Ben Stortz: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Ben Stortz

City: Glen Ellyn

Office sought: Glen Ellyn Park District Commissioner

Age: 42

Family: Married with 4 children

Occupation: CEO - Cornerstone Services

Education: M.B.A. from DePaul with a concentration in Financial Management and Control, B.S. in Accounting from Bradley University

Civic involvement: Glen Ellyn Park District Commissioner and several volunteer coaching, opportunities in the park district; Rotary Club; Board member of four (4) not-for-profit entities

Previous elected offices held: Glen Ellyn Park District Commissioner

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? April 2017

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Issue questions

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

The most important issue facing the park district is to maintain our diverse program offerings and continue our investment in park district assets and resources, while remaining excellent stewards of taxpayer dollars. The park district has a AA+ bond rating, which is a reflection of sound financial management policies and practices. The park district has generated operating surpluses, which have been utilized to reinvest in park district assets and lower the tax burden on our community. The Glen Ellyn Park District has the lowest park district tax rate when compared to surrounding park districts in the area. The average Glen Ellyn homeowner has realized a 30% decrease in their park district taxes over the past two years, which is a credit to the current and previous park district boards with maintaining fiscal responsibility, while continuing to meet the recreational and leisure needs of our community.

If you are a newcomer, what prompted you to run for the park board? If you're an incumbent, list your accomplishments or key initiatives in which you played a leadership role.

A key accomplishment of the current park board is the implementation of the Ackerman Master Plan, which was developed in 2014. While some of the elements of the Master Plan have been implemented, a significant investment of financial resources was needed to enhance Ackerman Park. In 2018, the park district was able to improve the parking lot in front of the Ackerman facility as this park district asset and surrounding grounds are used each and every day by the community. At the January 15, 2019 Park District Board meeting, the park district approved a plan to improve Lower Ackerman by increasing the playability of the athletic fields along with other park amenities. Approximately half of all registered youth park district participants use Ackerman Park, which creates an immense demand on having quality fields. While we are not able to accomplish all of the desired improvements, the park district has prioritized those areas of most importance and will implement those improvements this year. As future funding becomes available, more improvements will occur at Ackerman Park.

* Which programs aren't paying for themselves? Would you keep, eliminate or change them? How and why?

The park district provides a wide array of program offerings, which meets the needs of our diverse user groups, and it is always a challenge to meet those needs. Some programs generate more interest and financial resources than others areas, and I believe it is important to have a broad base of programs that serve as many user needs as possible. The financial performance of certain programs, services, and offerings is an important evaluation metric, but not the only one. The parks district does evaluate the financial status of all programs and makes decisions in the best interest of our user groups and community. It is a challenge to provide such diverse program offerings, but I feel it is extremely important to provide as many options as possible for people of all ages.

Is there any additional open space the park district needs to acquire? Please describe.

Acquiring and utilizing open space that meets park district needs and priorities is consistent with the mission of the park district to enhance the quality of life in Glen Ellyn. The park district will assess open space opportunities, which rarely occur in Glen Ellyn, and these opportunities will be evaluated to determine best course of action, consistent with the mission and strategic vision of the park district. In the past year, an open space opportunity of adjacent land to Manor Park was presented to the park district for consideration. After carefully evaluating this opportunity through with a thorough analysis and discussion amongst the commissioners and staff of the park district, a decision to acquire this land from the YMCA was approved by the by the park district at our December 4, 2018 meeting, and we anticipate closing on these four (4) parcels of property in the first quarter of 2019. This open land near Manor Park was a strategic investment to protect Manor Park and surrounding park district property, as well as provide and maintain natural open space in our community. The Glen Ellyn community has placed a high value on open space, which continues to be a priority with the park district.

Are there any unmet recreational needs? If yes, what are they and how would you propose paying for them?

I believe the park district does an excellent job of balancing the community demands with the financial resources available and being creative with existing resources. The implementation of the Ackerman Park Master Plan is a major step towards addressing some unmet recreational needs. In addition to improving the quality of athletic fields, it is a goal of the plan to incorporate other park amenities that the community has identified such as walking paths. Ackerman Park is a tremendous community asset that provides a multitude of recreational opportunities, and I believe the community will be extremely pleased with the planned improvements. The planned Ackerman improvements will be paid for from existing resources, which have been budgeted and approved by the park district. There is no tax increase from improving Ackerman Park, which is the result of excellent financial management stewardship of the park district's financial resources.