Barbara Williams: 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: Vernon HillsWebsite: http://N/AOffice sought: Vernon Hills Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 67Family: Widow 1 Daughter - Cindy 2 Grandsons - Luke and JackOccupation: Location Manager - First Student Bus CompanyEducation: BA - Business Administration Millikin University- Decauter, Il.Civic involvement: Previous memebr Vernon Hills Blood drive Vernon Hills Women Club Various othere organizationsElected offices held: Vernon Hills : Trustee 1981-1985 / 1985-1989 President 1989-1993 Trustee 2001-2005 / 2005-2009 / 2009-2013Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NOCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 In no particular order. A youth center Mall renovation Development on RT 45 The decelopment of the final building at Town Center The North east corner of RT. 60 21 Working with property owners to Bring business back to our malls Remodeling of the police buildingKey Issue 2 See aboveKey Issue 3 See aboveQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?Experience and Knowledge: My record as trustee and President shows my commitment to our way of life I will continue to apply my experience and knowledge in working for the Residents and the betterment of 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 village sales tax at this time is just right. I do not feel we are overtaxing the businesses at all. As in all things we must keep our eye on our income and revaluate our circumstances at all times.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.There is no real public safety problem. However, we are always concerned with making sure that our residents and visitors are always safe when shopping or simply going out to eat. We are very fortunate that we do not have any gang problems as other municipal communities have. However, there is a very major issue facing not just our community and our youth, as well as other communities. With the rise in drug use, especially Heroin, I am very concerned about our students. We must push hard to educate students on the use and dangers of this very life threatening drug. It is not just a school or a parent problem. It is a community problem. In 2012 alone, 59 people died from drug over dose in Lake County. We all must work together to stop this before more of our children lose their life.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?We have tightened our belts, over the last couple of years. We offered early retirement to some employees. We placed a freeze on hiring or replacing personnel for a while. A hiring freeze was put into place after discussions with and concurrence with our department heads. We are looking at adding some additional personnel in the near future. This year's budget is pretty tight and no I do not think that any department is hurting. Our 2013-2014 budgets have not been presented to the board as yet. However, we will review it by department and as a whole and as always with an eye to overall cost before it will be passed.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?While, this is not really a new idea I would like for us to establish a youth center. A place that our Jr. HI and Hi school students can justgo hang out? A place to go play some games, listen to music, exchange ideas. I think we can work with the park district to really bring this about. Not at the park dist buildings, not at the school. Maybe in an empty store front. A place to go and just be. It will take a lot of work and a lot of volunteers, But I think it is a very worth while project.