Peter R. Dombrowski: 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: SchaumburgWebsite: http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_170542206320991ap=1Office sought: Schaumburg Village boardAge: 35Family: Married to Cindy. Three Children: Jack (6),Ava(4),Henry(3)Occupation: IL Licensed Professional and Structural Engineer. Design Building and Bridges.Education: Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering,Purdue University, West Lafayette IN, 1997Masters of Science in Civil Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Chicago IL, 2003Civic involvement: National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying - Volunteer.St. Hubert - Student Advisory Board MemberElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Represent the residents.For example, at the public hearing in Dec. 2009, a majority of Schaumburg residents attending spoke out against the property tax. The incumbent trustees voted unamiously for the tax leaving Schaumburg residents without a voice. Key Issue 2 Remove the trash collection fee from the property tax levy.8 million dollars is roughly a third of the property tax levy and about the cost of the trash collection. This is a fee based service that should return to the residents.Key Issue 3 Responsible spending. Just because we can spend money doesn't mean we should. Some projects that come with a matching grant may only cost the village 20%. Those same projects may not add any value to our residential lifstyle. Many residents I've spoken to are very disappointed with the Wise Rd. improvements and median planters.Questions Answers What is your opinion of Schaumburg's municipal property tax? Do you support immediate repeal, an increase in the tax or something in between?I support an immediate reduction of 50% of the levy and a 25% cut in the sales tax. This would cut the budget by about 10% and bring spending in line with the 2009 budget. I think that this would be a responsible move in the current economic climate.How is the village's decades-old model of reliance on commercial development and retail sales taxes for revenue weathering the current economic downturn? Do the vulnerabilities revealed by the recession justify a major overhaul of that model?The revenue is strong. The spending has been uncontrolled.I think that the sales tax is enough to sustain village services; however, the vulnerabilities are in a village budget that increases spending every year. There would be a surplus, if the projections were honest and capped at last years revenue. Instead the projections are treated with little respect and revenue loss is not considered. It would be prudent to consider that 2-3% of businesses in our area may leave due to the increase in state taxes.What is your attitude towards the village's ownership of the Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel Convention Center, Alexian Field and the Schaumburg Regional Airport? Should these properties be privatized? Why or why not?I believe that if there is a demand then the free market will fill it. I think that the village has taken advantage of certain areas and developed them where private markets would have been financially penalized. Now that we have these assests we need to invest more money to keep them viable. This includes 32 million dollars to operate the Renaissance on top of the maintenance costs. Currently the village is strongly pursuing an access ramp from I-90 to the convention center. This will bring additional costs. The Ballpark is in the red with the village taking the brunt of budgetting and legal costs. The Airport too is not a strong revenue generator. All of these things drain our village management resource from providing for the residents and businesses. I would like the ballpark to be completely owned by the park district and utilized more by area schools and residents at little or no fee.Should Schaumburg continue to run Septemberfest and other special events? Do you support the work of the cultural services department and the village#146;s continued operation of the Prairie Center for the Arts and the Trickster Gallery?Schaumburg's September fest brings the community together all year. A large group of residents volunteer to bring the event together. This has value beyond the budget cost. The Cultural Services Department, Praire Center, and Trixter Gallery is a luxury that most other municipalities do not have. I would like to see these things supported by foundations independent of the yearly village budget or TIF district dollars.What significant infrastructure improvements, if any, should the village be pursuing? Why?The Schaumburg infrastructure improvements should focus on better coordination with the county. I would push for Schaumburg to gain control of Roselle Rd and Schaumburg Rd. There are significant needs for better intersection design and better signalization along these stretches. Although Schaumburg would be responsible for the future maintainance costs, this would allow the village to enhance the traffic flow through our village and prevent the issues that come with red light cameras.