Bethany Williams: 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: LibertyvilleWebsite: bethanywilliamsforlibertyville.comOffice sought: Libertyville Village Board Age: 35Family: My family includes my husband Matt and our sons Cole (age 2) and Donovan (age 7 months).Occupation: AnalystEducation: BA in Political Science with a minor in Economics from University of San Diego, Graduate Fellowship in Public Policy at California State University, Sacramento, MBAs from Columbia University in New York and the Haas School of Business at the University of California, BerkeleyCivic involvement: Since moving to Libertyville, I have volunteered with the Lake County Forest Preserve's education programs, at the Lake County Discovery Museum, and have been a member of the Church choir at St. Joseph's Catholic ChurchElected offices held: I have never sought elected office before, but have been a public servant both in Lake County and in the State of California.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?The combination of my education, skills and experience make me an excellent candidate for Village Trustee. I graduated magna cum laude from the University of San Diego where I studied political science and economics, I completed a graduate fellowship in public policy at California State University, Sacramento, and I hold MBAs from Columbia University in New York and the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. My entire career has been focused on how the public and private sector can work together through economic development, workforce development and infrastructure investment to build stronger communities. I've worked in both state and local government, as well as the private sector in real estate and infrastructure development. I'm an analytical thinker with a common sense approach who is eager to learn. In addition to my education and professional background, I also think I bring a new perspective to the role of Trustee. Take a quick review of our Village Board and many other elected and appointed boards in Lake County and you'll notice a common theme: our governing bodies don't seem to represent the demographics of our communities. The Libertyville that I enjoy includes lots of young families and is growing more diverse each year. I'm grateful to all those that are willing to take on public service roles, but our community is stronger when everyone is involved. As a young professional woman and mom, I hope that I can be a new voice on the Village Board.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.Libertyville's sales tax rate is among the lowest in Lake County, which positions our retailers well when competing against other Lake County businesses and very well against Cook County businesses. Our sales tax is appropriate given the commercial environment that makes Libertyville unique, including small, independent retailers and large auto dealerships. Property taxes, however, are too high, but because tax rates are set to pay for the funds that are requested by the Village and other taxing bodies, the issue is really a question of responsible budgeting. Do our budgets reflect our community priorities? If the answer is yes, then we have to pay the taxes necessary to cover those costs. However, the multitude of different layers of taxing bodies makes it difficult to set holistic priorities. There are 19 different taxing bodies listed on my property tax bill and evaluated separately, each of their individual budgets might make sense. But is a library project more important that than a roads project? Our current fragmented budgeting process doesn't allow for discussion and debate to make these kinds of decisions. As a result, we wind up doing everything at onceâ#128;brvbar;and then get stuck paying the bill. The Village Board should take a leadership role to help the community as a whole identify long-term financial priorities across these taxing bodies, so that each entity isn't budgeting in a vacuum. Despite the independent authorities, coordination is possible, and it could help ease some of the pain of property 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?I have been more than satisfied with the responsiveness of the Libertyville Police and Fire Departments. As a Village Trustee, I hope to support our public safety officials as they try to meet the challenges that drugs like heroin pose for our community.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?The disappointing revenues and oppressive debt payments for the Sports Complex weigh heavily on the budget. Unfortunately, the community will be saddled with those debt payments until 2030. There has been some success in garnering lease revenue, but more efforts need to be made to increase the revenue potential and eliminate the debt. In the interim, the building has started to age and we're facing replacement costs (like $170,000 to replace turf) before the building is even close to operating in the black. While there is not a lot to do about it now, the Sports Complex should be a cautionary tale as we consider new long-term capital investments. I would like to see a larger investment in technology to increase the efficiency and transparency of government proceedings. For example, while working with Village staff on residential construction project, staff said that they couldn't be sure that an addition by a previous owner had been properly permitted. After some investigative work I was able to prove that the project had been permitted and inspected. Obviously, there is room for improvement in the way we maintain records, and technology can help. In addition, I think the Village's communication tools, mainly its website and other digital communications, should be updated. The Village often uses "robocalls" to alert residents of road construction or other news. As people move away from land lines and toward mobile technology, additional resources like social media and text services will be critical to keeping the public informed.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I'm fairly certain that I'm not the only person talking about it, but the Village definitely needs to embark on a strategic planning process including other community partners like the Library District, School Districts, Forest Preserve, and the County, among others. The goal would be to learn about the challenges and opportunities that other agencies are facing, hear from the public what their priorities are in certain critical policy areas, and create some alignment on the general direction for the community. Based on this input, a set of community-wide goals should be developed that would feed into a strategic plan for the Village, as well as the planning for other agencies. While the Village has limited authority, we have a unique opportunity to lead and a responsibility to collaborate. The recent loss of the Brainerd Building points to the need for this type of planning. While the Village didn't own the Building, collaborative conversations about what was next for the building should have started long before classroom operations ceased in 1999. I think most residents would have been happy to see a realistic plan to reuse the building, but the problem was the price tag. Not surprisingly, and not unreasonably, voters didn't have much choice but to reject the last ditch effort based on optimistic financials that was put on the ballot last year. Would early collaborative planning have led to a different outcome for the Brainerd Building? It's hard to say, but it seems like it's worth a shot.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Lake County is fortunate to be the home of so many Fortune 500 companies, and Libertyville definitely benefits from this strong economic base. However, Motorola's move to Chicago has only highlighted the risks of an economy that rests on large players. With the City of Chicago trying to lure businesses south and Wisconsin lurking just to the north, all of the Villages need to work together to support employers of all sizes, but especially those that are creating high-wage jobs. It is critical that Libertyville's leaders work in concert with other Villages and Lake County Partners on business retention and attraction strategies to make sure that we're supporting those large employers, but also to help support the small and mid-sized businesses that make our community great.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis has a way of humbly challenging the status quo to include more voices and do more good.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Growing up in a large family teaches you the invaluable lesson of compromise, which also include sharing, being patient and utilizing empathy and compassion.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?While I did well, at the time, I considered school a chore. I wish that I had recognized then that education is a gift.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I had a particularly inspiring English teacher who was committed to making writers out of all of us. Communication skills are invaluable--professionally and personally.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be kind. You will be amazed at how far you can get just by being kind.