Wheeling Township Trustee Candidate: Nikos D. Tsonis

Patch wants to help you get to know your candidates for Wheeling Township trustee.

Nikos D. Tsonis

Age: 44

Family: Single

Education: BA – Yale, JD and MBA – Boston University

Occupation: Property Tax Attorney

Previous elected or appointed offices: Member of Hellenic American Leadership Council

Position sought: Wheeling Township Trustee

Political party: Democrats

Campaign E-mail address: wheelingtwpinfo@gmail.com

Campaign Website: http://Dems4LowerTaxes.com

Campaign Facebook: Wheeling Twp Info

Campaign Twitter: @WheelingTwpInfo

What is the primary reason you are running for this office? Reduce property taxes to the extent possible and eliminate unnecessary spending to maximize services.

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected? Being a strong advocate for taxpayers. Incumbents have shown a lack of respect for taxpayers by accumulating an excessive cash reserve during a time when taxpayers are struggling. These reserves are nearly 200% of the annual operating budget of Wheeling Township. We should strive to responsibly lower this reserve by lowering the property taxes of residents to whatever extent possible.

We should reduce unnecessary spending and consolidate function where possible. There are several ways these intertwined tasks may be done:

a. Possibly eliminate the Highway Department. This will consolidate Township government by transferring highway duties to the Township Board.

b. Reduce the salaries and benefits of elected officials so that they are proportionate to the hours required to fulfill their responsibilities.

c. Reduce the administrative costs involved in fulfilling services to residents where possible.

The Township does not have a huge budget given the number of its residents, but that does not mean there should be waste in delivery of services. That is simply not acceptable as a matter of principle. These necessary changes are less likely to be done by the incumbents. A fresh perspective is needed.

What are the top three issues facing Wheeling Township residents? The economy, job security/financial security, and keeping our hometowns safe and affordable.

What sets you apart from the other candidate? My willingness to look at the Township in a new way and my readiness to reduce taxes and cut costs.

Anything else you would like to add? I am a property tax attorney, so I have a great background for understanding property taxes and communicating to taxpayers how their taxes are calculated. I also understand how to communicate to taxpayers their options for keeping their property taxes as low as possible by taking advantage of the exemptions available to them. I have an M.B.A. and run my own law practice, so I have an appreciation of how to make organizations run efficiently. I look forward to applying my experience and education to help Wheeling Township maximize services on a tighter budget.