Oswego Township Candidate Questionnaire: 2021


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2	Name	Position	What qualifications do you have that make you uniquely qualified to serve in the position you are running for?	What do you feel are the most important issues you want to address if elected?	How can the Township communicate with and address any underserved communities better?	How should the Township streamline services to reduce taxes while maintaining needed services for the community?	Is there a need for more transparency and accountability at the Township level? Why or why not? How would you improve or defend current policies or processes related to these concepts?

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4	Michael F. Becker	Oswego Township Clerk	I have a BA in Political Science and a Masters in Economics and Finance. I teach Freshman economics at College of DuPage. I have lived in Oswego Township for 43 years and have been activie in my community and my church for most of that time. I have over 30 years experience in customer service, giving me a unique perspective in making the Clerk's office resident-friendly.	Transparency. Accessibility. Approachability.	Transparency. Accessibility. Approachability. My door will always be open to all Township residents.	As Clerk, I will not have a vote on the township budget and tax rate. However, I will work to run the Clerk's office as cost-effectively as I can.	Yes. I will work to expedite all reasonable FOIA requests. I want to make the Clerk's office resident-friendly.
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6	Kenneth Holstrom	Oswego Township Clerk	DID NOT RESPOND
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8	Claude Ainsworth	Oswego Township Highway Commissioner	I am the only candidate with 26 years experience in the Civil Engineering field which consisted of building and designing roads, curb and gutter and sidewalks.I also have experience working within budgetary constraints, which is critically important to control costs. Possessing this expert knowledge of roads, sidewalks, budgets, and service make me uniquely qualified to be the Oswego Township Highway Commissioner.	My main overall goal is to provide better safety and service on the roads to the Oswego Township community. To achieve this I plan on reviewing and updating the departments procedures and job descriptions, monitor work sites, lessen outsourcing of jobs to private companies, update equipment and technology as needed, and reviewing bookkeeping procedures.These measures will ensure improved service with cost effectiveness.	I think overall Oswego Township is doing an adequate job but there is room to improve. Asking for the community input, requests, ideas through social media platforms, surveys etc. Also posting information on our website on a regular basis to keep community updated on current events.	By upgrading technology. Example: The department is still plowing roads the same way they did in the 1920's. There is better equipment and techniques available in the 22nd century, which will reduce costs. Also, initiating improved paving procedures will prevent early road deterioration that is occurring now. These are just a few of many revisions I would like to provide for helping to reduce taxes.	Definitely there is a current problem with both transparency and accountability. The way township government is set up now, the Highway Commissioner has almost zero accountability. I will work to change that concept. Developing a working and cooperative relationship with the Township Board will be my first change to the Highway Commissioner's role to achieve this goal.
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10	Tom Cook	Oswego Township Highway Commissioner	Self Employed For 28 Years as an Electrical Contractor (Valley Electric) with vast experience in all facets of construction along with the experience of owning your own busyness. Labor relations, project management, banking relationships, bonding relationships, Accounting, engineering, subcontractors, general contractors, Union relationships, etc. I also own my own real estate investment company for over 20 years that property manages over 50 units. All multi-family buildings. Owning (2) businesses, especially the (2) types I own, gives me all the experience that will be needed for this position. I also was elected to sit on the Board of Directors for the National Electrical Contractors Association. I am a Trustee for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Health and Welfare Board. As a trustee I sit on the finance committee for the pension program. I am on the Negotiating Committee. I have sat on the Labor Management Committee. I sat on the Drug Testing Committee. I was the previous Chairman of the Audit Committee. I was also elected to the Board of Directors for SIBC. This is an advisory position for a resort.	The current Highway commissioner is not seeking re-election. In my opinion he has done a great job, so currently I don't believe there are any critical issues but something important to me is the ADA Ramps for sidewalks. This project is underway but needs to be completed. Also, I want to keep the Shared Services Cooperative with other municipalities going strong. And, when elected, I would like to see if there are ways save save costs in an effort to not increase the tax burden to our townships families.	I am not aware of any underserved communities.	Continue with, and try to improve on shared services with other communities.	I think there is more transparency than in the past. With that being said, I will look for other ways to be more transparent. I believe in complete transparency for the taxpayers. I will always strive for that.
