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Geneva Ward 1 candidates disagree on dining tax, hiring of administrator

Michael Olesen is finally getting his shot to become a Geneva alderman, as he takes on incumbent Michael Bruno for the Ward 1 seat.

Olesen owns Stockholm's Pub, and until the city changed its laws last year, could not have been seated as an alderman because he held a liquor license.

Bruno is finishing his first term on the council.

"I'm running at the encouragement of more citizens of Geneva than I can possibly keep track of," Olesen said. He also owns an investment firm.

Bruno said his background in engineering is an asset. "I vet evidence," he said. He's also a proponent of historic preservation, having sat on the Historic Preservation Commission. The 1st Ward encompasses much of the downtown, including the Geneva Historic District.

Here are their stands on some issues:

• Olesen said the city does not need an assistant city administrator. As for the city administrator saying she felt overwhelmed doing both jobs? "Welcome to being a small-businessman. We're always feeling overwhelmed," Olesen said. Some duties should be assigned to subordinates, he said.

Bruno disagrees. "I don't think our upper-level staff has the time to absorb the duties," he said. And he liked the city's policy of planning for succession to the administrator post. "I think we have some unintended consequences. I think we are setting up our city administrator to fail by doing this or by eliminating that position."

• Olesen opposes the city's 2 percent places-for-eating tax. He said reporting and implementing the tax puts a burden on restaurant owners, and that there is a risk that people will see Geneva as a high-cost town. He prefers increasing the citywide sales tax.

But since he owns an affected business, he would have to recuse himself from discussions and votes about repealing the tax, he said.

Bruno voted for the tax, liking that it is locally controlled (the city will collect the tax, not the state treasurer) and it can be spent on anything.

• Bruno supports the Downtown/Station Area Master Plan. But he disagreed with the five-story Seventh and State apartment building, and said he wished developers would have consulted with neighbors up front about the size and design.

And although the plan calls for higher-density housing downtown. Bruno said Geneva needs one-story living options, for diversity in housing affordability and for its aging population.

Olesen agreed Seventh and State was too dense for the site, and inappropriate for the neighborhood. It was bordered on two sides by single-family houses.

• Both Bruno and Olesen said city officials should discuss pursuing a referendum on obtaining home-rule authority.

• And both agree the city could borrow some money to provide incentives for development in the new tax-increment financing district 3, on the eastern side of downtown.

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