James P. Cecille: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: StreamwoodWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Streamwood Village boardAge: 67yrs.Family: Married to my wife Maryann for 48yrs. Have raised 3 children to adulthood, Ron, Scott, Karen Presently have two adopted children which are now 17yrs old and are seniors in high school.I am a grandfather of six.Occupation: I am a retired Carpenter foreman, member of Carpenters union local 558 for 32 yrs. U.S. Army VeteranEducation: High school,additional college courses.accounting, business,Civic involvement: Loyal order of Moose-25 yearsAmvets-Post #277-19 yearsStreamwood Lions ClubPast President Streamwood Little LeagueCoached Bowling - Youth LeaguesCoached Basketball-Youth LeaguesInvolved with Streamwood High Booster Club building High School GarageInvolved with St. John the Evangelist Church, Building committee for new church.Building the garage and renovation of the previous rectory house.Presently involved with Streamwood High Drama Club building sets for current productions. Member Special Olympics of IllinoisElected offices held: 24 years as a Village Trustee StreamwoodPrior to that Appointment on the Village Zoning BoardHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 To work towards a balanced budget withour raising taxes in this economic downturn.I voted no for the current budget as I believe more discussion and ideas should have been brought forward by the Village Board. Staff did a good job with directives they were given.However,some of the money we have in reserves should be considered prior to raising taxes.Key Issue 2 I also would like to see Fire Station One (on Park Blvd.)which was recently closed reopen at a minimum for ambulance/paramedic services. Our average response time has increased due to this closing, leaving the residents on the south side of our Village more vulnerable. Pursue grants with more lobbying to our repesentatives to help achieve this.Key Issue 3 Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?My 24 years experience on the Village Board.My assesibility to the residents of the Village. I have a strong repertiore with the different organizations involved in the Village.I am independent of any political group and am able to vote in Village matters for the best interests of the residents and the voice of all the people.Given the delicate balance between the need for revenue and over-taxing local businesses, what is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.The level of our sales tax is adaquit at this present time, the worst thing we can do now is to create a new tax on our businesses and close thier doors.In a positive note, our newly expansion of 40,000sq ft. of walmart will expand our tax revenue to a higher level with the economy upswing. We also experience a new Sonic Drive thru grand opening.Talking with your friends and neighbors, what seems to be their biggest public safety concern? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.The biggest concern while walking our neighoods, the closing of fire station 1# on park ave. I brought this issue up at our budget hearing with a couple of suggestions to no avail. 1. Put out a referrendum to replace and staff this station or re-open with a EMS response only. I think we should give our residents the opportunity to vote on this safety issue. Our response time is increasing slowly. A memorandum from our manager and fire chief stated that closing any station in our town will have a negative impactIn these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?My goal is to have a balanced budget, but what we are doing now is moving money from one account to shore it up.we could trim the 40,000 dollars we spend on the summerfest that we don""t get reimburst for police, fire,and public works costs. We have 5 million dollars in reserves and raised property taxes, which I did not vote for.What#146;s one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I would like to have an open summit meeting with our surrounding communitities with our Mayors and Trustees, State Senators and State Reps to discuss how we can help one another with sharing services, cutting costs and exchange ideas for the betterment of our citizens.