Kane County Board candidates speak on the issues at League forum

Four Kane County Board candidates in Districts 2 and 12 in the Nov. 5 general election fielded questions this week during a League of Women Voters forum at Batavia City Hall.

Incumbent Democrat Dale Berman and Republican Ellen Nottke and incumbent Republican Bill Roth and Democrat Ricky Rivard participated in the Sept. 30 event discussing budget priorities and whether they support the Forest Preserve District levy increase request.

Nottke said if the county does not have enough money it can do one of four things.

“One, print it. Two, steal it. Three, increase revenue or four, cut spending. In the last four years, we have done nothing to cut spending,” Nottke said. “Is every worker in the county an essential worker? More and more things can be accomplished online, necessitating fewer employees in many departments.”

Berman said he was proud of his leadership on the Finance Committee.

“We’ve come up with a balanced budget and we have answered all the unfunded mandates put upon us by the state of Illinois,” Berman said.

But another problem the county has is the lack of a levy increase in the last 13 years, Berman said.

The levy freeze was an initiative of former chairman, Chris Lauzen, who is now the county treasurer.

“I’ve been retired for 26 (years) and I’ve had a cost of living increase every year,” Berman said. “We have to look for new ways of getting revenue. So we are planning to go out for a referendum that will allow us to increase our sales tax by 0.75%. I think that’s a very good thing.”

Roth said he supports cutting expenses.

“We need to take a close look at the budget,” Roth said. “It is out of control the last four years. ... A lot of county board members will say, ‘We have to raise taxes.’ ... I’ve been identifying some potential savings.”

For one thing, Roth said, the county never finished updating its LED lights.

Rivard said he would assure that revenue is “spent efficiently and in a manner that delivers the best results.”

“I would do so in a way that puts people first and ensure that I will not cut programs or services that our most vulnerable and working folks rely on most,” Rivard said.

Forest Preserve referendum

All four said they supported the $5.7 million tax levy increase to support more land acquisition, turning agricultural land into nature preserves and park maintenance, among other goals.

Roth said the forest preserve has a non-stop effort to keep invasive species out of the preserves.

And though the referendum will raise property taxes initially, the rates will go down as bonds are paid off, Roth said.

“Once the land is gone, it’s gone. We need to work smart,” Roth said.

Rivard said he supports the referendum as an investment in the forest preserves that reinforces the beauty of Kane County.

Rivard said he would like to see the county buy the land recently proposed for a housing development in St. Charles before it was withdrawn.

“We buy that land, save it, maintain it, respect it, then build infill housing in urban areas,” Rivard said.

Nottke said the referendum is a small amount and most of it is for maintenance.

“We have a lot of forest preserve, but it’s kind of a willy-nilly mix. You don’t really see a lot of availability at being able to coordinate bike paths between all of them,” Nottke said.

Berman said he voted to put the levy request on the ballot.

“We’ve got a great forest preserve district,” Berman said. “We’ve got more parks and more land and things to do. ... There’s so much out there, all kinds of choices. I’m really proud of our forest preserve.”

Most pressing issues

Other than the county’s finances, another problem for Roth is how the board works – or doesn’t work.

“We’re very dysfunctional on the board,” Roth said. “These meetings are too long. A year ago, I started timing them ... The record is now six hours and 10 minutes.”

Berman said the most pressing issue is the $14 million to $15 million in reserves used to balance the budget.

“We can’t continue to do this. We do have to come up with an alternative revenue source,” Berman said. “We gave an opportunity to all the department heads to cut back on the budget. We gave the same opportunity to all the elected officials to come up with a reduction in the budget. We had a very slim response to that.”

Berman said they would continue to spend down reserves unless revenue can be increased.

“We can talk about cutting our costs, but the majority of our costs are people. And if we’re cutting people, we’re cutting services and we’re cutting people’s lives,” Berman said.

Nottke agreed that the most pressing issue is finances.

“We need to work with the elected officials to ensure that they get the resources they need to run their offices efficiently,” Nottke said.

“Reserve funds should not be used to balance the budget,” Nottke said. “My opponent on the Finance Committee – which he chairs – (its) solution has been to use the county’s reserve funds to balance the budget, essentially kicking this can down the road.”

Rivard said there was “no magic wand that I can wave or anyone else can wave” to solve the county’s financial woes.

“We have to find new ways to raise revenue so that it does not happen on the backs of the working class in Kane County (or) ... fall on the shoulders of the employees of the county.”

Board meeting attendance

Nottke said every board member should have to attend meetings in person, so they don’t have to cancel for lack of a quorum.

“We need to demand that people show up in person,” Nottke said. “You ran to be there. You ran for the office to represent your constituents. You can’t do it from home. You can’t do it from your office. You have to do it in person.”

Pride Month support

Berman said, “Well, certainly,” prompting applause and laughter.

Nottke chided the board for not doing it in June, but waiting until July to approve it.

Rivard said he always stands with the LGBTQ community and the proclamation.

“We need to build a sense of community, a sense of belonging, a sense of welcoming,” Rivard said.

“Legally, everyone should have the same rights,” Roth said. “I don’t necessarily think we need to be celebrating it.”

The Leagues of Women Voters of the Aurora Area, Elgin Area, and Central Kane County co-hosted the forum.

The Leagues scheduled another forum Wednesday, Oct. 9, starting at 6:30 p.m.

The forums will be posted on BATV at mybatv.com and on the IL Voter Guide website illinoisvoterguide.org.