Lake County Gazette

Louis Stone, a 10-year resident of West Deerfield Township and candidate for supervisor, vows if elected, he will re-invest funds back into the community and its citizens, provide transparency, and better use township services.  

"The people in our community aren't getting the best value on their investment in the township,” Stone told the Lake County Gazette.

Currently in the nonprofit government of West Deerfield there is “significant waste” when referring to spending, Stone said.

For example, West Deerfield increased the township supervisor’s employees salaries by 6 percent. Stone said this was unnecessary and West Deerfield should be more like Moraine Township, a neighboring community, where township official salaries decreased this year.

On Stone’s Facebook page he has pledged that if elected, he will take a voluntary pay cut to assist the local financial situation.  

“I'll cut my own pay and waive benefits to reinvest those funds in the nonprofit community,” he said.

He also wants West Deerfield township leaders to do more with taxpayer funds.

“At a time when taxpayers are being forced to do more with less at home, our elected officials continue to do less for more pay,” Stone said.

 In addition to providing citizens of West Deerfield with decreased township spending resulting in high taxes, he also vows to “ask the taxpayers for less money” and do more with the current budget, eliminating unnecessary “waste items.”

When doing this, Stone speaks of township grants.

“This involves increasing the size of the grants to help them grow deeper roots in West Deerfield and increase the quality of services provided to our residents in need,” he said.

Stone also vows to provide a higher level of transparency to taxpayers than what is being given. This includes displaying financial records for the public to view on the West Deerfield website.

“The people shouldn't need Freedom Of Information Act requests to get information from their elected government officials,” he said.

Another order of business for Stone is to “work with government agencies to expand services for residents at little or no additional cost.”

For this to happen Stone says local and state organizations will have to partner together.

He suggests the West Deerfield town pantry collaborate with the Illinois Food Bank to offer an expansion of services to citizens. In doing this, West Deerfield will work smarter, not harder, Stone explained.

“If collaboration means having our rideshare clients use fixed-schedule buses, for example, that's no improvement and we wouldn't do it," he said. "User input will absolutely drive our decision-making processes.”

While Stone was a certified public accountant, he collaborated on many projects with other individuals and organizations. He says collaborating with others “advances the mission of the organization.”

Prior to making any township changes, Stone says he will ask the taxpayers' opinions on the future of West Deerfield and what they think is best.

“I have seen the good that township government can do when managed properly and how inefficient it can be when it's not," he said. "We can do better for our taxpayers and the residents the township serves.”

Stone will run for supervisor in the April 4 election.