Candidate Survey – Steve Kapitan 3rd Ward DeKalb

Steve Kapitan

Candidate Name: Steve Kapitan
Ward you are running for: 3rd Ward DeKalb
Contact Email

Explain:
Governor Rauner’s budget would reduce the city’s share of state income by 50% and cost the City of DeKalb over $2 million. His proposal to cut NIU’s funding by 30% would have a negative effect on the local economy and city sales tax revenue. The City Council should pass a conservative budget with a focus on spending restraint and cuts if necessary rather than dipping into the rainy day fund or raising taxes. The rainy day fund should be reserved for use in an economic downturn. Any tax increase should be a last resort. Fee increases should be based on a specific related use and NOT be used as a substitute for taxes. And because of the property tax burden faced by the citizens of DeKalb the city should not try to make up a revenue reduction from this source. The City Council should seek advice from the professional staff and the Citizens’ Finance Advisory Committee during the budget process.

Explain:
Any tax increase should be a last resort. Property taxes and sales taxes should be off the table for at least the coming budget year. There are not a lot of other options. Utility taxes are not a good option. Fees should be related to specific services and not be raised to fill an overall budget hole. Fines should be designed as a deterrent to violating a law or ordinance not on revenue needs for the City. Any increase in gasoline taxes should be entirely dedicated to funding street infrastructure.

Explain:
Each department should be asked to find areas to freeze or cut. Freezes or reductions should extend to professional consultant services and the funding of independent organizations in economic development promotion as well as social services. A freeze in management salaries and in new labor contracts, postponement of vehicle purchases and delayed infrastructure projects should be on the table.

Explain:
My approach to TIF districts is to favor funding public infrastructure or remediate a distressed site in order to attract private economic development investment. TIF districts should be narrowly focused and designed for specific projects with achievable goals that can be achieved within a projected timeline and then ended. The ‘old county home’ project was an example of such an approach. TIF funding is more likely to be misused when a TIF district is large and the goals are vague and open ended.

Do you support the DeKalb City Center/Communiversity plan?

I like some elements of the City Center/Communiversity plan. Making a stronger link between the NIU campus and DeKalb’s downtown is a goal I support. But any project implemented should not be at the expense of the historic residential neighborhood. Getting neighborhood support is critical for the implementation of any plan.

Should the Office of City Clerk be fully restored as independent of the city manager, mayor and city council?

The office of City Clerk should be restored as a full time position that is independent of the mayor, city council and the city manager. In 2012 the citizens of DeKalb voted overwhelmingly to keep the office as an elected position. In an effort to coerce the voters into making the office an appointed position the city manager (now retired) convinced the council to strip the clerk’s office of all but its statutory duties if voters rejected the referendum. They reduced the salary to the ridiculous level of $5000 per year thus making it undesirable for anyone to run for the office. The city council should respect the voters decision by restoring the Clerk’s independence.

How would you rate the job performance of the current incumbent serving as alderman in your ward?

I don’t think it appropriate to make such an assessment except to say that I agreed with her sometimes and disagreed other times. She is not a candidate for reelection.

How can you improve the ward you are seeking to represent?

Investment in the physical infrastructure of the third ward and the promotion of economic development of the old industrial park off of Peace Road are priorities. We should seek businesses that would benefit from the high speed fiber optic cable that runs by this old industrial park. The City should focus on attracting businesses that will produce higher paying jobs. We should promote our educated workforce and the presence of NIU and Kishwaukee Community College in our community.

Editor’s Note: Below is Steve Kapitan’s explanation for not selecting options provided on the survey.

When I went to the survey monkey site last night I attempted to address the specific issues raised in the questions. But I did so mostly in the text boxes because I found most of the questions gave me no check box options that I could agree with. Therefore in most cases I did not check any box. Survey Monkey would not allow me to complete the survey without checking a box on every line. I will not check boxes associated with a statement to which I don’t agree.

Attached is a file containing my text responses to every question. I appreciate that you want candidates to answer specific questions. But many of the check box options were associated with editorial content that could result in misinterpretation of a candidate’s answer.

To be clear, I am not doubting your sincerity in formulating the questions.

I sincerely thank you for your effort. — Steve Kapitan