Bill O'Malley: Candidate Profile

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Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioQA Bio City: Elk Grove VillageWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Elk Grove Village Park Board Age: 54Family: Wife, three childrenOccupation: Field technician-oil companyEducation: Bachelors-Eastern Illinois UniversityCivic involvement: Current 14 yr. park district commissioner...member of Village of Elk Grove Youth Commission...Elected offices held: Park District...3 terms...14 yearsQuestions Answers What programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?Aquatics and golf.I would keep aquatics because a community deserves a swimming pool for health/wellness issues. The costs associated with aquatics are increasing (water specifically)yet there are a fixed amount of users.We need to attract more users thru aerobics, swim lessons, and rentals to offset these increases. I would keep the golf course as long as the costs can be limited and controlled,with the expectation that the golf industry will rebound. If it does not and losses are expected to be be large, I would be willing to explore other options which include leasing the course to a third party operator. I would treat the bar with-in the course as a stand alone entity 12 months a year and market different to bring in revenue to offset the number of declining rounds.Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.No, there is not open space that needs to be acquired. Need being the important word. We are exploring land purchases that would enhance our options to better serve the residents. Any land that currently borders or connects to park district land would be looked at from a cost/gain analysis.Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them? Or, should they wait until the economy improves?I'm sure there are unmet recreational needs. The problem is these needs are only asked for from a very small segment of the population. A fiscally conservative park district should not be meeting ALL needs. The costs to meet all needs would lower the amount of money to spend on the recreational needs/wants for the majority of users.I would be willing to meet an unmet need when the park district and potential user of that need can show it would not be a burden to other taxpayers.Would you support sharing/pooling resources (i.e. printing, vehicles) with other local governments (school districts, village, etc.)? If so, what areas would you consider combining or merging to save money or improve efficiency?I would support sharing/pooling of resources. We already have many intergovernmental agreements in place that add efficiency or reduce costs. I would look further into snow removal operations or forestry issues.I would also like more reciprocal agreements with other local park districts that have amenities that we dont have.We share our features/amenities with their residents at resident rates and vice-versa. We have examples in our quarterly brochures. We can also offer bus trips outside the community in conjuncture with other towns to minimize costs. Engineering support and vacuum excavation needs can be traded for reduced fees at our facilities.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.As a fourteen year incumbent, I have been involved with many accomplishments. I was involved as part of a team. We accomplished things, not me. We, as in park district staff and the residents.A referendum was passed to build Rainbow Falls. An expense willing to be borne by taxpayers. Thank you. We have a renovated Fox Run golf links. A new maintainence building. A new indoor aquatic facility. A renovated Fountain Square. Good working relationships with with other boards. We have a triple AAA bond rating. WE are financially sound and have enough in reserve to be flexible. The Elk Grove Park District is respected in the community and by our park district peers.We are one of the leading taxing bodies meeting our pension obligations to current and retired employees.I was the park board president during many of those accomplishments (six plus years). I am proud of the two executive directors we hired during my tenure.Strong, experienced leaders. We have received many grants and sponsorships over the years to reduce costs to the residents. I lead the discussion to be part of The Unity in the Community concert series. A small monetary committment to be partners with the Village.Again, we accomplished this as one team, us.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?We neeed to watch our financial obligations regarding pensions and how the Affordable Health Act is creating employment issues.It is important for a candidate to be dependable. I have missed two board meetings in 14 years. Our recreational sports programming with our associations is declining in the number of kids enrolling.It might be time to retrofit some fields designed for one sport to be used by an organization that is growing or meets a bigger demand.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Park board member Bob BiedkeWhat's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Work hard and never give up.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Having more children. Three is not enough.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Spanish.To learn enough to speak (a little), read , and write another language was so interesting.I now communicate with others as necessary.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be happy and surround yourself with real friends. And never stop learning.