Karen Mills: 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: Hoffman EstatesWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Hoffman Estates Village Board Age: 66Family: Husband-Glenn Mills;Children--Richard (Nicole), Heather (Alan Rogers), Laura (Nick Doerner);six grandchildren;Occupation: Licensed Community Property Manger, Barrington Square Improvement AssociationEducation: B.S. in Education, Loyola University ChicagoCivic involvement: Trustee, Northwest Mosquito Abatement District;Active member, Hoffman Estates Chamber of Commerce;Active member, St. Hubert's Church;Co-chaired H.E. Comprehensive Plan Commission;Member, Flexible Transit Service Operations Plan Committee;Member, Transit Improvement Task Force;Chairman, Barrington Square Center Redevelopment Commission;Former Chair, Hoffman Estates Plan Commission.In addition, previously served as Deputy Mayor from 2001-2007, and chaired Finance Committee, Public Works Committee, General Administration and Personnel Committee and currently Chair Planning, Building and Zoning CommitteeElected offices held: Hoffman Estates Trustee, 1992-presentQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I feel that my years of experience both as a past Plan Commission member and currently as a Trustee are invaluable in the areas of plan development as we go forward knowing that any remaining parcels in town are probably not simple projects. As a community association manager dealing daily with 680 units, I have gained insight as to the best ways to coordinate services, work within a budget, deal with problems, enforce issues that might not please all, and work with the public. Proven years of experience should be viewed as an asset not a detriment.Also, I am not afraid to ask questions and I am always willing to listen to people. When making decisions that will affect others, you must do your best to understand both sides of an issue. I feel that I can continue to demonstrate this attention to detail and work with both staff and our other elected officials to provide for the health, welfare and safety of our residents.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.We have worked hard to keep our taxes at an acceptable level over the past years which is not the easiest thing to do especially with the uncertainty coming out of Springfield. We have done our best to keep those levels as low as possible but I'm sure some residents may not agree. When they get their property tax bill and it has gone up, they normally tend to blame their municipality. However we urge them to look at the make-up of that tax bill as the Village is only one portion of that bill. We have done our best to keep our overall tax levies at the same level for four years in a row. As is the case with other taxing bodies, we are all suffering from the pension problems which affect our budgets. When we look at our local sales tax rates, we must take into account that if we raise them too high, we will lose business to towns charging lower rates in addition to the problem of being within Cook County which has higher rates than our neighboring counties.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 strongly feel that the efficiency of both our Police and Fire Departments are second to none. Both departments serve our community professionally and with great care for the residents. As to how well prepared they are for the next decade, if our community stays at the same levels that we are right now, we should be fine. However if we do add any large commercial or especially residential developments, such as one that is currently under discussions out west, we would need to add on to our current staffing levels. That is a point that must be reviewed with any new major development.As to facilities, when we built the new police department building and the western fire station, part of that planning process included future anticipation of needs and growth. Also, staff and the Board are always reevaluating response times to the various parts of town to see if additional improvements or changes are needed.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Our budgets do not have much wiggle room within them. Back in the recession years of 2008 and going forward, we were forced to reduce our staffing by 18% which translated to 60 FTE's. And we have learned to continue to provide exceptional service even though we were hard pressed at times. Probably one area that we could use some additional funding would be in the Planning, Engineering and Code Enforcement areas. We are suddenly approaching review levels similar to pre-recession times which is wonderful but puts more demands on those departments which are all at lower staffing levels than in the past. We have tried to catch up on our street projects but it would be nice if we could do more each year. But when you schedule more, not only does that mean more needed funds, but also more crews and supervision as the season is somewhat limited. Our Planning division has tried to put more and more responsibilities on our existing staff but at some point, we will need to find a way to keep up with the load to insure we remain at the level of desired service.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I think we are currently doing a pretty good job of working to better our community but I also know that there is always room for improvement. One of those areas that I would like to see us do a little more would in the area of working with District 211's new Higgins Educational Center to provide services to our community members that could use some help due to language difficulties or socio-economic needs. The Village entered into this expansion project with 211 in an effort to provide needed services to the community. We are lucky to live in a community with a very large amount of diversity and ethnicity but some of our residents need assistance and do not always know where they can find that help. Possibly with the encouragement and marketing of services that could become available through this partnership, we can provide that help but we need to get that information out to all parts of the community.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I hope to continue on as a Trustee in Hoffman Estates as I feel that I still have a lot to give this Village. I want to see the completion of the Barrington Road Full Interchange and the implementation of better public transportation options for our residents. I want to be part of future development and the redevelopment of aging centers in town. I do not want to see us just approve projects that will fill a site rather than to find the best Fit and usage that will be good for our town and our residents. I want to see the future development of our Entertainment District. I want to continue to unite all sections of town, not be known as North, South or West Hoffman. I want us to continue to improve the condition of our road system in town. I want us to Continue Growing To Greatness.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Unfortunately the recent political atmosphere does not give us much to look up to. Given that, I would have to pick Pope Francis.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Always to be respectful to others and never give up on yourself.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Probably making better use of my bachelor's degree in Education.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Although not always easy, I would say Math. I have always enjoyed working with numbers and solving problems and working with the facts.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Never give up on yourself. You are strong and you can make a differnce if you believe in yourself.