Robert Boros: 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: Mt. ProspectWebsite: http://Dems4LowerTaxes.comOffice sought: Wheeling Township Board (4-year Terms)Age: 65Family: Married to Carol Boros. Two married children, Michael and Carrie, with two grandchildren.Occupation: Retired Design EngineerEducation: IIT and AA Pre Engineering Oakton CommunityCivic involvement: Testified to the Illinois Commerce Commission in an effort to reduce Illinois American Water Rate increase. I volunteered to be on School District 26 committee to increase their No Child Left Behind scores. I have volunteered on local campaigns including for State Senator Daniel Biss and State Rep. Elaine Nekritz who have stood up to Mike Madigan and fought to bring common sense budgeting practices to Springfield. I volunteered for Friends of District 214 to help elect candidates who opposed banning books.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Reduce property taxes by drawing the reserve fund to a reasonable level and by eliminating unnecessary spending through Budgeting for Results practices.Key Issue 2 Ensure efficient delivery of services to Wheeling Township taxpayers and residents by reducing and eliminating unnecessary spending including a full review of Township elected officials' salaries.Key Issue 3 Improving the transparency and openness of township government to make Wheeling Township more responsive and accountable to the taxpayers.Questions Answers Name the three most important goals or objectives this board should tackle in the coming term. Prioritize them, and briefly discuss why you believe each to be critical, and how the board should go about addressing them.#1 -- Work to reduce property taxes, including but not limited to: - Drawing down the excessive reserve funds. By accumulating more than $4,500,000 in reserves the incumbents have clearly been overtaxing people for quite some time. - Eliminating unnecessary spending, period. Reducing property taxes will benefit every single taxpayer in the Township. The current incumbents have simply been accumulating reserve funds for no rational purpose. Current Township reserves sit at roughly 200% of operating needs (about 24-months) -- more than $4,500,000! The Illinois Comptroller's office recommends only 25% to 50% (3- to 6-months of reserves). The incumbents seem to be proud when they claim Wheeling Township accounts for what they think is just a bit of residents' tax bills. But even at that amount residents are obviously being overtaxed. I, along with my running mates, will consult independent financial experts to determine a responsible way of drawing down these reserves with the goal of reducing property taxes. #2 -- Ensure efficient delivery of services to Wheeling Township taxpayers and residents by reducing and eliminating unnecessary spending, including but not limited to: - Review of elected officials' salaries and benefits to bring them in line with hours worked. - Implementing aBudgeting for Results? program and running cost/benefit analyses to ensure that services are maximized and no dollars are wasted on things that don't work. - Working with other local agencies and governments to improve and expand beneficial intergovernmental agreements and lessen the burden on taxpayers. - Develop a Township Economic Council to assist area businesses and residents seeking work. Many residents -- from seniors to veterans to those in need -- enjoy the benefits and services available through the Township. What many of them may not realize is that thousands and thousands of tax dollars devoted to unnecessary spending such as new shrubs for Township Hall and elected officials' salaries could instead be put to better use in improving those services as has recently been done in nearby townships such as Avon, Northfield and more. Several of the incumbents have been in office for more than a decade. It is time for a fresh perspective from new elected officials that will be better stewards of taxpayer funds by conducting a comprehensive cost/benefit analysis of the Township's internal workings with the goal of using the resulting cost savings to improve services. #3 -- Improving the transparency and openness of township government to make Wheeling Township more responsive and accountable to the taxpayers, including but not limited to: - Actively advocating on behalf of taxpayers and residents by creating a Township Economic Council, consistently advising residents of difficult-to-navigate tax exemptions, and more. - More accurate reporting and more timely updating of meeting minutes, audits, and coming events. The township's website sometimes goes months without being updated and there are still several sections that simply sayComing Soon?. - Expanding online services through use of new Internet capabilities, alerts and apps. - Reconfiguring the Township's work hours to make times more convenient for residents. Right now the Township offices are only open 9am to 4:30pm during the week. Adjusting office hours to include a weekday evening or a Saturday morning by shifting Township officials' schedules will benefit the entire community. It should be a given in the Internet age that a government agency will use the relatively low-cost options available online. Moreover, the Township can dramatically increase its usefulness for residents by making simple changes such as creating an area-wide Township Economic Council to assist local business and job-seekers or shifting office hours to accommodate people who work or who are seeking work during the day.In the 21st Century, with municipalities gobbling up vacant land, why are townships needed? Should they be serving a new role? If so, what?Townships should focus on delivering social safety net services and advocating for local residents and taxpayers. In other words, Wheeling Township should concentrate only on those services that other overlapping governments do not perform -- for seniors, the disabled, veterans, job seekers, and those in need. Plus, with the economy still on the mend it is clear that Wheeling Township could be a force for economic good by concentrating on a new, modern role as a clearinghouse for small businesses and job seekers to help drive the local commerce engine as well as being taxpayer advocates helping people reduce their property taxes. Wheeling Township is almost entirely represented by existing municipalities with very few unincorporated subdivisions left. In general, townships should shed themselves of services which are better served by other government bodies whether they be the county or a municipality. That way townships can concentrate on their primary mission of local, direct assistance and services.What should be the primary responsibility of township government?Maximizing the efficient delivery of necessary services for all residentswho need a local resource fighting on their side. Wheeling Township could be: - Helping local property owners get each and every tax exemption they have earned - Putting even more support towards the food pantry by reviewing elected officials' salaries and concentrating on food pantry services instead - Maximizing senior services and services for veterans, those in need, the disabled and others - Connecting local businesses and job-seekers with as many available programs as possible in order to help boost the economy and help people find workIn these hard economic times, can you identify some township expenses/programs that could be trimmed or eliminated to reduce the tax burden?The most obvious is the Township Highway Commission which services only about 5 1/2 miles of unincorporated road. The elected position of Highway Commissioner could be eliminated by a voter referendum or, by state law, that position will automatically be eliminated if the unincorporated roads fall below 4 miles due to annexations. At that point, the Township board will take over responsibilities for unincorporated roads. This will consolidate the local Township government and eliminate what has been a bastion of wasteful patronage over the years. Along those lines, the Township board and supervisor should review ALL elected officials' salaries to verify they are commensurate with hours worked. Finally, once elected my running mates and I will bring a fresh, independent viewpoint to the Township board. We will look into the incumbents' spending over the past decade and implement a solidBudgeting for Results? program to concentrate only on those programs that work and eliminate wasteful spending. There are also a great many things that Wheeling Township could be doing to improve the local economy too like helping residents find jobs, connecting local businesses to resources and much more.What specific background or experience do you bring that makes you the best qualified candidate to serve as an elected official in the township?As a design engineer I have been in charge of multi-million dollar programs. Engineering is a pragmatic science balancing cost with the best possible design. To be successful one must be able to be a team leader bringing together varied interest, the customer, sales, manufacturing, vendors and at times company culture. With my strong experience in engineering and my various involvements in the community I am very well prepared to represent the taxpayers' interests as a Wheeling Township Trustee and I ask for your vote on April 9th.