Melissa Martin: 2023 candidate for Oak Brook Village Board

Bio

Town: Oak Brook

Age on Election Day: 42

Occupation: Associate professor of accounting

Employer: University of Illinois Chicago

Previous offices held: None

Q&A

Q: What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the village board respond to it?

A: Oak Brook is a unique community with thriving commercial sectors and beautiful residential areas. This provides a unique challenge from a public safety point of view. The village has met this challenge head on by embracing technology that can help improve the lives of our residents and visitors while still maintaining a firm grasp on the fiscal feasibility.

Our new police chief and village manager have worked together to ensure the department is fully staffed while also integrating technology such as license plate readers cameras into both our residential and commercial sectors. The village continues to proactively work to identify new technology that can continue to enhance the public safety of our citizens in a fiscally responsible manner.

Q: How would you describe the state of your community's finances?

A: Like many public entities, the village struggled financially through the pandemic. However, during this time a number of changes were made to village leadership which helped continue the financial turnaround. New board members worked with the newly hired village manager to audit internal processes such as budgeting and contracting. The result was significant improvements on many financial dimensions.

This is in addition to the considerable work done on improving the financial position of the sports core. Together, these improvements have generated new resources to reinvest in the village in meaningful ways (such as hiring new police officers and investing in improved public safety technology).

Q: What should be the three top priorities for spending in your community during the next four years?

A: The top three priorities for spending in the short term are spending on public safety infrastructure, physical infrastructure, and resident communication infrastructure. Better utilizing technology to improve police efficiency is crucial for our continued success in working toward improved resident safety.

These improvements in technology will require investments, similar to our investment in license plate readers throughout the village, that will pay off in enhanced efficiency of our police force. In addition, some of the roads, parking surfaces, and buildings will require improvement and repair over the coming years.

Keeping up transportation infrastructure is critically important, particularly around our commercial districts which continue to be a large source of income for the village.

Finally, we need to improve our avenues of communication with residents along a number of fronts. Investing in technology here to improve these communication channels will minimize future cost.

Q: Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed? If so, what are they?

A: The village has not always approached large capital projects in the most efficient manner. Going forward we need to ensure our bidding process allows us to attract high quality partners that can complete projects in an economically feasible manner.

We also need to approach project selection in a more thoughtful, comprehensive, and proactive manner. If we continue to react only as necessary we are limited in the avenues we can take for continued village improvement.

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: The more important infrastructure projects are on public safety technology and physical infrastructure in our commercial areas, particularly the mall. The mall and neighboring commercial areas are the economic engine of the village. To ensure their continued success, we must make investing in surrounding infrastructure a priority.

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: As part of a university faculty, I regularly serve on committees of all sizes to govern all aspects of our workplace. Working in different disciplines, requiring different resources, interacting with different students often makes implementing policies in a university setting quite difficult.

This experience has taught me how to compromise when it is necessary and how to stand firm in areas that are critical. In working with a variety of constituents (faculty, staff, students, administration), I have developed a skill set quite similar to that necessary to navigate local politics. These skills, combined with my financial acumen, will make me a strong leader within the community.

Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?

A: I have been working with the village for over four years on improving the sports core operations. As an accountant, my background provides me a unique opportunity to help preserve the community and its amenities in a fiscally responsible way.

I am willing to make tough decisions and speak out when I disagree. I was a vocal dissenter both within the sports core subcommittee and to the large village board when many favored a one-sided contract with the park district.

Understanding the financial ramifications allowed me to understand the lopsided nature of the contract. Although the contract was approved by the board it was abandoned within the year (on the grounds I raised previously). My deep understanding of accounting and love for the village combine to make me a passionate but grounded leader for Oak Brook.

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

A: Our community needs to better pair the wisdom of our longtime residents with the passion of our new families. We have seen changing demographics in the area, but little attention has been given to integrating these groups.

Going forward, I would like to implement ways for our new residents to get more involved in shaping the future of the village while relying on the experience and knowledge of our longtime village members.