EDWARDSVILLE - Several positions on the Madison County Board were lost by Democrats to Republicans Tuesday evening, with the most notable being the position of board chair passing from current Madison County Board Chairperson Alan Dunstan to current Madison County Treasurer Kurt Prenzler.
Prenzler, who returned to work at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after a late election night, said he is going to ensure the people of Madison County are not going to be subjected to "deceptive" tax burdens. He said saving money and ethics will be the cornerstone of his office.
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
"My focus is being careful with money, working hard to decrease taxes and ethics," Prenzler said Wednesday morning.
He has already proven his commitment to decrease taxes. The ballot initiative to lower the maximum property tax rate in Madison County from 2.5 percent to 2.0 percent was spearheaded by Prenzler. That motion passed by a nearly four to one margin, which is a much larger margin than the one between Prenzler and Dunstan.
"I was the principle driver behind that, and I did not win by that much," Prenzler said.
To take that measure to a ballot, Prenzler collected more than 1,000 signatures himself to add to 10,000 signatures collected from other voters around the county. After the petitions were filed on May 8, Prenzler said he had to battle it in courts for as long as two months.
"The decrease means anywhere from $10-$15 a year for a $100,000 house," Prenzler said. "It's not going to solve the world's problems, but I do believe it is a step in the right direction. The former leadership taxed between $3-$4 million a year under a deceptive budget. We can eliminate that $3-$4 million from the tax levy without reducing any services. It's been excessive and unnecessary taxation."
Prenzler said he appreciated Dunstan's energy. Dunstan said he worried about Prenzler potentially being a "disaster" for the county during his concession speech at the Bluff City Lodge Machinists' Union in East Alton after 10 p.m. Tuesday. Prenzler said that sentiment was not continued in a phone call he received from Dunstan.
"He called to congratulate me last night," Prenzler said. "I appreciated that. He promised he would assist me in the transition. I appreciate Alan [Dunstan] for his energy. He's certainly a hard worker, and he worked very hard. When you run for office, not everybody voted for you. My commitment is to work with every board member and represent every person fairly."
More like this:
