Gandolfo "Randy" Messina: 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:BioQA Bio City: Wood DaleWebsite: www.facebook.com/MessinaFirstWardOffice sought: Candidate did not respond.Age: 00Family: n/aOccupation: Government Solutions SpecialistEducation: Master's Degree-Crimal Justice AdministrationCivic involvement: *President-Wood Dale Sister Cities Organization *Committee Member-City of Wood Dale Streetscape Economic Enhancement Committee *Board Member-Woodside Subdivision Homeowner's Association *Member-Wood Dale O'Hare Noise Group *Member-FAiR (Fair Allocations in Runways) *Member- St. Catherine's Italian American Club *Leadership Committee Member-American Cancer SocietyElected offices held: *President-Wood Dale Sister Cities Organization *Board Member-Woodside Subdivision Homeowner's AssociationQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I feel I am the most well-rounded and qualified to help move our city forward into the future as we begin to change with the expansion of the Elgin O'Hare Expressway (I-390). I have lived in two areas of our ward and I am already very involved in many city committees, local organizations, and volunteer social service projects. I am familiar with and living through many of the issues our city is facing and even as a resident I've been actively involved in trying to find solutions. My day job is working with local and state governments around the nation helping them better integrate data into their day-to-day operations so they can make smarter and more fact driven decisions. This new way of working is making cities safer, more efficient, and better able to provide the right type and amount of services and programs for residents. Overseeing these types of projects has allowed me to gain the experience needed to successfully implement large scale solutions such as those we'll be doing in the coming years. In conclusion, I feel my professional experience along with my long record of volunteer work and reputation for strong leadership and getting things done would make me the best candidate for the job.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.I think our sales tax is just right but our property taxes are a little high. Our city is uniquely positioned right outside of Cook County so we benefit from the large numbers of people who travel right over the border into our city simply because our sales tax in Dupage is lower on daily items like gasoline and cigarettes. However, many people have complained about the ongoing increases in our water rates. We need real and fresh ideas to off set these increases and one major way will be by attracting new businesses and working to keep existing businesses. The more businesses we have in town, the more water consumption which will ultimately lead to more revenue for the city. As for our property taxes, they are a little high and many residents have voiced that they want more value for their tax dollar. We need to prioritize and be smarter with the type and especially size of the capital improvement projects we decide to do. We also need to find more effective ways to communicate and engage with residents so we can keep a constant pulse on what services are most important to them and what their ongoing satisfaction with the city is. Finally, we need to find ways to better share resources with our other taxing bodies (ie schools and fire department) as well as neighboring towns.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?Our Fire Department is a separate taxing body with their own elected board so we have little oversight over how they operate. As for our police department, I think they do an excellent job and Chief Vesta is a strong leader who is always looking for new ways to keep our city and officers safe. Having come from a similar Criminal Justice background, I really appreciate the Chief's efforts to build community awareness around the heroin epidemic in suburban Dupage County and our vulnerability because of how close we are to the "heroin highway" (I-88). I would like to see us use more technology to help the department operate more efficiently and keep our residents and officers safe. There is also a need to improve mechanisms for communicating with the public about crime alerts and prevention programs. There are plenty of free or minimal cost tools available to law enforcement that could help like a dedicated text message line or phone app for resident tips. There are also many proactive policing tools being used around the country now that can help us optimize our police patrols by looking at crime patterns and trends and putting our officers in the right place, at the right time BEFORE crime happens.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?As I mentioned earlier, we need to become more strategic and prioritize where we spend taxpayer money. We need to put more thought into the type and size of capital improvements projects we do and when. In order to provide residents relief from the new water rate increases it's important we attract new businesses into town and be more business friendly with existing owners so we can reduce the number of store vacancies. The more businesses in town, the more water usage which will ultimately increase our water revenue and help eventually ease these rate increases. Attracting new businesses and retaining existing ones starts with increasing the budget allocated to streetscape enhancements. With the limited budget my Streetscape and Economic Enhancement Committee received, we were able to start a "Facade Program" where the city helps pay for a portion of a property owner's expenses for updating the front of their building. Our first project has been a success and this "investment" in our existing business community has been very popular. We've even gotten approval to expand the program! Finally, I feel more budget money should be invested in technology needed to help streamline some of the processes for things like filing online permits and Metra commuter parking passes while also providing a much better auto-bill pay system. Making these processes more convenient will definitely provide a better resident experience with City Hall.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?At the local level I would like to work with the Addison Township Assessor's Office to provide either a property tax rebate or exemption for those homeowner's effected by the dramatic increase in O'Hare noise. I feel a formal "home value" study should be done to determine if and how much the appraised value of homes have gone down since the spike in O'Hare jet noise after the reconfiguration of runways last year.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?*Expanding our city's Dial-a-Ride program *O'Hare jet noise *Revitalizing Irving Park Road to reduce the growing number of vacancies and to attract new businesses and development. *How to take best advantage of the Elgin O'Hare expansion to attract the right businesses as well as retail and commercial development.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Candidate did not respond.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Candidate did not respond.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Candidate did not respond.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Candidate did not respond.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Candidate did not respond.