Joseph Coster: Candidate Profile

Back to Wauconda Village Board, 2-year term

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: WAUCONDAWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Wauconda Village Board, 2-year term Age: Candidate did not respond.Family: Candidate did not respond.Occupation: Candidate did not respond.Education: Candidate did not respond.Civic involvement: Candidate did not respond.Elected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I believe that I differentiate myself through my capabilities. These capabilities have been developed over my career in supporting multi-billion dollar organizations. The most applicable of them are: 1. My ability to facilitate and lead the development, deployment, and execution of strategic initiatives. 2. My ability to identify root cause and solve problems that result in significant improvement in quality, cost, and employee morale. 3. My ability to not only do #1 and #2 above but also to teach others how to do these things. My intention is to educate the staff on proven methods to allow for years of success. I do not believe that you will find any other candidates that possess these capabilities and especially none that are willing to develop these skills in the staff.How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services that people want?While there are budget issues they are not insurmountable. The highest increases in costs to taxpayers have been voted in by referendum and not much can be done to reduce these costs. I believe the most important actions that should be taken are: 1. An effort to ensure the Village offers the services our residents and business owners find most valuable and that they are performing at the appropriate level. 2. A conscientious review of the current services to understand where waste may exist and then eliminate that waste to reduce costs or improve service performance. This will result in some savings that could be passed on to our residents but would most likely need to be reallocated to elevate other areas.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?We need to introduce a performance management system across the Village departments in order to understand how we are performing and ensure we are allocating resources appropriately. Additionally, our Village has a significant opportunity to redefine ourselves through our TIF district however we currently are not allocating funds to this effort. The most significant way that we can reduce the tax burden for our taxpayers is through economic development and this is the opportunity presented by our TIF district on which we must capitalize.Do you support or oppose eliminating the 911 center and outsourcing the service? Why or why not?The reality is that it is too soon to make this decision as the facts have yet to be presented. Part of being a trustee is ensuring that you have the There are a lot of factors that will be important in making my decision on this topic. 1. We need to understand exactly how our center is performing and how that performance compares to other centers in our area. This should be done using industry standard performance metrics such as Mean Time to Resolution, Average Hold Time, and Average Call Duration. Many are proposing that we keep the 911 center and sell it's service to other communities. This is only possible if we have a high performing center. 2. Once we understand how our center performs in comparison to other centers, we need to understand the costs associated. We need to understand if we pay a higher or lower amount for this performance as compared to other centers. 3. We need to understand if there are any intangibles associated with this issue. Technology has enabled call centers to be located anywhere and still provide high service if the right processes, people, and leadership are involved. We need to understand if there is anything that is missed in #1 and #2 above and account for it. Once all of this information is reviewed we can make an informed and logical decision For Wauconda that is based on the facts.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I feel there is an opportunity for more collaboration and coordination across the individual taxing bodies in our community. We all desire to have a vibrant growing community and could work together toward that goal. I also believe there is an opportunity to leverage expenses across these groups in our community to pass along savings in improved/increased services to residents. We each pay for products and services individually and if we leveraged our needs and spend across we could increase our buying power and save money. For example, most use temporary employees for specialized tasks that do not justify hiring a full time employee. If we combined our needs we could figure out some creative ways to share resources at a lower cost for everyone.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?The last issue that is important to me is public safety. With what we have all seen going on in the world around us, we need to continue to be diligent in ensuring safety in our community and I am committed to working with our Village departments to help ensure Wauconda is a safe community for our residents and their families.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.I am inspired by Warren Buffet's ability to lead people by showing trust in them and allowing them to make decisions.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Treat people the way you want to be treated. It is the "golden" rule for a reason, not to mention that it is biblical.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?While I have had difficulty in my life, it has made me who I am. So I wouldn't change anything.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I have always been a scientific thinker and the science education I was exposed to helped me to enhance my ability to solve problems.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Always ensure you understand before you attempt to be understood. Everyone's perspective is valuable and should be given appropriate consideration.