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12	Terry Olson	Oswego Township Highway Commissioner	COULD NOT REACH THE CANDIDATE FOR COMMENT
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14	Judy Bush	Oswego Township Trustee	* Oswego Township resident for twenty-seven plus years * Twenty years of not-for-profit accounting, finance and HR managerial experience * Committee member - Kendall County/Oswego Township Advisory Board * Board Member - Kendall County Crime Stoppers * Board Member - Family Counseling Service * Attends Boulder Hill Watch Meetings consistently * A passion to ensure that Oswego Township continues to be a safe and happy place to live and raise a family	Complete transparency, lower expenses if possible without interrupting or discontinuing any services that are needed by the taxpayers. The health and safety of all Oswego Township residents is of great importance during these very challenging times.	I believe more communication regarding services for the underserved communities is needed. The Township has a great website but not all residents have access to a computer. Additional communication could be provided via social media, mailings, posting in the local newspapers, and possibly a special meeting held by the Township officials.	I believe a hard look at all the expenses related to the services provided by the Township, the need of these services and the efficiency in providing these services would help determine the possibility of a reduction in taxes.	As a former Finance Director, I believe in complete transparency and accountability. I have seen great improvement in these areas under the current office holders. I would like to defend the current policies or processes and look further into what else can be done to ensure that the taxpayers are afforded complete transparency and accountability from the Township.
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16	Diane Selmer	Oswego Township Trustee	Prior to being elected Trustee, I spent many months attending township Board meetings. I'm a retired Administrative Assistant to the V.P Human Resources, at a major corporation, have devoted time to researching issues and participating in township government. I have 4 yrs. as Trustee implementing cost savings, policies, procedures, published FOIA log, reconciled bank statements, transparency via oswegotownship.org website, lowered the levy, lowered elected officials salaries, served as township representative on the County board Solid Waste Committee. Consistently attend the Boulder Hill Neighborhood Watch meetings. Always seeking ways to lower taxes with less government, while providing needed services.	Currently we have a part time hire documenting cemetery grave location information which needs to be completed. Oswego Township maintains 6 cemeteries, and with the addition of the Pfund portion, the goal would be to make it into a scatter garden for human and pet cremains to be income generating to maintain all 6 cemeteries for many years and further lower the levy.	As a current trustee running for re-election-there was a need to address that very issue--former Trustee Donna Stanley and I collaborated to implement a fully transparent informational website-- an award winning website,oswegotownship.org., which includes agendas,minutes, resolutions, bills paid, cemeteries information, road district services information, assessor information, township service areas, FOIA contact, to name a few. in addition, the road district sends out a quarterly informational newsletter to unincorporated residents. Unincorporated residents are provided with contact information and concerns are promptly addressed.	The Board recently lowered the township levy by 2%, while maintaining township, assessor, cemetery portion of services. Road district levy remained the same. My motion/adopted lowered the salaries of incoming elected officials to the 2016 levels, eliminating tax payer paid medical coverage for the pt. time clerk position. As a current Trustee, the Board implemented an Intergovernmental agreement with village of Oswego, 308, park district, etc. for township/road district cost savings. Implemented policies and procedures, ie 2 signature requirement on checks. We also changed insurance carriers, since the Township Officials of Illinois group insurance premium was significantly lower with better coverage. After 5 yrs. of participation in that group insurance, premium rebates are possible.The Sheriff now utilizes our new 99 Boulder Hill location as a satellite for convenience of the unincorporated community. The Road Commissioner has responsibility for streamlining of road services.	My main goal when elected was transparency and I believe that has been achieved via the website--oswegotownship,org and always are open to improvements from our taxpayers. Accountability is up to the voters every 4 years since all positions, ie Road Commissioner, Supervisor, Clerk, Assessor, 4 Trustees are individually elected, meaning we are employed and accountable to the voters. We are mandated to follow Dillon's Rule for township government and can only do what is written unless changed by the General Assembly.
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18	William Small	Oswego Township Trustee	I have been privileged to work, live, and participate in several community activities since my family moved to Oswego Township in 1975.	Our current board and previous boards have maintained tax rates at low levels as compared to other townships in Kendall County. We have reduced our building site and moved to 99 Boulder Hill Pass with additional space for Kendall County Sheriff's personnel to meet and address local issues. We continue to monitor expenditures on a monthly basis with open meetings on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 P.M.	We have open meetings monthly.	We sill continue to provide services and are limited by law to services authorized by statute.	Always will be. The public is invited to address the board at each monthly meeting. We provide time near the beginning of each meeting so that the information offered may be considered during the meeting.
