Health & Fitness
Mike Bruno: Some Positions Before Election Day
1st Ward candidate Mike Bruno's positions on some voter issues.
Election day is fast approaching. Given that I am a candidate for Geneva’s 1st Ward aldermanic seat, I thought I would recap my positions on some of the various issues.
Taxes: I don’t like them and neither do you. I am paying those same property tax bills that you do. Were I paying those taxes in any other city besides Geneva, it would make me question whether I wanted to stay or leave. Given that the City of Geneva represents just 8% of your total tax bill, the City Council has limited opportunity to appreciably affect that bill, but I certainly am not motivated to increase that bill. I distinguish myself from my opponent here by refusing to make a pledge to never raise taxes as I don’t find it useful or sensible to deal in such absolutes. Although unlikely, there are situations (e.g. a natural disaster) that may necessitate a levy increase to restore a critical service (e.g. drinking water). Moreover, we would be irresponsible to not increase the levy to capture new residential, commercial and industrial growth (leaving the per-capita taxes unchanged). A recent independent analysis showed that Geneva is already delivering better value for our tax dollars than comparable communities, so I find it difficult to argue (as some do) that we can arbitrarily make across-the-board cuts without compromising the services that our residents have come to expect and that makes us such a desirable community. That being said; when opportunities arise to provide city services cheaper or more efficiently over the long term, then we need to seize those opportunities.
Find out what's happening in Genevafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Rates: We all pay for water, electricity and such through the city. The City must, of course, decide how to deliver those services for the long term in a way that delivers the highest value. My position here is simple. We should pay what it costs to deliver those services and not play tricks to falsely suppress those rates. For example; the city presently offers lower water rates as an incentive to attract industrial tenants. I am supportive of cautiously offering incentives to industrial tenants as long as we are confident of the long-term net benefit to residents. Those incentives should NOT de-incentivize conservation.
Historic Preservation: It is no exaggeration that Geneva defines itself with it bustling historic downtown. Decades of careful and pragmatic application of historic preservation guidelines has made us a tourist destination with few peers. That tourist appeal translates into sales tax revenue to provide services and to keep the city’s portion of our tax bill under control. The entire community benefits from historic preservation. My 11+ years on the Historic Preservation Commission uniquely qualifies me to understand the complex interplay between Historic Preservation, property values and economic vitality.
Find out what's happening in Genevafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Economic Vitality: If the number one issue on people’s lips is taxes, then one of the crucial areas we, as a city, must focus on is economic vitality. It will be a particular focus of mine to help oversee the growth and development of the East State Street corridor west to 1st Street along with drawing the most lucrative tenants to our new Southeast industrial park. I expect that the Mill Race Inn property will very shortly become a very active topic of discussion. Creating environments friendly to pedestrians is crucial to the vitality of our downtown. I will be very engaged in upcoming discussions on zoning that will help ensure that our tenant mix is conducive to pedestrian traffic to the long-term benefit of the community and property owners.
I will do my very best to well represent residents of the 1st Ward. It would be easy to say that I would be a simple mouthpiece of the popular will my constituents. It is more complex than that though and, as an engineer, I strive for precision in my stated positions. As I have said before; we elect our officials to [hopefully] do the heaving lifting of parsing all the evidence and facts and community input that the general population may not have the time or inclination to do. We entrust those officials to make thoughtful, pragmatic decisions separate from ideology or preconception. I can pledge that I will act in what I feel is the best, long-term interest of my 1st Ward constituents and the community as a whole. I would be humbled and honored to be your representative for the 1st Ward.
This Tuesday, April 9th, is election day. I appreciate your support. Please contact me if you would like to ask me any question that has not been answered here.
- Geneva candidates welcome comments and questions from the public. Commenters are asked to provide their full name, either via the username or by including his/her full name in the comment field. Anonymous comments will be omitted or deleted. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Geneva Patch Editor, Rick Nagel, at rickn@patch.com
