Our Daily Show! Ft. Ameren Illinois, Beth Johnes, and More!
Get The Latest News!
Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.
GODFREY - Beth Johnes believes she is the right choice for Godfrey.
Johnes is part of a three-way race for Godfrey’s mayoral seat. She said she is focused on total transparency, and listening to the residents of Godfrey is her top priority.
“The residents need to have their concerns met first, and I’m that person. I’ll do that. I’ll listen to them,” she said. “It’s kind of cheesy to say my door is always open, but it will be open, and I’m going to operate in total transparency. They’re going to know everything.”
Johnes’s 35-year career in accounting and business management culminated in her own union contracting company. She said she learned how to “manage a business, balance a budget, and meet the needs of my customers” through her work.
She believes there are a few major issues in Godfrey, and she wants residents to have a choice at the polls. She relayed the story of one Godfrey resident who has a creek in her backyard that she said is owned by the Village of Godfrey, and the creek has been deteriorating her yard. This resident said she has been “on the list” for four years, but Johnes believes it’s a “top priority.”
“There’s just some common sense things, I think, that need to be addressed,” Johnes said. “The residents feel now that nobody’s listening to them and nobody’s there to help them. I have had that experience myself with the Village of Godfrey, getting no help when I needed help. So I know how frustrating it is.”
Johnes believes that the Village of Godfrey should implement yard waste pick-up. She also wants to see the “eyesore” Street Department, currently located on Godfrey Road, relocated, which she said was a part of the 2018 comprehensive plan that was never addressed.
But one of her main concerns is the sewer system. The Village of Godfrey sold the sewer system to Illinois American Water a few years ago, and Johnes said there is $5 million set aside to help residents who incurred costs due to the sale. She believes the increased rates that many customers have experienced should be covered by that $5 million.
“I want to bring this to the forefront, and I want to help those people,” she said. “I want to meet with Illinois American Water and the residents and try to work out some kind of help for these people and get these people reimbursed for the expenses that they’ve incurred.”
Johnes said there are a few builders who refuse to build homes in Godfrey because they don’t want to deal with “backroom politics” and “favoritism” in the village, though she declined to say who those builders are. She said she wants to work with these companies to change their minds and welcome them to Godfrey.
Johnes also believes that Godfrey’s spending needs to be studied. She said the mayor’s upcoming wage increase is “a waste,” and she pledged to donate the amount of the raise to local charities. She added “somebody needs to watch” the spending of department heads and administrators.
“Whatever any of the department heads want to buy, they get approved to buy it,” she said. “They need to be held accountable for what they spend and they need to take a pencil to their budget and really do some major budget cuts. Along with these budget cuts, there needs to be some cuts in the excessive wages that are paid to the administrators ... So those are some things that I’d like to get in there and change. Save the money. One of these days we’re going to need that money, and I’m afraid that it’s not going to be there.”
Johnes emphasized that her priority is to listen to the Godfrey residents and address their concerns. Above all else, she wants to represent the residents of Godfrey.
“I’m really here for the people,” she added. “I work for them and I will work for them because it’s all about them. I’m actually their employee.”
For more information about Beth Johnes, visit her official Facebook campaign page.