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20	Donna Sawicki	Oswego Township Trustee	I will admit that I am new to the political seen, but after seeing what has been happening nationally and state wide, I just had to step up. I am a parent with children in school district 308, and a township resident for the past 9 years. Since government is supposed to be for the people and by the people, I feel qualified to honestly represent the people of Oswego Township.	My first concern would be to create and ensure transparency for residents regarding Township business and costs. As well as creating better communication and transparency between other departments within the Township. Creating a budget that spends our residents’ money wisely and effectively. I also choose to support our Police, along with improving safety and security for ALL Township residents.	I personally feel that one can’t fully understand someone else’s issues or concerns without walking in their shoes. Therefore we need to physically go out to any underserved communities and communicate with them until we fully understand their needs and concerns. We need to create an open line of communication, and again remain transparent, so that all Township residents know what’s happening in their local government and who they should speak with to ensure their voices are being heard.	By working together with other departments within the township and creating better communication and transparency we can work more efficiently and reduce costs. I think it would be in the entire Township’s best interest to collaborate and share resources rather than work against each other. I look forward to hearing resident’s suggestions and meeting with other departments to see how we can work together to streamline these services and make our Township better as a whole, while saving money too!	As I have already mentioned, I am a newbie to the political seen. So while I definitely know of state polices that need improvement, I’m not entirely sure of the exact situation of our local government. And to be honest, I’m not sure how many other residents are either. Which leads me back to why I’m running and felt the need to get involved. I have recently learned more about how these national and state policies trickle down into our local governments, therefore it’s extremely important that everyone knows what is going on and that there is absolute transparency. Otherwise, we are left in the dark and there is no chance of our voices trickling back up the chain to make a real impact or create change. My main goal is to be a vehicle of communication to the community, to make sure our voices are heard and that everything is being done in an honest and transparent way on the government side. And if not, you’ll be the first to know, because that’s how it should be.
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22	Allyson Jacobsen	Oswego Township Trustee	DID NOT RESPOND
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24	Juan Terrazas	Oswego Township Trustee	DID NOT RESPOND
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26	Shane Wade	Oswego Township Trustee	DID NOT RESPOND
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28	Brian Hauser	Oswego Township Assessor	I've been an Oswego Township resident most of my life. I've been a property tax payer since 1992. I was appointed as Assessor July of 2018 to present. I take extreme care and effort to make sure no property owner is over assessed or taxed. I've been a Certified Illinois Assessing Officer since 2008, Certified as Supervisor of Assessments 2008-2010. 1997-Present employed at by the Oswego Township Assessor's Office, 1995-Present Licensed Realtor, 1991-2003 Licensed Real Estate Appraiser, 1986-1997 Part time at Oswego Township Assessor's Office.	To make sure that no tax payer pays a dime more than they should. To make the appeal process as easy as possible, and to help homeowners get the exemptions they are qualified to receive. To educate as many as possible in the assessment process.	The Assessor's office is open year round and property taxpayers are encouraged to call whenever they have questions. We make ourselves available for communication with property taxpayers via phone or email. Taxpayers receive an assessment notice in the fall, and a tax bill in the spring with our phone number. We welcome the opportunity to assist each taxpayer with their questions, concerns and appeal information. It's during these two seasons, most taxpayers contact us and we then have the opportunity to explain the assessment and property tax process with each of them. Over the years, I have attended question and answer sessions with HOA's to explain the process and eliminate any misunderstandings with the property tax system in Illinois. Moving forward I would love the opportunity to meet with more HOA's and other civic groups to discuss the way the Illinois Department of Revenue directs the property tax process.	As the current Assessor I have reduced the budget more than $25,000 so far and the office has absorbed the work of a vacated full time position, saving taxpayers even more money in salary and benefits. I will continue to look for ways to better serve the community.	The Oswego Township Assessor is currently held to high levels of transparency and accountability. Our board has been very diligent in the auditing of our expenses. The accounting is subject to rigorous outside audits. As for the Assessor position, I answer to the township board for the budget. The taxpayer is annually given the opportunity to appeal their assessment with the county Board of Review. They can also appeal to the state with the Property Tax Appeal Board. The Assessor's work as a whole is evaluated by the Illinois Department of Revenue with what's called a Sales Ratio Study. If our assessments are too low or too high compared to sales prices, we are forced to raise or lower assessments. This is handed down by the Kendall County Supervisor of Assessments. The Oswego Township Board, the Oswego Township taxpayer, Kendall County and the IDOR provide excellent accountability for the Assessor. Taxpayers have the opportunity to attend and address the board once a month when they meet. During the current restrictions due to Covid, the meetings have been available via ZOOM.
