Gary J. Pilafas: 2023 candidate for Hoffman Estates Village Board
Bio
Town: Hoffman Estates
Age on Election Day: 54
Occupation: Senior solutions engineer
Employer: VMware Corporation
Previous offices held: Village trustee
Q&A
Q: What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the city council or village board respond to it?
A: The most serious issue the village of Hoffman Estates community may face is the possibility of a recession.
The village needs to continue to execute a three-phase strategy: 1.) A conservative approach to the village budget in order to maintain prudent spending without increasing the Corporate Tax Levy. 2.) The scrutiny of discretionary spending to ensure the village remains within budget. 3.) Continued economic growth through new Greenfield (new) developments and Brownfield redevelopments that significantly add to the village revenue streams.
Q: How would you describe the state of your community's finances?
A: The State of the Village of Hoffman Estates finances are awesome!!! 1.) The village had a $2.2M surplus that was redirected to Capital Improvements. 2.) The village has 37% (over the 25% mandate) of General Fund financial reserves in the amount of $24,755,240. 3.) The arena had it's strongest financial year since opening in 2006.
Q: What should be the three top priorities for spending in your community during the next four years?
A: 1.) Public health & safety (police, fire, health & human services). 2.) Economic development. 3.) Community development events (volunteer commissions).
Q: Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed? If so, what are they?
A: Yes, the mandated pension debt spending is out-of-control and needs to be addressed at the state level.
Q: What do you see as the most important infrastructure project the community must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?
A: 1.) We need to continue investing in the infrastructure of our fire department houses, specifically Station-21
and Station-22. 2.) Technology Infrastructure is also important as the data security of our residents and businesses is paramount. 3.) We can always hold on some of our discretionary spend around new vehicles as we can sweat those assets.
Q: Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.
A: My experience in working in a group setting to determine policy is 28-years. my experience extends back to my service in the United States Marine Corps, leading homeowner associations (Winston Knolls), volunteer committees for our park district (Hoffman Estates), the township (Palatine) and the village committees and board.
Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?
A: My professional experience has been able to extend into my roles of financial management, economic development, arena management, information technology management and growing our volunteer base through our village commissions that build community.
Q: What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?
A: The community needs to continue to collaborate more with other community governments/organizations like the park district, the library district and the school districts so we can collectively offer an optimized approach of keeping "Unity" in our "Community."