Stacey Adamson: 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: Prospect HeightsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Prospect Heights Clerk Age: 48Family: My husband is Jim Bednar, Senior Director-Lutheran Social Services Illinois elected District 23 School Board Member. He co-founded Men-in-Pink, raising $100,000+ to fight Breast Cancer. We have three children. Jackie attends Hersey High School where she participates in Softball, Cheerleading, and actively volunteers in Service-Over-Self. Matthew attends MacArthur where he plays volleyball and percussion in two bands. He is also a competitive gymnast, baseball player, and Boy Scout. Tyler attends MacArthur where he plays percussion and sings in two choirs. He has also been in many professional and school-based shows, is a Boy Scout and plays baseball and basketball.Occupation: Finance - Strategic Analysis and Competitive Insights, BP Fuels - North AmericaEducation: Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago MBA in Finance, Marketing Statistics - University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business On the job education experience: â#128;cent;Department of Energy, Savannah River Laboratory: RD in high-level radioactive waste processing â#128;cent;Water wastewater systems: Consulting for large industrial and sanitary district clients â#128;cent;General Motors: World Wide Real Estate - Acquisitions and Development, Electromotive Division - Strategy and Business Development â#128;cent;BP Fuels North America: Performance Management, Supply Chain, Business Planning, Continuous Improvement and most recently Strategy Competitive InsightsCivic involvement: I ran for the office of City Clerk four years ago out of the desire to be involved and give back to the community, in addition to serving on the Water Committee. I have also supported, to variety of levels, the following through fundraising and/or volunteering: â#128;cent;Den co-leader and Committee member - Cub Scouts â#128;cent;Metropolis Performing Arts Centre â#128;cent;University of Chicago Women's Business Group â#128;cent;Men-In-Pink â#128;cent;Various food banks â#128;cent;FEMA disaster relief Our family has also hosted a college baseball player living at our house for the past several summers, so they could gain a unique experience in the Chicago area.Elected offices held: City Clerk, City of Prospect Heights - currentQuestions Answers Some communities have contracted out for certain services, such as snowplowing, to save money. What innovative methods would you proposed to reduce your office's budget? Explain your answer.Compared to other municipalities in the area, the City of Prospect Heights has a smaller population, and therefore also maintains a smaller staff. We do have a Deputy Clerk, who performs the day to day needs of the office of the City Clerk part time, but in addition she also spends time on other activities at the direction of the City Administrator. Accordingly, there is no separate budget for the office of City Clerk - the expenses are included in the overall budget under General Government. During this past year we had an extraordinary amount of staff turnover, specifically in the City Administrator and Assistant to the City Administrator positions. In the short term, the focus has been on getting the work done despite the changes in personnel. Once we have permanent staff in place, we should then take the opportunity to look at the backgrounds and work load breakdown of the staff in order to determine if there are opportunities to utilize strengths to reduce consultant/outsource costs or improve efficiency.The state's Freedom of Information Act guidelines emphasize providing citizens open access to government. Name one specific step you would take if elected to increase government transparency in your office?I think there are two aspects to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to consider. First, is the need to provide open access to government, the increased transparency asked in the question. The second consideration is the time spent by staff answering the requests, and the reality that the time requirements of the FOIA requests can influence the priority of work. Providing increased information, where appropriate, is therefore a win-win. The best place to provide historical information is on the website, as newsletters and e-news archives are harder to search. The balancing point is on maintaining the right information, so the residents have what they need and the staff time is wisely spent. My suggestion would be to review the FOIA requests and determine if the information asked for was already available, potential material for the website, or a one-off or very detailed request that is not feasible or appropriate to maintain in an open manner. In some of the requests, I've been surprised that a FOIA submission was made, because the information was already available - so I would also encourage residents to have quick check on the website or give someone a call if they are looking for information. Many item, such as agendas and minutes, are already keep on-line. I'm also always open to suggestions from residents.Do you believe the village clerk should be an elected or appointed position? Please explain your answer.Within the neighboring communities of Prospect Heights, there are a variety of ways the City or Village Clerk's office is structured and staffed, either with elected positions or staff positions. In many cases, the elected official is also the person who occupies the staff position. The way the office of City Clerk works in Prospect Heights is through both a staff Deputy Clerk position and the Elected City Clerk. The Deputy Clerk takes care of the day-to-day duties of the office while I attend the City Council meetings and take role, write the minutes of the Executive Sessions, attest to the Mayor's signature and serve as the Local Election Official. While the position is part of the City Council, neither the City Clerk or the Treasurer has a vote on decisions. Although the City Clerk position does not have a vote, it does provide another level of transparency in the City. During the November election, when the referendum question was put on the ballot on if the Mayor should appoint the position, over 61% of the residents disagreed. In talking to residents, there was a desire for the position to be independent, and not a political appointment - therefore providing an additional level of oversight. In general, many residents thought it was more control within one office than they were comfortable with. I would tend to agree, Village/City Clerks should be elected.What steps would you take as village clerk to improve and increase the flow of information to residents?I think we are fortunate in Prospect Heights to have numerous established methods of communication to residents. The Newsletter, e-news, viewing of City Council meetings on cable and the website are all great avenues of communication. Residents can also sign-up to get e-mail alerts by going on the website "Notify Me" and selection the information categories for which the wish to receive a notification. As for specifics of the office, the Deputy Clerk typically communicates information regarding regular items, or information she encounters during her work and gets public meeting information and notices posted. I would add any additional communication on elections or other community information that I become aware of. Looking at information from other communities as a benchmark, there are some additional items that could we could do in terms of mapping and calendar items, as well as linking into community services and organizations that would be interesting to pursue.If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.I first became interested in running for the City Clerk office via volunteering to be on the Water Committee several years ago. Although the topic of bringing the city water distribution system to the remainder of the city has had its ups and downs in terms of focus with the City Council over the past few years, that is the activity for which I have continued to contribute. I have a degree in engineering and work history in water and wastewater system consulting, so this is a good way to utilize my background. There have been several items of public interest in this area, including the feasibility of what is called SSA-9, bringing water to a specific area of the city. Along with Rich Tibbits, our City Treasurer, we spent a considerable amount of time comparing the two existing study cost estimates line by line and estimating ranges of residential costs for this initiative. Recently the water issue has become a more regular City Council Workshop topic. Other items outside of the City Clerk's office I have made sure to be involved with, and provide input into, are the Budget reviews and development of the Comprehensive Plan.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?It's important to me that the City maintains a solid financial position going forward. I would like to see the renewed conversation on the city water system expansion continue. That should include a long-term plan and focus on financial options so it can be done economically. Even though the City Clerk does not vote, I would like an increased opportunity to provide my opinion on larger/new city issues and initiatives.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.I'm inspired by leaders that energize and engage people, are open to opinions and seek innovation, rather than lead via authority alone.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Work hard, respect others, experience life and have fun!If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Nothing, I believe you can't grow as a person without a certain amount of events and situations to overcome.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math. I'm very pragmatic and analytical in decision making. The ability to quickly compare and contrast multiple pathways has served me well.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Find your passion, work hard, don't ever stop learning and you will find success and happiness, as long as you respect and value others.