Terry Wilke: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: ROUND LAKE BEACHWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Avon Township Supervisor Age: 51Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Realtor, County Commissioner, Adjunct Faculty at CLCEducation: BBA ~University of IllinoisCivic involvement: Cool food pantry, Habitat for Humanity, Avon Township Food Pantry, VFWElected offices held: Lake County BoardQuestions 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.Because property taxes are so incredibly high in this area I feel the number one priority should be reducing the Township's tax levy. The second most important goal should be to improve its services, particularly the administration of the General Assistance funds. Thirdly Avon's roads and infrastructure need to be brought up to 21st century standards.By consolidating services we can accomplishes both goals of reducing costs and improving programs. The key here is that while some elected officials may lose their jobs the overhead that will be saved can be used either to reduce costs or to improve services or indeed any combination of either or both.There are areas in Avon where the roads and related infrastructure simply need more attention. Add to that the buildings, trucks and equipment that are quickly deteriorating to a point where replacement costs will far exceed what preventative maintenance would have cost if it had been done in the first place. If these preventative maintenance issues are properly funded, full replacement costs can be delayed or prevented altogether. Short changing a critical budget to aid oneself politically can have dire consequences for the taxpayer in the future. And I think no one should applaud this type of reckless grandstanding, particularly when it comes to long term capital improvement projects where the costs of neglect can be so high.What should be the primary responsibility of township government?The primary responsibilities of Township government are three fold. Namely tax assessments, roads and the General Assistance Fund respectively. The Supervisors office has the primary responsibility of administering the General Assistance Fund. It is my belief that these funds are to be used for that purpose only and should not ever be used for other operating expenses, including using these funds to cover shortfalls in other budgets such as salaries.In the 21st Century, with municipalities gobbling up vacant land, why are townships needed? Should they be serving a new role? If so, what?I believe we are approaching the time where we should consider consolidation of smaller governmental units like townships. While the services they provide are local in nature and should therefore be kept as locally accessible as possible, the oversight could be either absorbed by other units of government or they could be combined so that we only have to pay for the overhead of perhaps 4 townships instead of the 18 that we have now.Are there any township offices that should be eliminated or consolidated?I would contend that all township elected offices should be looked at with a critical eye. It's understandable that elected officials would argue to keep their own jobs. But I feel, if we are honest, that a far more efficient and effective job could be done with far less overhead if we truly wanted to do what was best for our constituents and not what was best for us personallyCan you identify some township expenses/programs that could be trimmed or eliminated to reduce the tax burden?It's my feeling generally that programs should be paid for by the users of those programs and not the taxpayers at large. Given that, there should be no sacred cows in government at any level. So absolutely everything from township hours, to electric bills, to salaries and contracts should be scrutinized for possible savings.Toward that end, for the first time in Avon's history, I am publicly committing my salary to cover the budget. So that if we can't come up with a balanced budget it will come out of my pay.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I find the integrity and transparency of the budgeting process to be absolutely critical people's trust in government. If people can clearly and unambiguously see every cent that is spent on their behalf and if they have a level of genuine access to comment and/or complain, government is almost always held to a higher accord. There is no reason that government can't serve the public as if it were a customer, but that can only happen with completely open and transparent government.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Bernie SandersWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?I learned this as a child, it means more every day."Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.""â#128;cent;Albert EinsteinIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Med SchoolWhat was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Science, the scientific principal is applicable to absolutely every facet of lifeIf you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Learn to think critically, it is a skill that will serve you throughout life