Walking the Walk - My Record of Results

Walking the Walk: My Record of Results

I believe the citizens of Evanston and specifically the 6th Ward want to elect a candidate who has a proven track record of impacting our community. They want proven, current results. 

 

Below are specific examples of my impact on this community, a record I am proud of and will continue to enhance.

 

As a seven-year member of the city’s Playground and Recreation Board, I helped develop broad community consensus on two different and distinct plans. The first being the Lakefront Master Plan.

 

I represented the board during the various Lakefront Master Plan public hearings, listening to what those living at the lake and those far from the lake suggested. We worked directly with the consultants and helped narrow the options and provided additional insight for a majority of the citizens who were not present at the meetings. Through consensus building and give and take, we were able to develop a strong Lakefront Master Plan that we then presented to the City Council for their unanimous approval.

 

The second plan was the Indoor Recreation Needs Assessment. We identified in 2002 and provided more in depth analysis in 2005 that the Robert Crown Community Center and Ice Rink was not meeting the community’s needs. We held public hearings on what a new Crown Center should look like, and built a consensus of what was needed. Specifically, the consensus was that we needed two full sheets of ice, at least four locker rooms, dance space to allow figure skaters to practice safely off the ice, enhanced child care facilities and a home for the city’s special needs recreation program. In addition we recommended a west branch library in the new facility. Also under consideration was building an indoor space that could support gyms, indoor soccer, lacrosse and other activities. We also suggested moving the center to the corner of Main and Dodge, away from homes and more toward businesses. This would enhance traffic flow in and out of the building.

 

Subsequent to our recommendation to the City Council, in 2007 additional public hearings were held to expand our recommendation to focus on all indoor recreation facilities in Evanston. In 2008 we began the process of working with District 202 to jointly rebuild the field house, which would be shared and would allow for larger indoor activities like soccer, lacrosse and many other activities needing large indoor spaces. Currently the city and school district are in discussions to make this dream a reality. I have spoken to many parents who are thankful that someday they will not have to drive to Schaumburg or Naperville for their children to use an indoor facility.

 

These are two specific examples of community building I’ve accomplished in Evanston.

 

In this day and age we need alderman with vision, but we also need aldermen who accept the fiduciary responsibility that comes with the job. My 25 years in accounting and finance as a Certified Public Accountant and Chief Financial Officer provide me with the skill set to accomplish this. A CFO must see both the forest and the trees and must be able to have the vision and the plan for the future, but at the same time not ignore the present. The city’s blue ribbon committee on pension liability specifically stated that had more information been sought and more questions been answered, the magnitude of the problem may have been mitigated.

 

I, as one of a very small minority, reviewed the entire 612-page annual budget the city approved in February. I attended all of the budget workshops and at the end of the process, I spoke to the City Council, providing them with specific examples in the budget they needed to review and consider. These items included:

1)     Freeze all hiring and allow the City Manager to have sole authority on hiring. Making a case to hire or even replace an employee needs to have the City Manager’s sole approval

2)     Freeze all raises on senior manager salaries. Change the raise cycle to a 24-month process. President Obama did the same, and in business we’ve been doing it for years.

3)     In reviewing the budget, the city’s health care costs as a percentage of salary was extremely high compared to what I see in the business world. I asked that they review the employee contribution and/or combine our plan with other surrounding municipalities to create a bigger group and hopefully spread the risk and reduce our premiums. The City Council has recently requested staff to do just this.

4)     Our utility costs are substantial in the budget. What I learned was that the utility companies provide Evanston with free electric and gas to all non-revenue generating buildings. I also learned that we are paying for electricity for street lights and that may not be necessary. The City Council has now instructed staff to review this with ComEd.

 

These are four specific, detailed examples of actions I have suggested that will have a direct impact on the city’s bottom line. I am focused on achieving results and moving this city from good to great.