Rick Montalto

On the Record

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

I have worked for 30+ years in Law Enforcement/Emergency services and hold a M.S. Degree in Management & Organizational Behavior. I believe that every Trustee should bring a unique skill set to the board so that we can share our particular areas of expertise to improve the quality of life for our residents. My background in emergency services brings valuable insight to issues like community emergency planning, police equipment purchasing, traffic flow issues for special events and so forth. I have lived in this community for 19 years and have coached youth soccer, baseball & basketball, been active in Kaneland Music Boosters & Sports Boosters, actively involved in the development of the new St. Katharine Drexel Church, served 7 years on the public safety committee, 5 years as the Chair of the Board of Police Commissioners, and the last 4 years as Village Trustee, during one of the toughest economic times this country has seen in decades. We have accomplished many things over the last four years while keeping within a balanced budget. I believe we have provided effective and efficient government while showing that we have been fiscally responsible and are providing quality services to our residents, while many communities around us have been struggling. My experience, educational background and dedication to a lifetime of community service are what make me a good candidate.

What are your top three priorities if elected?

Four years ago, my goals were to improve our roads, find a soulution to the flooding problems in the Mallard Point / Rolling Oaks subdivisions, bring additional business and industry to the community like McDonalds, Walgreens, various fast food businesses, health care providers, hair salons, tax preparers etc., and make local government more accessible to the residents. I am happy to say that I believe we have accomplished these goals, but we still have a lot to do. During the next four years I believe our first priority should be continued concentration on controlled sustainable growth of business, industry and residential in the existing subdivisions that have not been completed, along with more diversification of affordable housing in terms of multi-family building and senior housing/care facilities so that people who have spent their lives in our community don“t have to move out of the community when they can no longer physically take care of their homes. Our second goal should be to continue to invest in new technology to enhance the efficiency of services provided to our residents. Our third goal should be to obtain funding for the RT 47 I-88 interchange and the improvement of RT 47 through town to make us a more desirable location for companies to invest in our community and growth to develop.

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

Let me start by saying that nobody likes to pay taxes and that we all feel our taxes are to high, no matter what we pay. I would be against freezing our taxing district\\\\\\\'s levy because it is the base for the level of services that we provide our residents. Every year you freeze the levy not only effects your community for just that year, it effects it for all the years that follow because you never get that money back. Just look at the current financial problems currently being faced by the State of Illinois. You cannot put off your financial obligations until a future date because they will just start to compound. The tax levy is used for running government, water supply, fixing roads, snow plowing, police services, etc.. If you put off road repairs until it“s too late it will cost more. If your infastructure starts to deteriorate your residents suffer. In addition, freezing the levy doesn“t take into consideration that costs continue to rise each year and this rise in operational costs may cause a community to tap into it“s reserves, ultimately effecting its bond rating and the amount it may cost to obtain funding for future projects. Again, I reference the mess the State is in. We have an A+ bond rating because, I believe, we have been fiscally responsible.

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

Being a current member of the Village Board I would have to say that there is no one decision that I disagree with the most. There are times when we have spirited discussions and differences of opinions, but the bottom line is that we have to consider the impact of our decisions on the lives of the community, in its entirety, and have to work as a cohesive group to attain that goal. Many times there are hard decisions to be made and I can say that over the past year the hardest decision that I had to make was to vote for the special service assessment in the Mallard Point / Rolling Oaks subdivisions as part of the flood control project. I would have liked to keep the residents cost at a much lower amount. There was a fine line to walk as to how much each entity should be responsible for and we tried very hard to keep costs for the effected residents to a minimum. In the end, I believe the residents who did not flood, of which I was one, realized that the assessment was necessary to bring relief to those families that were experiencing severe flooding issues and that this project would remove the stigma from the neighborhood, ultimately raising property values for everyone down the line.

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

The board has had many acomplishments over this past year. We have encouraged many new businesses to invest in our community, we have improved many roads, we have paid off the mortgage on the Village Hall, we have improved our water supply, negotiated a new contract with Waste Management along with the new rolling cans for residents, kept our budget in the black, obtained an A+ bond rating from Standard & Poors, and on and on. Other than the few residents who regularly attend our board meetings, or read the minutes on line, many residents don“t realize the work their village board and staff put into running the village and providing the level of services that they receive. Having said that, I would have to say that I feel our biggest accomplishment this past year was finding a solution to the flooding problem in the Mallard Point/Rolling Oaks subdivisions and providing relief for those residents because that is something that can been seen and felt by the residents.

Why should voters elect you to office?

Anyone who knows me can attest to my honesty, integrity, ethics, and devotion to community service. I am not afraid to call it as I see it and make the tough decisions. I feel my background, education, dedication and experience are what this position calls for to keep us on track as a progressive, stable community. I believe that I worked hard to accomplish the goals I set four years ago and know that there is still so much more to do. Please help me keep the Village of Sugar Grove the type of community we can be proud of and know that I will continue to work hard to improve our quality of life and provide the best services we can to the residents of the community. Please give me your support and Vote #1 on the ballot April 9th.