Deepasriya Kumar: 2025 candidate for Villa Park village board

Bio

Office Sought: Villa Park village board (Vote for 3)

City: Villa Park

Age: 54

Occupation: Professor/management strategist

Previous offices held: Villa Park Village Trustee since 2021

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

The village of Villa Park has a growing pension burden similar to that of many Illinois villages. In addition, many of our village buildings are past their useful life as pointed out in our recent comprehensive plan/study.

As a result, the board will have to plan for some larger infrastructure upgrades in the near future in the midst of addressing the rising pension burden.

Economic development in some of our key sectors could ease both of these burdens from a revenue point of view. To manage and curb spending, spacing out village construction projects, diverting and earmarking certain funds, and careful bidding and contracting processes are all necessary. In addition, village construction projects and service provider contracts should include long-term accountability measures. It will take a multifaceted approach to continue to keep Villa Park growing and healthy.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

Our community finances are in good shape, boasting a healthy general fund balance even with additional spending undertaken for the new state-of-the-art community recreation center. This is due to diligent financial practices and tight budgeting.

However, some roads from the 2014 road referendum are still awaiting completion due to increasing costs among other constraints. Many of these roads have already completed Phase1 engineering but are held back due to external funding sources. Completing these projects should be our number one spending priority.

Furthermore, there are other roads in town which have needed repair for some years now and should also be prioritized. Installation of sidewalks at the same time as road construction projects is necessary to afford long-term savings for pedestrian infrastructure.

Rather than curtailing spending, the village can remain on its sound financial footing by implementing cost controls such as mentioned in the first question.

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?

Villa Park imminently needs a plan for pool development. The village was originally well served by two pools — Lufkin Pool on the south side and Jefferson Pool on the north side. Now, only Jefferson pool remains, opened in 1966 and minimally upgraded in 1997. Even with recent upgrades to increase structural longevity, the pool’s long-term feasibility is suspect.

The local high school has no pool which adds to the problem. Even with the current diversion of some local special taxes for this purpose, we will need to be creative to finance this structure. Funding the pool will require increasing long term accumulation of special taxes, development of TIF district 6, community fundraising, and application for grants.

Joint ventures with either our school districts or neighboring towns remain possible options. To mitigate financial risk, the village could put the brakes on supporting any more “Large” development related expenditures until the “Union” on Villa Avenue sees a return on investment.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board.

If elected, this would be my second term as a village of Villa Park Trustee. Our current board has been effective in decision making and long term planning, leading to a crucial change in management, infrastructure development, better residential customer service, boosted communication with residents, and improved transparency.

I believe that every elected official on our board has something to offer and thus represents different sectors of our Villa Park residents and business community. The strengths that I bring to board meetings include: my background as an economics professor; a willingness to listen to residents and other board members; my ability to compromise on decisions when necessary; and my willingness to ask pertinent questions at board meetings in order to make informed decisions.

I believe my communication skills, my diverse background, my openness toward the residents, and my ability to statistically analyze information have also been an asset to the board.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

Having gained an encyclopedia of knowledge as a current trustee of the village of Villa Park, my experience and internal knowledge make me the best candidate for the job. Growing up I attended District 45 schools, graduated from Willowbrook High School, and brought up my family in Villa Park which have all extended my connections and passion to help the Villa Park community.

I have my Ph.D from Kellogg Business School, Northwestern University in Management and Strategy. I also have my masters in Statistics from University of Chicago.

As a fiscally responsible, socially conscious, nonprofit strategist, statistician, educator, mother, and long-term resident of Villa Park, I continue to have a great deal to offer the board. As a data-driven person, one must consider the wants and needs of all residents when making decisions for the village. Personal bias and vested interest have no place in public service. This is the approach I will continue to follow if reelected to the board.

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

I think we need to streamline our permitting processes for a select group of emergency services such as HVAC replacement and plumbing upgrades. Although there have been recent improvements, permitting and inspection processes have traditionally been very difficult in Villa Park.

Implementing this fast-track process would ensure residents who needed quick, routine permits for necessary repairs and upgrades could get them quickly.

With the recently upgraded communication technology and the recently released village resident mobile application, an efficient fast-track methodology for permitting should be easily implementable.