John D'Astice: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: John D'Astice

City: Rolling Meadows

Office sought: Mayor

Age (on election day): 64

Family: Married 38 year to Marylou. We have four children: Nicole, Michelle, Dominic and Angela - all attended Central Road Elementary, Carl Sandburg Jr. High and all graduated from Rolling Meadows High School.

Occupation: Director of Sales & Marketing, Embassy Suites Hotel Deerfield, IL

Education: Bachelor of Science in Marketing, minor in account - DePaul University

Civic involvement: In Rolling Meadows: a member of the City's Ad Hoc Capital Improvements Review Committee; the Economic Development Committee; the Street Light Improvement Committee; the City Signage Improvement Committee; the Ad Hoc Directional Signage Committee; co-chair of the Rolling Meadows 60th Anniversary Committee and a former member of the Rolling Meadows Chamber of Commerce. Other involvement includes serving on the Lisle Convention & Visitors Bureau Marketing Committee, on the Board of Directors for the Woodfield Convention and Visitors Bureau and as an Indian Princess/Indian Guides leader for 17 years.

Previous elected offices held: Elected Alderman of the 6th Ward in Rolling Meadows: 1993 - 2005 and 2009 - 2021.

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? No

Website: Dasticeformayor.com

Facebook: Johndasticeformayor

Twitter:

Issue questions

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

Increased economic development in all areas of the City in an effort to boost sales and property tax revenue with a goal of reducing the city property tax levy. I would suggest our Business Advocate spend 50% of her time actively soliciting buyers for open land and empty office buildings in Rolling Meadows. I will introduce an "open land / empty office building incentive" in the Economic Development Committee that can be vetted out and recommended to the City Council for acceptance. The open land / empty office building incentive is another tool that can be used hand-in-hand with the Restaurant Incentive I introduced and the Council accepted, to create more food & beverage choices in the City. I would also propose a "Senior Property Tax Freeze" to provide our senior residents with some property tax relief so they can stay in their homes without fear of being taxed out of Rolling Meadows. Finally, I would use bond funding to repair and update our aging Utility infrastructure and recommend a 4 to 5 year tax freeze on water, sewer and storm water operations beginning in 2020.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

My 35 years of business management experience. I have managed teams of up to 75 employees. I believe this experience will transfer to dealing with the City Council in a positive manner, allow me to create consensus and develop long-term strategies for the betterment of the City. My experience will also allow me to work with the City Staff without micro managing the team. We hire the best employees in business and at the City. As a manager and a mayor, we need to provide the team the ability to grow and develop while holding them accountable for their words and actions. I also believe the knowledge and experience I have acquired in listening, responding and representing the residents of Rolling Meadows as an Alderman provides me a unique opportunity. I am the only mayoral candidate serving the City as an elected official in a single office, for more than one term. I will bring a business perspective to the job of mayor, the result of which will generate positive results for the residents of the City.

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

The best leaders use a combination of different styles depending on the situation. My leadership style is visionary and engaging. My leadership will consist of sharing the decision-making abilities with the city council. While the Mayor does not cast a vote, his opinion can influence the opinions and vision of the council. I believe it is important to let the residents know how I feel on issues as opposed to not expressing any opinion. This style of leadership requires guidance and control by the mayor. In my experience, I have found this leadership style is one of the most effective and creates higher productivity, better contributions from group members and increased group morale. This leadership style can lead to better ideas and more creative solutions to problems because the council members are encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas. In business, I have found that this type of leadership works best in situations where the team are skilled and eager to share their knowledge and not try to betray others for their own benefit. It is also important to have plenty of time to allow people to contribute, develop a plan and then vote on the best course of action.

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 City's budget is in excellent financial shape. We have a balanced budget and have had a balanced budget for many years. The City has won the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting award for the last 31 years for their budget by the Government Finance Officers Association. The council has implemented fund balance policies. These policies require various funds have a recommended surplus of cash to keep departments running for 3 to 6 months, even if there was a downturn in the economy. All funds exist to provide the services expected by the residents of Rolling Meadows. Regarding the City's future bond payments. The City paid approximately $3.0 million annually in the years prior to FY 2017. With the new bonds issued in 2018 and 2019, the annual overall bond payments decreased by approximately $1.0 million to approximately $2.0 million. This includes payments for all bonds, including for the fire stations project and the capital infrastructure improvements for the Utilities Fund. The result is there will be NO huge property tax increases to pay off these bonds. Investment in capital infrastructure helps the City remain competitive for its business community and provide quality services to its residents.

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

I have a couple ideas. One is to create a Senior Property Tax Freeze. I have heard residents say they are concerned about the property tax increases they have experienced over the last several years. While much of the property tax increases are not directly related to the Rolling Meadows property tax levy, I still believe we owe it to our seniors to provide them with some property tax relief so they can stay in their homes without fear of being taxed out of Rolling Meadows.

Another idea I have will be to introduce an "open land / empty office building incentive" in the Economic Development Committee. There it can be vetted out and recommended to the City Council for acceptance. The idea behind this incentive is to create new businesses for any empty land in the city and to re-purpose and/or re-occupy empty office space. This incentive is another tool, which can be used hand-in-hand with the Restaurant Incentive that I also introduced, to build more businesses in the city.