John Quattrocchi
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Question 5: If you are elected to the Council, what will be your top 3 legislative priorities and what will stand in the way of you making them happen? Be specific, and tell voters what your initiatives will cost.
I believe the top 3 legislative priorities are:
1: Review and reset the business ordinances and codes to make sure we are as business friendly to our local merchants as possible. The small businesses, of all sorts, contribute to our small-town quaintness. We have heard how some businesses struggle to set up in Verona and to survive. Being a successful and responsible owner is difficult alone. Our town should be welcoming for owners. Our citizens and leaders have talked about our center of town for many years. We need our businesses to be part of that discussion. Modifying these ordinances will not cost any money. There is nothing to prevent us from accomplishing this.
2: Permanent per-pupil agreement to fund our schools for all students who reside in PILOT high-density developments in town. This is simple and most residents agree that PILOT funds should be sensibly shared with the Board of Education. These payments in lieu of tax programs can be beneficial for our town when used responsibly. In these cases, the funds to be shared with our schools should be pre-defined so everyone is clear on how that sharing will work, it’s timing, and it’s duration. There is no reason this should be negotiated each year. It should be defined and on the books. The cost to our town is neutral as one part of our government (municipality) would share with the other (Board of Education). A majority vote by the council can accomplish this.
3: Add 2-3 police officers to our Police Department. This additional staffing would give our Chief the ability to deploy officers to better control traffic, reduce congestion, and contain speeding on our local roads. They will more easily fill our schedules to cover for absences due to illness, injury or vacation days. Finally, our officers would also participate in county task force exercises. The county provides funding for these exercises that would subsidize the cost for the officers in our budget. The gross cost is about $400k, minus the county subsidies (which are dependent on schedule and frequency). Majority agreement of the council is needed.
