Joanna Colletti, 4 years: 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: Fox River GroveWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Fox River Grove Village board, 4-year termAge: 34Family: Married to Anthony, 2000Occupation: Registered IL Professional Engineer (P.E.)Education: Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Environmental Emphasis, Bradley University, 1998Civic involvement: Cary-Grove Jaycees, 2001-present - I've held numerous elected positions including: IL Jaycees 80th State President (2011); IL Jaycees Vice President(2009 and 2010); Fox Valley Region Jaycees Regional Director (2008) and District Director (2007); Cary-Grove Jaycees Chapter President (2006)Fox River Grove Lioness Club, 2006-presentEducation/Outreach Subcommittee of the American Society of Civil Engineers Illinois Section Sustainability Committee, 2010-presentElected offices held: Fox River Grove Parks Commission (appointed position), 2008-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 As a member and taxpayer of the community of Fox River Grove, I feel that it is imperative that the village stays fiscally responsible through good and bad times. Our community members cannot afford tax rate increases, surcharges, and the like for the benefit of increasing line items in the village budget. The village should be looking at ways to live within their means or cut back, like all residents have been over the past years. As trustee it will be my job to ensure the village is not overspending for the wrong reasons.Key Issue 2 The village has approximately one mile of commerical development on our two main roads, US Route 14 and IL Route 22. We should be looking to expand our business partnerships and opportunities in our commercial corridor on to help fill the budget gaps and fill vacancies in existing buildings.Key Issue 3 We have dozens of acres of parks within the Fox River Grove limits, and we have sacrificed improvements to the parks for other expenditures within the village. Our parks could use new equipment, better facilities, and overall better maintenance and upkeep with the help and support of our community members and village staff.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have lived in the village over 11 years and have always wanted to make an impact in the community. I truly enjoy living in Fox River Grove, and I feel that my professional and leadership experience can help guide and strengthen our community.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.The level of local sales tax imposed by the village of Fox River Grove is zero. The overall sales tax rate is comprised of 6.25% in Use Tax from the State of Illinois and 0.75% in local Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) Tax. I would not advocate the village instituting an additional local sales tax on purchases.Talking with your friends and neighbors, what seems to be their biggest public safety concern? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.As traffic on US Route 14 and IL Route 22 continue to worsen, especially during rush hours, more and more vehicles are taking to our side streets to try to beat traffic on our main thoroughfares. This poses numerous safety concerns including speeding through residential areas and school zones, drivers not obeying traffic control devices, and additional vehicle loads on roads that may not have been designed for the amount of traffic these streets now see. Solutions include providing occasional increased police patrols on the known ""cut-through"" streets and installing traffic calming devices such as speed humps or raised crosswalks. These methods may help to deter the negative actions of drivers.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?As I am not familiar enough with the day-to-day operations of the village and its staff, I cannot give an opinion on line items of the budget that may need to be trimmed. As anyone who has driven on the village streets in Fox River Grove can attest, more funds should be allocated to infrastructure repairs and maintenance.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?One goal that the community is striving for is increased occupancy of vacant commercial properties. As the village struggles to meet budget figures, the missed tax revenue from the vacant buildings and sales of goods makes the issue worse. We need to stay competitive in finding occupants for our vacancies. By hiring a director of economic development to help bring in businesses and fill vacant properties, our village can be proactive in creating a bigger tax base than being reactive to a potential occupant.