Bloomingdale candidates differ on fiscal ideas

The race to fill three seats open on the Bloomingdale village board in the April 5 election is divided between incumbent Jeff Dolce and the Unity Party that includes incumbents Robert Czernek, James King and first-time candidate Michael Hovde.

All four are adamant in their desire to maintain Bloomingdale’s quality of life, keep taxes down and deliver services at the lowest cost during this economic crunch.

But each brings a slightly different approach on how he would do this.

Dolce, who was appointed to his current seat to fill a vacancy, said more intergovernmental cooperation will cut costs and eliminate duplicate programs.

“Although community leaders are now implementing intergovernmental agreements (and) sharing services, we can take it to the next level,” Dolce said. “We need to include park district, school and library boards. There are many overlapping services which collectively could be additional resources for each taxing district.”

Dolce also believes village leaders need to form a clear idea of Bloomingdale’s identity, then publicize the village to attract new businesses.

Newcomer Hovde said he hopes to “bring Bloomingdale into the 21st century” by eliminating paper waste and streamlining procedures like water billing, permit and license filing and making forms and payments available online.

Hovde also said his main focus is to attract more businesses and employees to Bloomingdale, in order to expand sales tax revenue and lower the burden on homeowners. He favors eliminating the telecommunications tax.

“It’s not levied universally,” said Hovde. “If you have a cell phone billed to your home, you pay the tax. But if it’s billed to your business out of town, you don’t.”

Incumbent Czernek said he was proud to be the lone vote against Bloomingdale’s telecommunications and motor fuel tax increases. Fiscal responsibility, he says, is his main priority while the village struggles with lower revenues.

“Bloomingdale has $500,00 in a bike path fund that has been sitting there for years and has not moved, and, to me, that is a luxury,” Czernek said. “We need to pay employees because they are the backbone of our village — stopping water main breaks, plowing snow, fixing the sidewalks. I don’t believe in laying anybody off.”

Fellow incumbent and Unity Party member King said the quality of life and retail base in Bloomingdale remain in good shape, despite recent revenue declines and cost-cutting measures like early retirement for some village employees.

He said he remains committed to making sure Bloomingdale has a strong financial base while also “maintaining emphasis on planning and open space.”