Debby Miller: Candidate Profile

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: hoffman estatesWebsite: http://votedebby.com (in process of updating)Office sought: Schaumburg Township libraryAge: 72Family: husband Robert; son Andrew and daughter-in-law Rachelle; daughter Tracy and spousal equivalent TimmOccupation: Retired lobbyist, consultantEducation: Master of Arts in Teaching of Education, University of Illinois (1976); Certified Association Executive (1989)Civic involvement: vice-chair, Hoffman Estates Arts Commission; member, Board of Directors, chair Lecture Series Committee, coordinator of various study groups, Institute for Continued Learning, Roosevelt University; former member, Task Force to Establish the National Library of Education; former member, Illinois State Board of EducationElected offices held: Trustee, Schaumburg Township District LibraryHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: NoCandidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Our challenge for the foreseeable future is to reconcile diminishing resources with increasing demands for library services. Hopefully we can do this successfully without asking the voters for an increase in our levy rate until we absolutely need to.Key Issue 2 To serve our patrons to the extent that it's possible by use of technological means. One great step forward is our now sending overdue notices and notices of materials ready for pick-up via email. This a better use of resources, both staff and technology. We need to continue efforts such as this.Key Issue 3 To continue to reach out to those segments of our population which are currently under served. As an example - our teens have required additional space and material needs, and they are an important group of library users. We have a finite amount of space so we need to use it wisely.Questions Answers Describe your understanding of the library district's long-term financial condition and whether you believe any changes should be made.As you probably know, we recently explored the issue of asking the voters in April for a tax levy increase. In light of the current economic conditions we opted to squeeze whatever we can of current taxes and postpone going to the voters until absolutely necessary in hopes employment and other such fiscal conditions improve.Do you favor or foresee a tax hike for the district in the next four years?Again, I don't know what the future will bring, but it is my personal hope we can hold off for the next four years. It would take a miracle to bring society's fiscal conditions and employment figures back to what it was. But miracles do happen. We'll just have to wait and see.How is the district handling the balance between revenues raised and services provided?In my judgment I think we've been handling the balance pretty well. The only new services we've introduced are those which focus on our patrons' job searches and related programs. We also have lost quite a few employees to retirement and have not replaced them. Nor do we foresee doing so except should we need to fill an extremely important position. Our hope is to bring the staff down to a more manageable size without firing anybody. Since a great deal of our employees are of an older age, this should be doable.What adaptations do you feel the district should make to its services to be useful and relevant to patrons in the future?I think we've done a good job in responding to our patrons' needs and has become very relevant to them. Since I think we have staff that is very responsive to their needs I think we should just keep doing what we're doing.Should the district strive to be a leader in the field of library science or look for cost-effectiveness by staying in step with the pace of other districts' development?I don't think those two activities are mutually exclusive. For many years we've been recognized as a top library in the nation while always looking for cost-effectiveness. As an example, while many other libraries have implemented RFID as a cost-effective way to check out and return books, we feel the cost of implementation, as well as the immaturity of the technology has caused us to wait and think about it some. It is something we will implement in the next few years (we have some money set aside) when the kinks are worked out.