Michael Manzo: Candidate Profile

Back to Oak Brook Village Board

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: Oak BrookWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Oak Brook Village Board Age: 48Family: Anna - wife (20 years) Children- Michele (18), Rocco (17), Melissa (13)Occupation: Owner- MAM Insurance Financial ServicesEducation: Bachelor (Finance)- Southern Illinois University MBA- Dominican UniversityCivic involvement: Past Member Oak Brook Caucus Oak Brook Little League Coach Youth Football Coach Youth Basketball Coach School Board President District 209Elected offices held: Oak Brook Village Trustee School Board Member District 209Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?My experience and track record are two reasons I am well suited for the position of Oak Brook Village trustee. Also, I have the ability to work thru difficult situations. I have over 20 years of experience in local government. I have served my communities on both the village board school board. During the 2011 election, I promised to help 1) rid our village of the Cook County influence 2) eliminate wasteful spending (ie. attorney fees, lobbyists, etc..) 3) focus on economic development 4) create an open transparent government which allows input from Oak Brook residents 5) return dignity respect to our village board meetings. I did help accomplish the following; â#128;cent; Reduced attorney fees by over 45%, while increasing the quality of service. â#128;cent; Increased the Village of Oak Brook's cash reserves by nearly 35% â#128;cent; Created a positive economic environment which attracted numerous new developments which created additional sales tax revenue. Important Note: In 2014, Village of Oak Brook generated its best year in sales tax revenue!! â#128;cent; Created an on-line check registry which shows ALL village expenditures â#128;cent; Re-instated regular meetings with Oak Brook Village Association Presidents in order to receive input and improve communication with our residents. â#128;cent; Conducting respectful dignified village board meetings which allows input from ALL residents. Village board meetings are no longer used as a forum to attack village employees residents. I believe we (incumbents) have done an excellent job putting our village back on course.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.Currently Oak Brook does not have a real estate tax, I strongly support continuing w/o a property tax for Oak Brook homeowners. The sales tax rate is very competitive and should remain at its current level. In each of the last 4 years, Oak Brook's revenues have exceeded its expenditures which shows there is no need for a tax increase. Also with the current sales tax rate, the village of Oak Brook has been able to increase Cash Reserves by 35% while increasing pension contributions by 68%. Lastly, the Village of Oak Brook was able to meet all its financial obligations without issuing any debt in the last 4 years. It is obvious that Oak Brook should not increase or implement any new taxes.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?Oak Brook has excellent Fire and Police protection. We appointed a new Police Chief and Fire Chief. Both individuals are doing an fine job. Oak Brook's Fire Department recently increased its ISO rating to a rating of "2" which is a tremendous accomplishment. Only 10% of the communities have a "2" rating or better. The new Police Chief who took over a very difficult situation following the controversy with our former police chief. Police morale was at an all-time low under the former Police Chief and in fact our police officers had a vote of No-Confidence to voice their displeasure with the former Police Chief. Conversely, the new Chief has earned the respect and admiration of the men women in uniform and morale is at an all-time high. He has also implemented new programs which have increase public safety and communication with the public. Recently, our police department was featured on FOX News 32 which reported on our department's use of social media. Social media has been used by the police to help solve and prevent crimes. Our new Police Chief was able to again obtain National Accreditation (CALEA) for the Oak Brook police department. Also, Oak Brook has implemented a new Auxiliary police unit and Community Police Academy.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?There are a few areas where we can trim the budget. First, we need to be more vigilant in going out to bid with major expenditures. There are certain projects/venues which receive funding without enough accountability. Overall, Oak Brook has a very lean budget without much fat. In fact, last 4 years our expenditures have been less than what was budgeted. For example, in 2011, we inherited the budget from the previous administration and UNDERSPENT that budget by $1.8 million. Also, last 4 years our revenues have exceeded our expenditures. I believe we can spend more tax dollars on marketing efforts for the Village of Oak Brook. We need to inform the public what a great place Oak Brook is to live, work raise a family.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?There has been talk about creating a downtown area for Oak Brook but I believe that would be difficult since we do not have a train stop. I would like to look at creating a river walk on the land the village owns adjacent to Salt Creek. Also, both our ambulance stations are located east of Route 83 which makes it difficult to service the western portion of our community. I have advocated building an ambulance garage (NOT a fire station) west of Route 83 on land we already own on Meyers Rd/31st to service our community west of RT 83 (Ginger Creek, Midwest Club, Trinity Lakes, Saddle Brook, etc)What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?There are number important issues in this election. First, we need to continue to be responsible with village tax dollars. We need to continue to have a balanced budget and find ways to cut cost while maintaining our level of service to our residents. Secondly, we need to continue to focus on economic development. Our efforts have reaped the village some tremendous results. A number of new projects have already been built with more to come. We cannot become complacent when it comes to economic development. Also, our village needs to continue to be open and transparent and allow input from our residents. Lastly, we cannot afford to allow those Cook County political insiders and their supporters to again take over our wonderful village.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Governor Scott WalkerWhat's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Stand up for what's right even if it is unpopularIf life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Even more community involvementWhat was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Philosophy. I enjoyed debating and discussing the thoughts of our greatest teachers. It was certainly helpful to me later in life.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Never give up A close 2nd would be never be afraid to stand up for what is right.