Politics & Government

Patch Election Q&A: Stan Bond on Question #1

Stan Bond's answer to our first question.

The question:

Just about all the candidates so far have said Montgomery needs to raise more revenue. What are your specific ideas to accomplish this? And what are your ideas to reduce expenses? What, specifically, would you cut out of the current budget?

Stan's answer:

Montgomery needs toraise more revenue through the growth and profitability of the businesses which are located here, and through the economic boost we derive from new businesses who choose to locate here. I am not convinced that our need for more revenue is sufficient to warrant increased fees or taxes on our residents.

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An additional idea I suggest for consideration is a Vacant Property Registration Fee or Permit. This would be levied against foreclosed properties and the fee would fall to the lending organization holding title to the foreclosed property. I would recommend a fee of $200 designed to cover a mandatory village inspection of the property, notification to the Police Department of vacant properties to support extra surveillance, to code enforcement, and possibly an alert to neighborhood watch organizations as vacant properties represent crime hot spots and potential fire threats. On re-occupancy the village should be inspecting these properties to ensure that lost or stolen items haven't caused them to be non-compliant with residential occupancy codes.

To reduce expenses I would like first to see a greater percentage of Montgomery's purchases be made through the competitive bidding process. A surprisingly small percentage of our purchases are currently competitively bid. At meetings, including the last one I went to, I routinely see the current Village Board vote for a Waiver of Competitive Bid. I would use that power very sparingly. Nothing assures value or sharpens pencils like free market competition and such a posture would cost Montgomery little or nothing to implement.

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Second, I would like to see more purchases made from vendors who are located in our Village. Not only would that reduce transportation and delivery cost, but the Village would also benefit from the growth and prosperity of local businesses.

Third, we are spending a considerable sum on outside consultants and outside contractors. I think we should take a look at some options to be more self sufficient. Doing for yourself is usually less expensive than having others do for you.
Fourth, we are spending money in areas that might have been nice thoughts in boom times, but I think in today's economy we need to redefine what's most important and get back to the basics.


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