Stephen Fuller

On the Record

What experiences do you have that make you a good candidate for office?

I served on the Aurora and St.Charles Fire Departments where I spent 38-Yrs in the Fire Service. I moved through the ranks from FF/P to Lt. Capt.Deputy Chief of Operations, Asst. Fire Chief and Fire Marshal. I have the necessary background in building & fire codes. I have an understanding of fire ground operations, and management of support services. In 2009 I retired from the St.Charles Fire Dept. I currently conduct health& life safety inspections for the Kane County Regional Office of Education. I believe I have the the necessary time, and qualifications to serve the community in this capacity.

What are your top three priorities if elected?

To maintain respectability as a responsible fiduciary for the citizen taxpayers within the Elburn & Countryside Fire Protection District. As a former fire command staff officer, I realize a commitment to the basic principles of providing emergency services to the community. ”Protection“ represents a wide range of emergency services the dept. provides to protect and serve the citizens of the ECFPD. These include fire suppression,rescue,emergency medical services and other essential services that protect the lives and property within the the community.

Would you support freezing your taxing district’s levy until housing prices rebound? Why or why not?

I foresee future growth issues within the the fire protection district. ( A real concern when the economy improves.)New development plans are on the docket and scheduled in the near future. For example, Settlements on the Fox, additional retail near the train station, the Anderson road bypass bridge to reroute truck traffic from the downtown area, and the Elburn Station Development, with 2000 units is proposed. All of these concerns will have an impact on how we deliver emergency services. So, I would have to say to maintain current service levels we will need to study, and evaluate if the current tax levy is sufficient. As a taxpayer myself, I understand the housing market crisis and how our property values dropped significantly. I definitely will do all I can to hold the line on any tax increase, while keeping a close eye on the needs for future growth. We do need to keep in pace with growth instead of playing catch up when current resources are exhausted. No one likes tax increases, and we do need to look at imposing impact fees on the developers, while reducing the tax burden on our citizens. While fire protection officials must always be concerned with reducing total cost of fire loss, plus costs of insurance, prevention, and suppression, citizens living in tight economic times will ultimately reserve the right to make decisions on any form of a tax increase.

What one decision by the board do you most disagree with and why?

Currently,I am not aware of any disagreements with decisions made by the present board members.

What was the biggest accomplishment of the board in the past year?

I feel they successfully interviewed and approved the hiring of a highly experienced candidate, to fill the vacancy of the Assistant Fire Chief position.

Why should voters elect you to office?

I have the background and knowledge of all aspects of running a fire & emergency service. I have the necessary time, and will be committed to deliver the best service to our community.