Augie Filippone: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Augie Filippone

City: Mount Prospect

Office sought: Village Trustee

Age (on election day): 34

Family: Married to wonderful Trisha and father to smart Olivia and curious Ravi

Occupation: Attorney

Education: Knox College (BA); Loyola University Chicago (JD/MBA); University of Arkansas (MSOM)

Civic involvement: Mount Prospect Planning and Zoning Commissioner; Junior Achievement of Chicago; Chicago Volunteer Legal Services; Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights; Mount Prospect Women's Club; City of Chicago Business Affairs and Consumer Protection; Women's Business Development Center, Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce, Mount Prospect Downtown Merchants Association

Previous elected offices held: Initial run for elected office

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected?

Website: Augie4MP.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/Augie4MP

Twitter: Twitter.com/Augie4MP

Issue questions

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

If we don't progress, we regress. We all want to see Mount Prospect grow and flourish. I am excited to work on development projects being proposed in our town. We must have responsible development and ensure that residents benefit from that growth. You need to be willing to put in the day-to-day hard work and persistent dedication toward any goal. I am willing and able.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

Ever since I moved to Mount Prospect, I have enjoyed engaging with my community and giving back. My wife and I operate our law firm here in town and we are raising two wonderful young kids. As a Mount Prospect business owner and resident, I am committed to seeing this community grow for our children and want our community to be a welcoming place for all families and businesses. This is a pivotal time in Mount Prospect with new development projects occurring, and I want to be a voice at the table and be that voice for people in town if they let me have the opportunity. I am not looking for power; I just want to do what is right.

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

The Village Board belongs to residents, and all those who serve on boards and commissions have the honor, privilege, and responsibility of representing residents. I currently serve on the Village's Planning and Zoning Commission and have firsthand experience evaluating future development projects and assessing their impact on our Village. During my nearly five years on the Commission, I have forged positive relationships, learned from fellow commissioners, and have been able to utilize my position to promote thoughtful, fact-based decision-making in Mount Prospect. I bring common sense, straight-talk, and a respectful attitude to my work and am willing to put in the effort to find solutions that benefit the community. As a small business owner, I know what it means to roll up your sleeves and get the job done. I'm an attorney by profession so my job means assessing facts, evaluating arguments, and using sound judgment to make decisions weighing relative risks and benefits for clients. Our hard-working Village staff spends a good deal of time preparing materials for presentation which need to be thoroughly reviewed, questions investigated, and once a full picture develops with public input, make decisions that are best for the people of Mount Prospect.

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?

Village staff have done a commendable job ensuring annual budgets account for police and fire pension commitments as well as addressing debt obligations. It's vital we continue to do so. I recommend we continue to maintain adequate reserves. We never know what's around the corner. A Trustee's role is to look out for our Village and not about trying to deflect responsibility for key financial decisions. Let's focus on what we can control. A sound financial footing will help ensure we can weather a financial crisis should it happen again in the future. We were fortunate enough in 2016 to see sales revenue from our businesses exceed revenue earned from property taxes for the first time ever. Let's make that a common occurrence. Current development projects being considered help us become more attractive to additional businesses, employers, and new residents ready to call Mount Prospect home. Dollars earned from sales taxes mean, ideally, less property tax burden on Mount Prospect families. Increased revenues from a vibrant business community also mean more money for infrastructure maintenance, community events, and resident services.

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

We have a strong group of Village employees who have dedicated their careers to public service and are allowing Mount Prospect to excel in a variety of facets- public safety, human services, and public works, to name a few. The recommendations and proposals made are not done in a vacuum. It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and disregard the work, recommendations, and efforts made. Residents and Village staff put in significant time, money, and effort into crafting things like long-range plans and studies, for example. When an opportunity arises to pursue a long-term goal, we collectively need to act. If we don't progress, we regress. As with any endeavor there is always room for continuous improvement, and we want to make local government representative of the people that it serves. Mount Prospect is a thriving, diverse community, and it would only benefit the Village to have those voices in the conversation and then timely make a decision that best benefits the people of Mount Prospect. My wife and I are growing our family here, building our business here, and volunteering our time here. We are in it for the long haul and are excited about the future.