Meet Your April 5 Candidates: Bill Seiden, Village Board

"All politics is local" and "The closer to home, the greater the impact on your pocketbook" are two truisms in politics.

The candidates in local elections affect how much you pay in taxes, and what you get for your money, more than candidates in Springfield and Washington, D.C. 

So who are these folks who will impact your life and money? Find out on Patch. Then make an informed choice when you vote in the April 5 election.

Bill Seiden

Candidate for the Deerfield Village Board of Trustees. Three seats up for re-election, four candidates running. 

1) Briefly tell us what, in your background or education, has prepared you to make a contribution on this board. Can you offer an expertise that would be a resource to other board members? 

I am a CPA, but most of my expertise lies in the broader treasury and finance areas. I graduated from the University of Michigan with a BBA in Accounting with distinction. For the last twenty plus years of my career, I worked for the original owner of the Dallas Cowboys as his Chief Financial Officer for all of his diverse food, manufacturing and service companies. I currently teach accounting and finance at Northwestern University in a Master of Sports Administration Program. With this background, I have been and will be the only member of our Board with substantial financial expertise.

2) How would you assess the state of the village’s budget? 

The budget is very sound; however, some of the expenditures should be postponed to future years so as not to have to raise village real estate taxes and user fees. This is especially true in a period when the economy continues to lag and so many of our residents are experiencing hard times. We, as residents, face these challenges every day in our personal lives and we, as trustees, must also face these realities.

3) If expenses need to be reduced, exactly what would you cut? Be specific. 

First of all, we should not cut any expenses which affect the safety and welfare of our residents such as police and safety oriented infrastructure projects. We should not postpone the construction of the Wastewater Treatment Plant which is essential to the well-being of our residents. Also, personnel have been and are constantly being evaluated. We do, however, need to triage infrastructure (streets, etc.) repairs so that the most needed repairs take precedence and others are postponed to future years.  

 4) Does the village need to start or intensify economic development efforts? What specific ideas do you have to foster economic development? 

The village continually makes use of economic incentives to foster business development. On large new businesses, we have and can in the future share a portion of our sales tax (over a predetermined level) to attract new businesses. Also, during these trying times, we should modify our ordinances to make them more pro-business.

5) How would you assess the public services the village offers residents, including police, trash pickup, snow removal, responsiveness of village hall, etc.? What needs to be improved? Are residents getting adequate value for their tax dollar? 

The public services that the village offers continue to be of the highest quality. We are fortunate to have an exceptional village staff. Police responsiveness, trash collection, snow removal, etc. are all, in my opinion, far superior to any other village on the North Shore. In fact, we are continually upgrading and improving our services. Residents are certainly receiving maximum value for their tax dollar.

6) What else would you like voters to know about your positions on issues or point of view? 

During the years that I have been on the village board, I feel that I have been an effective leader and have accomplished much. In all my dealings with village affairs, I have always striven for consensus. I have spent many hours helping residents solve local problems. I believe in transparency in government and have instituted such activities as “Trustee in the Town” which is a program that allows residents to interact with trustees on an informal basis. I am particularly proud of the Residential Redevelopment Review Task Force which I chaired. The task force was responsible for many new ordinances affecting zoning, construction safety, and trees which, I believe, will serve the village well for many years to come.