Election 2011: Village Candidates on How to Improve as a Board

April 5 is coming up fast. To help you get to know the candidates for the contested Woodridge elections, we asked the candidates for the and the a set of questions. We'll be posting the answers to those questions throughout the week.

If elected, is there anything you would do differently or to improve upon the job done by current board members?

There are two areas which I think can be improved upon. First, I think the Board needs to partner more with other nearby communities to try to find better ways to deliver services. We need to get together and share “best practices." We need to
think “bigger," to look at ways to “reinvent” the delivery of government services rather than just look to make marginal changes of the existing structure. Secondly, we must make government more open and accessible. We are the last town in the area to put our village meetings on TV. Our website makes it nearly impossible to find out what government is doing with our money. I will work to put all information on the website and will provide monthly updates on Facebook to let residents know issues being addressed by the village board.

The current board is doing an excellent job as evidenced by the balance sheet.

While there are always ways to improve, I feel the current Board has done an excellent job in meeting the challenges of a difficult economy. The Village has cut costs through decreases in personnel, putting capital improvements on hold and consolidating departments. Even though we have made major reductions, our financial stability is sound according to recent bond ratings.

Did not submit an answer to this question.