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30	Dan Koukol	Oswego Township Assessor	First and formost, I am a Certified Illinois Assessing Officer. I have 25 plus years experience in the Realestate business as a Broker Manager. I have experience in all areas of realestate from homes to commercial and farm/development land. I also have 10 plus years in economic development experience here on a local level. Being in business 30 years locally, as well as my many years involved in public service, I have built a strong network of government bodies and businesses globally, and throughout Illinois.	Help accomodate other taxing bodies thru the assessment process to help bring commercial development and lessen the tax burden off ROOF TOPS (homeowners). It is vital that the assessor be transparent, accessible, available above and beyond normal office hours to the tax payer. I will be approachable to the taxpayer for all of there questions, as I have always been in my public service. More Business = Less Taxes cell:630.669.1567	Townhall type meetings in the neighborhoods, social media and email blast marketing. Keeping up to date with social events, neighborhood watch and outreach programs that are looked at quarterly, to evaluate and address any changes necessary.	Assesor’s office should work closely with the trustees of the township to have a user friendly online program so the tax payer may look up assessments or other needed information. Have staff available to answer phones during office hours and the elected official accesible to the public after hours. Cross training staff would be an efficient way to get tasks done quicker and have more input on assesment of all types.	Transparency is an on going, vital daily part of the office. Policies need to be put in place, adjusted as needed, followed and adhered to. The township is growing, people have work demands and need flexibility when they can meet or speak to the assessor’s office about their needs. Currently the office hours are 8am to 3:30pm. I am committed to being available for evening, weekend or early morning appointments to accommodate the taxpayer.
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32	Brian LeClercq	Oswego Township Supervisor	Between my experience as a small business owner in financial services and past Village President equip me with the tools to run the Township. It is important to have the skills to lead and also equally important to understand how government works and doesn't work. I have worked to create an environment where each member of the team brings there skills to improve the organization. From Trustee Selmer's eye for detail and policy making to Trustee Jacobsen's work behind the scenes to help the seniors to Trustee Bidegain's technology skills to save us thousands of dollars, these are clear examples of collaborative leadership. Being that this job entails detailed record keeping my financial background has proven positive. With our better record keeping, we are able to pinpoint areas of opportunity to realize savings or see potential problems.	The township has a specific set of responsibilities as outlined by the State of Illinois Legislature. We are charged with general assistance, assessments, and cemeteries. The general assistance reserves are in good shape and the assessors are finding ways to deliver their services while saving money. We are taking strides to improve the cemeteries. Hopefully, you have found them to be more aesthetically pleasing. We are currently working on getting them on our website in a very user friendly manner. Soon you will be able to click on a cemetery and find out who is buried where and if plots are available. You may also see things like if they are veterans. In addition, for those of us that are interested in cremation we are working on our very own scatter gardens for humans and pets. It will be a great way to memorialize our loved ones. We are also planning a link to click and learn more about that loved one so they will always be remembered. Stay tuned for more...	We have put more information on our website and have taken a proactive approach to meeting the needs of our community. Along with the help of Representative Batinak, we worked on initiatives Light the Night and Care Packages for Seniors. These began a dialogue about the need for greater safety measures and protecting our seniors. We now meet regularly with county officials to work on passing legislation to improve the quality of life for all of us.	One major step was taken when we signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) affording us the opportunity to joint purchasing and shared services amongst all the local governmental agencies. It is opening up some opportunities and we are already seeing savings from tree trimming to office supply purchases. I am proud to be one of the original signers and thank President Parlier for his work on this project. We have even borrowed heavy equipment as needed, which has saved us several thousand dollars! This is extremely important, especially for our school district. We will continue to strive to work together to be more efficient and effective.	There are always ways to do things better. When I took office, we implemented a policy requiring two signatures on checks. We created and updated our policies for more structure and clarity. We approved a new website that includes as much information as possible.
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34	Joe West	Oswego Township Supervisor	DID NOT RESPOND
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