Politics & Government

New Huntley Trustee Gets Behind the Scenes Look at Village Government

Nick Hanson is being sworn into office this week and is learning more about Huntley government.

Huntley Trustee-elect Nick Hanson is getting an up-close view of how the village operates by shadowing each department and department heads.

Hanson, who will be sworn in Thursday and becomes the board’s freshman trustee, spend time Monday with Huntley Police Chief  John Perkins.

“He was just asking how things worked in the department, he asked questions how tornado sirens work and budget questions,” Perkins said. “I appreciated the fact he was interested enough to ask.”

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“I thought his attitude was he needs to get back to his constituents with answers to their questions,” the chief said.

During Hanson’s campaign, one of the recurring questions he got from voters was “what does a trustee do?” He knew the general duties but wanted to learn more about how to do the job. Since he will be making decisions affecting departments and residents, he wanted to know what each department does and how it works.

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Hanson has been active within the community as a president of the Huntley Jaycees. This is his first elected position. He ran against three incumbents, Harry Leopold, Niko Kanakaris and Jay Kadakia.

Leopold and Kadakia are Sun City Huntley residents. Hanson came in fourth behind the incumbents in Kane County precincts, which is made up of Sun City neighborhoods.

He gained a lot of support _ enough to push him into the third spot overall_ from his home precinct, which is made up old town neighborhoods. Hanson got 1,500 votes in total and he said he is proud that voters chose him to serve on the board.

He is inviting all those voters who supported him and Huntley residents to come to the swearing in ceremony at 7pm, Thursday. It will be held inside the village hall, 10987 Main Street.

Preparing for a new role

The idea of shadowing village officials came during a discussion with Village Manager Dave Johnson and Rita McMahon, assistant to the village manager.

“I expressed I don’t know everything (about village government) and I want to learn as much as I possibly can,” Hanson said.

Village staff have been very receptive to walking him through and showing him how the village operates, he said. The staff sees him as a kind of voice for the residents of the village, he said.

Perkins gave Hanson a tour of the police station on Monday and explained how the department operates on a day-to-day basis.

Huntley police’s yearly budget is $3 million a year for salaries, which seems a lot, but is lower than surrounding communities, Hanson said. It breaks down to spending about $120 per resident for public safety. Other towns spend double that amount, he said.

“We have a very low operating expenses, which in an economy like this, is important,” Hanson said, adding it becomes especially important “when we are facing cuts from the state.”

What impressed Hanson is the police department’s accreditation last year by CALEA. Huntley Fire Protection District has a similar accreditation from a different organization. Hanson said Huntley is one of only five towns in the state with both a police and fire district with the accreditation.

Learning an ongoing process

His efforts are getting approval from voters.

“Every resident that I’ve discussed what I’m doing as far as shadowing these departments think it’s great because when they come to me with a question, it will help me be better informed,” he said.

The process of learning how the village operates will be ongoing, he said.

“There’s so much I’m learning it’s almost hard to absorb it all right now,” Hanson said. “It’s going to take more than one time to go through and deal with each department and get a good feel of what they do.”

Wednesday, Hanson will be shadowing public works where he is hoping to learn more about water treatment and street repairs.

“Everyday, I look forward to new experiences in doing this,” Hanson said.

 

 

 


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