Robin Meier: 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: MundeleinWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Mundelein Village Board Age: 63Family: Four generations of my family live in Mundelein. Myself (as a single parent), my mother, my married son (his wife), and my 3 grandchildren.We use the parks, services, frequent the stores, contribute to the community, and enjoy Mundelein as our home town.Occupation: Retired after 43 1/2 years in telecommunications at ATT in various capacitiesEducation: * College of Lake County - Associate in Arts - Philosophy, * Certificate- General Management, * Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society.* Technical, ethical, Six-Sigma, business, leadership, and government related training courses.* First Aid/CPR/AED certified trainedTrainingCivic involvement: * Mundelein Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member* Mundelein Alumni Citizens Police Academy memberElected offices held: * 2007-2008 Mundelein Plan Commission (appointed)* 2008-2013 Mundelein Trustee* 2016 to present appointed as Liaison between the Loch Lomond Homeowners Association and the Village of Mundelein * Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) holding elected leadership positions for over 17 years in various ATIS Committees, projects, Technology Operations Council (TOPS) Co-Convener on several projects, winning the 2010 ATIS Award for Outstanding Contributions to an ATIS Forum or Committee.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?My commitment and dedication for public service. I listen respectfully to the residents and businesses about their concerns and visions for the village. Decisions made by the trustees impact the community for years beyond the elected 4-year term and I'm committed to make those decisions wisely. I make common sense decisions based on community input, and unbiased facts from extensive research. My decisions always consider short and long term goals, while maintaining a responsible budget, preparing for economic health or downturns, planning for infrastructure improvements, and keeping the village competitive and marketable during this period of economic growth and beyond. Preparing for a strong future in all economies, good or bad, is a top priority in order to fill vacancies and keep them occupied. Reaching out to businesses and working with them to determine how we can make it easier to do business in Mundelein is key for their future and ours. I always look for creative ways to increase the village income without putting the financial burden on our residents and businesses. My previous trustee experience will make for a quick transition, and when elected I'll be able to start the real work faster. Communication and transparency are important attributes when interacting within our community. I value, respect, work for, and fairly treat all members of our community equally.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.Mundelein's sales tax is higher than surrounding towns which is a competitive disadvantage to our own businesses. Consumers purchasing large ticket items do compare sales tax rates in nearby towns and those savings count in your budgets. Mundelein has to strive for achieving a sales tax rate equivalent to or lower than the surrounding towns.Mundelein's property tax is too high and not competitive with many surrounding towns. This also puts Mundelein at a competitive disadvantage for prospective homeowners considering moving to our town.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?The Mundelein Police Department has consistently ranked in the top 100 cities for safety in the last few years. The fire and police departments have experienced staffing challenges in the last few years with retirements and other force losses. This is a situation that needs to be monitored and dealt with on a continuing basis. Technology is rapidly advancing and there are great expenses incurred to keep up with the current technology in both departments. Some technology advances are mandated by state and federal governments and are required to be updated. These updates typically don't come with funding. It is a real challenge to ensure required updates are made without placing the funding burden on the tax payers.Public Safety consolidation is another area being discussed in surrounding communities. This is an area where careful consideration must be taken during any future discussions to avoid costly mistakes in the future.Placement of fire stations is a concern with many residents and this topic needs to be further addressed going forward to ensure all residents are quickly responded to in an emergency.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?The village departments and board have taken a series of difficult and deep budget cuts the last several years. Responsible municipal budgeting is a daily decision process with board oversight. Budgeting is an on-going and difficult process to ensure that services are available, equipment is maintained, personnel fairly compensated, infrastructure (roads, water, sewer etc.) is built and maintained efficiently and responsibly for your enjoyment and safe use. I will commit to responsibly monitor village expenses and budgets on your behalf as you would monitor your own budget and money.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Setting up a community liaison in Mundelein neighborhoods. I'm currently a Loch Lomond community liaison set up to work with the Loch Lomond Property Owners Association and the Village of Mundelein on the road replacement projects in Loch Lomond. This has worked fairly well in identifying, communicating, and resolving problems between Loch Lomond and the Village. It has worked well, saved time, and ended up with less aggravation on both sides to have a point person be the go between.I would like to expand the idea of a community liaison with trustees or designated people as the liaisons in other areas of the village. This process is extremely helpful during ongoing road or other village work disrupting an area. It gives the resident a go-to person to contact with problems encountered. It also helps the village streamline and resolve some of the residential issues encountered during major projects.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I would like to see the live video feed and recording take place for all public committee meetings for remote public viewing as we do now for Village Board meetings. The exception would be executive session meetings. This would increase transparency and be more convenient for residents to remotely attend these meetings or view them at their leisure. Current ordinances should be reviewed. Any ordinances that are out dated or not being enforced because they are no longer relevant should be removed, updated, or streamlined.We need to find creative ways to decrease vacancies and improve derelict properties.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.A current leader valuing integrity, honesty, who works for the people as public servants were intentioned to serve would be the ideal person for inspiration.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Tolerance, inclusion, and respect for all people. To deal with integrity in all of my actions.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Spending more time with the people you love who are no longer here.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Logic/Critical Thinking. It gave me the ability to address issues in a non-biased common sense and responsible manner.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Plan responsibly for the future and enjoy each day.