Island Lake board hopefuls set goals

Bringing new businesses to town, improving communication and exploring hiring a village manager should be among the Island Lake village board's goals for the next four years, candidates for the panel say.

Maintaining a balanced budget was another top goal, some candidates said.

Seven candidates are running for three seats on the board. All seats carry 4-year terms.

Only six candidates will appear on the April 7 ballot: Connie Mascillino, Donna O'Malley, Don Verciglio, Gregory Kachka, Laura Rabattini and Dwaine Schaal. The seventh candidate, David Meeks, is running a write-in campaign.

Mascillino and Verciglio are the only incumbents in the race.

The candidates spoke about the issues facing Island Lake in questionnaires for the Daily Herald.

Mascillino, O'Malley and Verciglio are running on the same slate, and nearly all of their answers to the survey questions were identical.

They said the village board should explore hiring a village manager as the population increases, and added that officials should implement a facilities planning committee that would involve residents to identify and prioritize improvement projects.

Kachka, Rabattini and Schaal also are running together, but they answered the survey independently.

Kachka said the village board needs to update the town's ordinances and seek out new businesses.

Rabattini said the board needs to publicly review the budget line by line in search of possible spending cuts or other cost-savings steps. Department heads and the village's financial director should participate, she said.

She also said village leaders should mend fences with Wauconda Township resident Bob Wargaski, whose pig farm stands in the way of the village's plan to build a new community water well. Wargaski started the farm last year in a much-publicized and successful battle to quash the village's plans.

Schaal said the board's top goal should be establishing policies for how it discusses and votes on issues. All items, he said, should be properly discussed in public, and community input should be allowed before votes.

Prompted by the current economic crisis, Schaal also called for a monthly budget review to ensure priority services, such as police and water, are properly funded and maintained.

Meeks, the lone independent in the race, said officials must improve communication with residents by finding new ways to keep people informed of potential changes in town. He also called for a financial audit to determine exactly where village funds are being spent.