Residents telling mayor they’re not afraid to pay

By Ted Schnell • BocaJump | Oct. 24

Six months into his first term as Elgin mayor, David Kaptain said he has been gratified by the response to his efforts to reach out to give residents a direct connection with City Hall through his community chats and neighborhood walks.

“Probably the most important thing was the confirmation for me that people are very interested in how government works,” Kaptain said in a recent interview with BocaJump. “They want to know how the decisions are made, they want to feel they’re a part of it.

“I think … I’m trying to reconnect people back to their government and say that it’s not so difficult to get your opinions out there,” the mayor said. “I think we’re starting to do that.”

Specifically, residents are paying attention to what is happening in Elgin. As a result, they’ve become more than simply a venue at which residents can express concerns or ask questions, Kaptain said. Some are stepping forward to offer solutions and ideas for addressing Elgin’s budget woes.

“People are realizing there is a problem,” he said. “Some of the comments made to me have been, ‘Well, can we do this?’ ‘How about vehicle stickers?’ ‘How about … a fee for trash pickup?’

“So they’re offering those as options,” Kaptain said, pointing to shifting revenue forecasts that in the past month prompted city officials to raise their projections for a $4.5 million budget deficit — a number that had been fixed since the start of the year —to $8.8 million in late September, and then again last week to as much as $13 million.

“… I told (city) staff — that the community is aware this is a big issue and most of them understand there are going to be needed increases here,” Kaptain said. Residents “feel comfortable with that, they want to help, and I think they’re saying, at least to me, ‘Don’t be afraid to make changes.’ ”

He pointed out that the formation of the Elgin Budget Advisory Task Force was based on the same intent as the chats/listening sessions: to get more residents involved in the process of government.

The task force, he continued, represented a broad spectrum of the community — people from all walks of life representing a variety of ethnic backgrounds and professional backgrounds — to bring to the table the views they are aware of in their own neighborhoods or community groups.

After he was elected mayor, Kaptain introduced his “community listening sessions” in a variety of formats. One, similar to town hall meetings, allows residents to register concerns or ask questions online via email or chat, by phone or in person. This format, he said, is intended more for citywide issues.

In another format, Kaptain heads into neighborhoods to talk with residents where they live, and this style of listening session is intended specifically to learn concerns in that neighborhood. “I want to know what’s happening in their piece of the world, what do they see as things that are extremely important to them,” he said. “ … What’s going on in your neighborhood that you think you need to have addressed?”

In the past several months, he’s visited six neighborhoods, and more are on the way.

But he’s experimenting with other formats, too. More recently, Kaptain said, he has included other local officials, such as a recent session that focused on transportation. Kaptain said an Elgin School District U-46 representative joined him in the discussion.

Tuesday night, Oct. 25, Kaptain will be joined by Elgin Technology Center Executive Director Lasse Ingebretsen and Sybil Ege, business analyst for the Elgin Community College’s Illinois Small Business Development Center for a webcast from 7 to 8 in the technology center in the Elgin Tower Building, 100 E. Chicago St. The discussion will focus on how to help small business owners be successful, and how to foster new entrepreneurial efforts through new ideas, such as incubator business facilities.

Residents can log in to participate online at www.cityofelgin.org and follow the link on the home page to chat live with the mayor and his guests. Participants can type in comments and questions and the panel will respond directly in the webcast.  Residents are encouraged to participate either online or in person.

Residents can check out the complete schedule of Mayor’s Listening Sessions and live web-chats at the city’s website www.cityofelgin.org/mayorkaptain, where they can also participate in an online survey. More meetings will be announced as they are scheduled.

For more information email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . or call 1-847-931-5667.