buying. He called Kozlowski’s criticisms Monday morning quarterbacking.

When asked why he is seeking a council seat, Kozlowski responded that he sees it as a natural progression after coaching and serving as the former Lake Louise School PTA vice president and current Palatine Amateur Football Association president.

He also believes more and more young couples are moving into District 5, and he’d be more representative of that demographic.

Wagner said he’s seeking a seventh four-year term because there are certain projects he wants to see through, including the new police headquarters and improving services from Cook County. Wagner said his experience brings a valuable perspective to a board that has three freshmen members and a first-term mayor.

“I not only discuss the issue at hand but also look at history and why was it done this way in the beginning,” Wagner said.