Politics & Government

Election Preview: Mount Pleasant Village Board

Three seats are up for grabs on the Mount Pleasant Village Board, and six residents - including two incumbents - are vying for them.

Six residents - including two incumbents - are running for three open seats on the Mount Pleasant Village Board.

Trustee Karen Albeck has thrown her hat into the ring for village president, but Trustees John Hewitt and Sonny Havn are hoping to retain their places on the board.

David DeGroot, Chuck Haakma, Steve Herek and Ronald Molnar round out the field of candidates.

Find out what's happening in Mount Pleasant-Sturtevantwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

To make sure village residents cast their ballots with the information they need, Patch put together some questions for the candidates, and we feature their answers here in their own words.

Please note: Haakma and Herek have not yet returned their questionnaires to us. To read a re-cap of the . To listen to the forum, click on Rees Roberts' blog here.

Find out what's happening in Mount Pleasant-Sturtevantwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Why are you running for Village Board?

DeGroot: It breaks my heart to see the Village continue to shoot itself in the foot because it takes its eye off what is important. As a lifelong resident of the Racine area, I feel it is my time to step up. If you aren't part of the solution, you are part of the problem. My small business experiance lends me a common-sense approach towards budgeting and problem-solving. I choose to live in Mt. Pleasant because it is a fantastic community. Our Village leadership needs to start reflecting that reality. We've missed a lot of opportunity, and can't afford to miss out on more.

Havn: To continue to do what is in the best interest of the residents of Mt Pleasant. To continue to help the residents in any way I can. I do not have any personal agendas, it is all about how we can make Mt Pleasant a better place to live,work and play. I am proud to have been called the voice of reason on the Board

Hewitt: That is a simple answer. I care very much about Mt Pleasant, for its residents and businesses, and for the future of Mt Pleasant. My vision of Mt Pleasant is a growing viable and healthy community with a high quality of life for all residents and visitors. I am very proud to say that I am a resident of Mt Pleasant and encourage everyone that lives here or owns a business in Mt Pleasant to make sure your address is listed as Mt Pleasant.

Molnar: I am running for a position as Village of Mount Pleasant Trustee as a very concerned citizen that is extremely disappointed and embarrassed by the direction our Village government has gone for the past several years. I have talked with many village residents that are equally concerned about the clearly obvious dysfunction of our Village Board, the determination has been made that there needs to be a change in the makeup of our Village Board so that we can get back on track to make Mount Pleasant the great community we once were, and to provide a climate for business and industry to be successful, not stymied. I have the demonstrated leadership skills and abilities coupled with a common sense plan to get the job done.

How can the village hold the line on property taxes while continuing to provide the same level of services and programs to residents?

DeGroot: Maybe we can't. Nobody knows what the numbers are because we don't have a budget. We don't have a budget because we've missed the last two years audits. An audit is the only way to start with rightous numbers. Until then, we are whistling in the dark. That is a scary thought. We will eventually run out of money, and that will be a bad day for the Village.

That said, you hold the line with responsible budgeting, running lean, and growing the tax base with more business expansion. Which brings up another opportunity: We aren't very business friendly. Business doesn't feel welcome. As a small businessman, I hear that. This must change!

Havn: Continue to work on consolidating services. I know there have been issues with South Shore Fire Department,but I'm convinced we can work them out and consolidation will be a
win-win for both communities
We need to continue to promote Mt Pleasant so we can continue to attract more busineses and companies that provide more tax base and sustainable jobs

Hewitt: By constantly reviewing how all of the residents expectations are being delivered. Working with neighboring communities to share some municipal services and maybe equipment. Watching for new technologies that can possibly save money and resources.

Molnar: It is difficult to tell where we can cut wasteful spending,as we haven't had a completed audit for at least two years. We have not taken advantage of available opportunities to consolidate services with Racine County to save the Village of Mount Pleasant taxpayers money. We must thoroughly review every aspect of our operations to achieve operational efficiencies where possible. Additionally, as Mount Pleasant has the necessary infrastructure in place and is poised to be the economic engine for Racine County, we must work tirelessly to promote available commercial and industrial sites for growth and development to broaden our tax base.

What is the biggest issue facing the village, and how would you address that issue, if elected?

DeGroot: Audit and budget, along with permanent Administrator and Finance director are linked and inseparable. Without those key positions, the Village has seen a leadership vacuum. It's only human nature for staff to bring their issues to the person most likely to give them a favorable hearing. But with six trustees and a president, what you end up with is inconsistancy at best, and a clown show at worst. How disappointing!

Trustees have to get out of the business of micro-managing village affairs, and get back to their real jobs of approving budgets, visioning the future, creating policy to achieve it, and hiring the department heads needed to implement it. Attracting business. Being transparant and accountable to the resident taxpayers. That's how I see my job as Trustee. There is plenty of work to do.

Havn: The biggest issue we face is to continueto provide the services that the residents of Mt Pleasant have come to expect,without raising taxes.
We must fund our Police, Fire and Highway Departments to assure that they have the proper equipment and vehicles to do the job.
We need a full time Administrator to provide stability in the Village. Tim Zarzecki has been doing a good job as Interim Administrator, however we need someone full time.
We need a Finance Director to assure our financesand audits are done on time.

Hewitt: Affordable services that all residents and businesses expect. Safe & clean neighborhoods, good roads, timely refuse pickup, quick responding and properly trained police, fire and emergency personnel, family friendly parks, multiple choices of shopping locations, public transportation, and various employment opportunities. These are many of the issues residents voice their concerns about and our job as a trustee is to do our very best to deliver the services at the lowest price and efficiency.

Molnar: Our audit, is the top priority. We must get the audits of our 2011 and 2012 books completed so that we can have an true and accurate determination of our budget, debt and financial reserves. Our bond rating continues to be in jeopardy and we will continue to lose out on available state aid. That is unacceptable and should not be tolerated by our constituency! Equally important is the hiring of a full-time, permanent Administrator to responsibly oversee the day-to-day operations of our village and ensure that we have a comfortable work environment for our staffs, and that our residents and business owners are treated with respect.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Mount Pleasant-Sturtevant