Age: 51

Occupation: Currently not working due to an injury.

Have you been on the Village Board or held any other public office before? If so please describe: I am finishing my 11th term on the Village Board.

Why are you running for Village Board? I enjoy being on the Village Board. I am a lifelong resident of the Village. I like to be involved in and give back to the community and I enjoy a challenge.

If elected, do you have any specific goals for your term in office? My biggest goal is to help the Village continue to grow in positive ways. The quality of living in Belleville is very good. The services provided to the citizens of Belleville are also very good. We need to fill the commercial and residential lots on the far west side. Numerous large projects that have been completed in the last 5-10 years were done based on the potential growth. Additional residents and businesses would go a long way in the battle to keep the Village portion of the property taxes and utility charges as low as possible

What precisely do you believe is the biggest challenge for the Village Board? The budget. As I mentioned above, until we get some new growth, the budget process is going to be very tough. Between the lack of growth and the levy limits put in place by the State legislature, there is little or no room in the budget to do more than the bare minimum such as maintaining roads, sidewalks and other infrastructure and replacing vehicles and equipment. The Village Board has worked very hard over the last several years to keep the Village budget in line.

What other issues would you like to see addressed by the Village Board? If elected, how would you handle these issues? The growth and budget issues are both major issues. As I mentioned previously, there is not much funding for other projects such as park projects (playground equipment), building repairs, etc. The Village has recently completed a comprehensive facilities study. At this time there is not adequate funding to build any new buildings. The Library is in the early stage of a fundraising campaign, and the Police Department needs to move from their current facility. The Village Board will have to make some tough decisions regarding these facilities in the future and will be looking for public input. As we start to grow again, we also need to keep in mind the small town values that we have and not lose sight of them. Those small town values are what makes Belleville such a great place to live.

Do you have any additional comments? As I said previously, I have enjoyed my time on the Village Board. I ask that no matter who you vote for, that you exercise you right as a citizen and VOTE on April 5th. I would like to thank the Post Messenger Recorder for this opportunity to share my thoughts.