John West: 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: BataviaWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Batavia Township Board (4-year Terms)Age: 51Family: married 2 children, 2 step childrenOccupation: Municipal Electric Meter TechnicianEducation: Batavia High School Graduate Coursework at Waubonsee Community College Various Training Certificates Related to Electric metering FEMA - NIMS Public Works Training Certificates Annual Township Training Springfield, IllinoisCivic involvement: Current Batavia Township Trustee Current Board member BATV Past coach BYB, Tri-City Soccer Volunteer in various other organizationsElected offices held: Batavia Township Trustee 2009 - CurrentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NOCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Fiscal responsibility and oversiteKey Issue 2 General Assistance programs that are required of and provided by Batavia TownshipKey Issue 3 Openess and Transparency of local Township GovernmentQuestions 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.Continued efficiency and production by all offices and employees of Batavia Township. Through technology and training of equipment and procedures, the current board and employees were able to become more efficient and knowledgible and more productive. The current board took a hard look and held the line on employee compensation, including reduction where needed. Our current board invested in the Required General assistance requirement by supporting area orginizations such as Batavia Food Pantry, Ride in Kane, and other local Social Services entities.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 serve a Similar and different roll throughout the state. Townships are required by law to produce balanced budgets while some other government bodies have not. In areas where the population is sparce, Townships are more heavily relied on to provide services that would otherwise not be completed by a municipality. Each Township completes it's required work with different types of employees be it full time or part time workers. Each township should strive to produce the most with a reasonable and fair cost to it's citizens. There are townships with large budgets and those with almost nothing but they are all required to upkeep infrastructure and keep taxes as fair as possible, keep equipment ready and usable and keep all its roads passable regardless of weather.What should be the primary responsibility of township government?The primary requirement of Townships includes fair taxation , keeping up it's infrastructure of roads and bridges, drainage issues, and where required assistance to Social ServicesIn these hard economic times, can you identify some township expenses/programs that could be trimmed or eliminated to reduce the tax burden?Depending on the Township there are many or almost no programs. Large financial townships should look at programs and determine if they are being duplicated or being served by another agency. In general townships have kept a tight line on wages. Actually, townships are historically one of the lowest taxing bodies of overall tax bills providing a "good bang for your buck"What specific background or experience do you bring that makes you the best qualified candidate to serve as an elected official in the township?I am employeed in the public service field in a job requiring much face to face communication on many different issues on energy. I am currently serving a term in which I assisted in providing good quality service within a balanced budget while holding the line on compensation and spending. I live in a Township area and can see and feel what other township residents are receiving for services. I will always keep the citizens in mind. While working with others on issues I will continue to listen to constiuents and deliver their ideas or issues. I will discuss my view and those of others while keeping the thought that we can agree to disagree and move on with business.