League of Women Voters
of Elmhurst - Voters Guide for the General Primary Election |
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Kathryn Tracy Salzano |
| 1. Please describe the functions and responsibilities of the office you seek and explain why you are qualified to hold that office. The County Board is responsible for a wide range of functions—ranging from storm water management, to traffic and public transportation, to health and human services. They County Board manages services outside the municipalities. In District 1 the main issues of concern are taxes and flooding. Property taxes have continued to increase while the County is not taking care of essential and human services in cost effective ways. I would make transparency, due diligence, and equal access my priorities
for DuPage residents. 2. Do you see a need to reduce expenses in DuPage County government? If so, what do you propose? We absolutely must reduce expenses in DuPage County.First of all we have too much waste in duplication of efforts and services. The townships that comprise several municipalities and unincorporated areas are completely wasteful with bloated salaries for administration and elected (often appointed) officials. Townships were originally intended to make services more available to local residents in the days of horse and buggy. While it would take a change in the state constitution to abolish the township governments altogether (something that has been accomplished in other states), delivery of services would be better merged with other townships or neighboring municipalities. Alternatively, administrating services could be overseen by the County via satellite or internet communication. Second, we need to make sure the County is operating with
due diligence with big money contract deals. They have spent $1,000,000
on a land purchase from the Forest Preserve to subsidize Navistar in Lisle.
Schillerstrom claimed that this would lead to jobs and increased County
revenue through taxes. No research was done to determine how long it would
take to renew a million dollars in the form of revenue, or if or how many
local jobs would be created. They also passed the resolution without getting
information from the residents about how it would impact them locally.
3. Indicate some environmentally friendly endeavors you want the county to pursue. How important are utilizing environmental friendly building standards and practices in new construction? Would you support this even if it meant increased construction costs? I am in favor of Green Energy that can both provide jobs and save money in the long term. Increased construction costs may be necessary to create new jobs and implement sustainability in the environment. Researching the options and ensuring a fair competitive
bid process would keep costs lower. 4. Given the current economic climate, would you support a salary freeze or reduction for DuPage County elected officials? We have 18 DuPage County Board members in DuPage and the Forest Preserve is now a separate entity. This is in addition to increased urbanization and fewer services that actually need to be provided by additional government officials. I support re-examining the effectiveness of the number
of elected officials we need, and a salary freeze (if not a reduction)
in this economic climate. 5. What three specific initiatives would you like to accomplish during the upcoming term in office? Several initiatives that I would like to accomplish are elaborated on my website.
6. What is the best way for county government to advance economic development and create jobs? We need to get legislation in place that encourages and assists entrepreneurs'. Government should assist in creating jobs that help people and our communities through better roadways and public transportation, management of flooding and sewage, public safety and education.
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