Harger: The budget is actually pretty tight. The department heads have always been extremely conservative in their spending. It has been that way for years. Should the village be fortunate enough to sell off part of the Sports Complex property, there obviously would be opportunities to shave the budget there.

Weppler: We have worked to keep our budget as trim as possible while continuing to provide our residents with good services. The number of municipal employees in the village has been reduced since I took office. I do not believe that further cuts would be in the best interest of the village.

We cut costs by consolidating our dispatch services with Vernon Hills and have looked at other ways of sharing services with other governmental bodies to maintain costs. Our biggest threat is the State’s fiscal problems and lack of a budget. The state continuously passes unfunded mandates adding costs to municipal bodies without providing a funding source.

The current pension system needs revision. Our pension liabilities continue to rise while we continue increasing the funding on an annual basis.

We also need additional funding for maintaining our infrastructure. We were able to resurface 40 percent of our roads over the last 5 years due to the road referendum funds, but need to increase regular annual road funding to insure that our roads do not get in the condition they were in prior to the time I took office.

Q. Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.

Harger: My leadership style is to be open and honest and support those around me. There is never a time when a board member or department head will not know what is going on. I never take meetings alone. My job is to provide the direction and let the professionals provide the options.

I detest when people of leadership take credit for those under their direction but will not take responsibility when something goes wrong. I encourage and expect input from everyone. While I may not agree with certain viewpoints, if it is determined that the end result would be good for the majority, I will support the decision.

Weppler: My leadership style is inclusive leadership. I have worked with all of our board members to fully discuss all issues. We do not always agree on issues, and that’s a good thing. I have told our board that if we agreed on all issues then we would not have fully discussed these issues and needed further discussion.

Since becoming mayor, I have put both the Road Referendum and the Brainerd Referendum before the residents to get input into those issues. We have held Town Hall Meetings to discuss issues before the village with residents and hosted several Leadership Meetings with local civic groups and other elected officials from other governmental boards to discuss how we could work together to better the community.

Q. What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

Harger: Through all of the public hearings, I constantly hear that people are not aware of certain issues. While there are so many ways to stay involved and informed, obviously, it still isn’t working properly. What I would like to do after I am elected is provide weekly updates out of the Mayor’s office. Probably by an email, I would share what is going on within the different departments of the village. I would try to eliminate the questions before they need to be asked.

Weppler: I don’t believe there is one good idea that is waiting in the wings for me to bring forward. As ideas have come forth I have approached the board about implementing them. One of those ideas that I have just begun working on is a Fine Arts Commission. I have always been interested in improving the Fine Arts programs in the village and instituted Fine Arts Month to recognize students participating in the fine arts.

Our athletes regularly received recognition in the community while our fine arts students often were overlooked. I directed that March be Fine Arts Month in Libertyville, and we work with the schools to display student art work throughout the community. The purpose of the Fine Arts Commission would be to encourage fine arts programs throughout the year.

I was recently approached by an artist about purchasing a sculpture to be displayed in the village. We did not have any funds for purchasing the sculpture and I wasn’t sure of the proper location if we did purchase the sculpture. The Fine Arts Commission would be charged with encouraging fine arts programs within the village, attempting to insure that there are no conflicts in scheduling, and assisting in reviewing and funding for art pieces in the village.

Q. What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?

Harger: We need to restore trust in our local government. We need leadership that explains their viewpoint and not blame others. We need to work better with the schools and other taxing bodies so we know we are all on the same page as a community. Why do we hear from developers about what they think an impact will be on our schools when they haven’t even talked to the school districts prior to their presentations? We need the community to feel that their concerns are being heard and that the village is looking out for them.

Weppler: The biggest issue facing every local government in Illinois is the current condition of our state government. I sit on the Lake County Municipal League Board, working with our other local communities in insuring that the state does not negatively impact our current funding sources.

I served on the Village Board from 1979 to 1985. At that time, there was a law which prevented the state of Illinois from requiring local governments to provide programs without providing a funding source. During that time the law was revoked. Since then there have been over 278 unfunded mandates placed on local governments in Illinois.

One of the most recent is a requirement related to Phosphorus treatment in sewage treatment plants. The new IEPA recommendations will result in a cost of $6 million in improvements in the next several years to our residents to upgrade the plant to meet the new requirements.

Additionally, our pension obligations have dramatically increased as actuarial tables have changed due to increased age expectations. As a non-home rule community, we have limited income resources and we need to make the best use of these resources. I am proud to say that Libertyville has one of the lowest municipal rates for like services in Lake County, while providing excellent services to our residents.

It’s my goal to continue to provide these services while keeping the village portion of the property tax bill as low as possible.