Michael Olson: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Michael Olson

City: Lisle

Office sought: Village Trustee

Age: 39

Family: Married with two children

Occupation: Commercial banker

Education: Bachelor's in finance from DePaul University

Civic involvement: Green Trails Improvement Association - Board Member (2008-Present); West Suburban Community Pantry - Board Member (2016-Present);

Lisle Park District Commissioner (2017-Present)

Previous elected offices held: Lisle Park District - Commissioner (2017-Present)

Incumbent? No

Website: None

Facebook: @MikeOlsonLisle

Twitter: @MikeOlsonLisle

Issue questions

* What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?

Commercial development in numerous corridors within Lisle is a crucial issue for the Village Board to address. Robust commercial development would help improve the residential property tax burden for all residents, which is a concern that I have heard repeatedly. The Downtown has been a primary focus for the Village Board for some time, but I would like to see focus placed on other areas as well, including Ogden Avenue, Warrenville Road, and the vacant Hickory Ridge Marriott property.

A crucial issue for the Mayor and Village Board is providing a clear vision to Staff for development priorities. In addition, providing timely feedback to commercial property owners and the development community would be a top priority for me in order to accelerate development in Lisle. Not all proposed developments will be acceptable to the community and Village Board. However, developers and owners need timely and constructive feedback on terms that would be acceptable in order to be responsive and propose amended development plans.

Improving the communication among a divided Village Board is another area that I would like to help improve. I have worked collaboratively with others on other boards and would work to do so on the Village Board.

* What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I am among the best candidates for the three open seats, based upon my experience in numerous areas that would be beneficial for a Village Trustee.

Development is a key concern for the residents of Lisle and the members of the Village Board. With my professional background of more than 15 years of experience in financing commercial real estate developments, I am uniquely positioned to understand the financial feasibility and long term positive or negative impact of a development idea or proposal. I will use this knowledge to present an educated and well-rounded perspective to the Board and residents on all matters concerning real estate development.

I have experience on both non-profit boards as well as government boards. I have learned to communicate with board members with different views and priorities. Communication with other board members is a valuable skill in moving a divided board forward for the benefit of Lisle.

I am able to provide direction to Staff about items that I view as a priority, while not interfering or undermining Staff on day-to-day operations. While serving on these boards I have learned to oversee the organization while providing freedom to the employee professionals to successfully manage daily operations.

* Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing actions and decisions with your village board or city council.

I have worked to be a collaborative board member during my service to the community. Collaboration has been effective in building relationships on boards and within the community. This allows for other members to feel valued and willing to volunteer their time and expertise.

I am also willing to push for change in an organization, if that change is necessary for progress. For example, the Governance Committee proposed a number of changes identified as necessary for West Suburban Community Pantry to grow and develop board members. I helped deliver that message on behalf of the Governance Committee to the rest of the Board of Directors. I worked to compromise on some changes that were not as critical, while holding firm on the top priorities.

* 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 people want?

The Village Board has worked to hold the real estate tax levy flat for the past two years. This is a commendable effort by the Village to work to make the financial cost of business in Lisle to be more competitive. However, this needs to be balanced against any long term impact on both service levels as well as ensuring budgets have long term sustainability.

Long-term budget issues exist for the Village. For example, the police pension fund has an approximate $12 million deficit (~72.3% funding level) that with require increasing contributions over time to reach a full funding level. The Village Board should work to identify existing financial resources to redeploy or new resources to allocate to reduce this deficit more quickly than allowed by statute.

Capital expenditures required to minimize lost water to leaks within the Village water system is another potential long term budget issue. Water rates have continued to increase as a result of costs passed along from the City of Chicago for water delivery.

* What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

Continuing to encourage collaboration between government boards and non-profits serving Lisle is a way to strengthen our community.

Examples of collaboration include, connecting the staff at West Suburban Community Pantry and members of the Lisle Library Board led to summer lunches hosted by the Library. The Pantry staffed and funded the summer program in 2018, while the Library provided the space and resident outreach. Recently, I connected Pantry Staff with the Lisle Police Department to work with the Library and Pantry on opportunities for LPD to attend some of the planned 2019 lunches as a community outreach opportunity (lunches will again be funded and staffed by the Pantry). This is in addition to connecting CUSD 202 and CUSD 203 to a variety of programs and resources available from the Pantry.

I would also like to encourage the other candidates in this election to consider priorities for any remaining campaign contributions after the election. Rather than keeping remaining funds for a future election, consider closing the committee and donating the remaining proceeds to a worthy local non-profit. I have decided to close my committee at the end of this campaign and named Lisle Partners for Parks Foundation as the chosen non-profit.