Ted Poulos: 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: AntiochWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Antioch Village Board Age: 55Family: WifeSonDaughterFather Thomas Poulos also born in Antioch2 Brothers, 3 SistersEveryone, including my father, graduated from Antioch grade schools and High School.Occupation: Retired from 31 years at College of Lake CountyEducation: Graduate of Antioch High School.B/A Accounting/Business-Carthage CollegeMasters School Business Administration-NIUCivic involvement: Coach for Antioch Little League 1980 through 2003Coach for Kenosha Komets 2007 through current.Elected offices held: Village Trustee 2008 through currentQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?My work experience of 31 years at the College of Lake County in the Finance department helped me with this Board position. Working with the Board of Trustees at CLC made me understand the role of the Board and how to work effectively with the administrative staff. I was responsible at CLC for putting together and monitoring a $100 million dollar budget. Since CLC is a governmental unit, the finance system and taxing is similar to a municipality. The college bookstore and food service departments also reported to me to give me experience with retail operations. I was also responsible for supervising, evaluating, and hiring approximately 40 positions. I have a long history in Antioch and want to keep it a great place to live. My family has been in Antioch since the 1920's. My grandfather came here from Greece, and years ago, owned Ted's Sweet Shop downtown. My father, my children, and I all graduated from Antioch grade schools and High School. I have no ties with any businesses or affiliates in Antioch that might influence my decisions. I have not taken campaign contributions from any of them either. I make voting decisions on what I believe is the best thing for the residents of Antioch.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.Taxing is a difficult issue. In an older town like Antioch, infrastructure needs a lot of attention. Our capital improvement plan shows just how much is actually needed to repair roads, drain and sewer pipes, and police and public works vehicles and equipment. We had to address some funding issues that were caused by the recession a few years ago by implementing a utility tax and increasing water rates. I believe we are at a good mix of fees, property taxes, and sales taxes right now and we should continue focusing on increasing business opportunities to bring in additional sales taxes not by increasing sales taxes or additional tax referendums. We have recently been working on an economic development plan that will assist us in doing that. I support a review of all taxes and fees on a yearly basis to see if they are at the appropriate levels or need to be adjusted up or down.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?I believe that when the citizens of the Village of Antioch voted to consolidate the Antioch Fire Protection District to handle fire and EMS it put us in a much better position to be safe. Fire and EMS will now have their own taxing district and do not have to fight for funds with the rest of the departments of the village. They will be able to equip their staff well moving forward. Police could always use additional funds to keep the town safe but I think we have a fair budget with them at this point. My concerns would be with preparing for the new types of threats that all municipalities and cities face these days and making sure the officers are able to keep current with training and have the proper equipment. The Chief and his staff have done a really good job of finding grants to help with funding and have done a great job of prioritizing budget items to ensure the residents are protected.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Over the past 8 years we have trimmed our budget and staff considerably to reduce waste. I believe we are pretty trim now. Our excellent staff has worked hard at doing jobs that used to be handled by more people and I commend them for that. Economic development and HR have been areas that needed improvement but we have taken steps to fix both. An economic development plan, created by staff and approved by the Board, focuses on industrial parks, the Route 173 corridor, and Downtown. Consultants have been recently hired to assist us with recruiting national and regional retailers to Antioch. Staff has also recommended a list of incentives we may use to attract new business. An HR consultant has been hired to work a few days a month to assist us with personnel items and staff procedures. As I mentioned before, in an old town, infrastructure will always need budgetary help.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I believe I have had a significant number of the ideas that have moved forward in the Village to make it better. Building a new pool and keeping it downtown would be one of the ideas I had a voice in. I also had ideas that assisted with reducing wasteful expenses and reduction of staff that led to substantial budget reductions. My financial experience and knowledge of accounting principles allowed me to assist with a budget issue that helped clear funds to balance the budget during a tough budget year caused by the recession. I also brought the idea of an HR consultant rather than hiring a full or part-time employee. Using an HR consultant that only works a few days a month saves the village money over what we would have spent for a full or part-time employee. There have been many other ideas that I have had a significant contribution to but any ideas that I have that would better the community that no one is talking about right now have been shared with the Board and, for competitive reasons with other towns, would not be shared here.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I have always said that anyone holding one of these Board positions should make decisions on what is best for the municipality and the citizens that they represent. I try to bring that to each meeting by being respectful to other Board members, even those with differing opinions. Also, I believe it is important to respect the decisions that the Board makes that may not be consistent my vote. Governments get out of hand when Board members do not support a decision that is made by the majority. I also believe it is important to be respectful and support the administrative staff. They do the majority of the work and are the experts in their fields. The job of the Board member isn't to run a department only to make rules for them to be guided by.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Joe Maddon, Cubs manager. He has high expectations of his team but allows them freedom to have fun as long as they are task oriented.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?You never stop learning. When you think you know it all you usually find out soon that you don't.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Taking vacations when younger. I was a workaholic early on. Hard work is important but you're more productive when you get away for awhile.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I always enjoyed math. Solving math problems assists in solving all types of problems by using analytical skills to find the answer.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be respectful of others and earn others respect, don't expect it.