Tom Dailly: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Tom Dailly

City:Schaumburg

Office sought: Mayor of Schaumburg

Age (on election day): 65

Family:

Occupation: IT Director

Education: Bachelor of Business Management with Minor in Information Technology

Civic involvement: Homeowner Association President, Zoning Board of Appeals, Schaumburg Trustee, numerous village committees

Previous elected offices held: Current Schaumburg Village Trustee

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected?1989-2009 and 2014-current

Website: www.tomdaillyformayor.com

Facebook: Tom Dailly for Mayor

Twitter: None

Issue questions

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

Certainly property taxes are placing a heavy burden on residents. While the villages portion of the tax bill only accounts for 7% of the total bill, I will reduce the village's portion of the tax bill by 5% in my first year to help reduce that burden. Another issue is of course the heavy debt for defined pensions.While the village sits in a better financial position than most with regard to pension debt, as Mayor, I will work with state elected officials to determine better ways to reduce that debt. The village is also in need of additional street repairs. We have fallen behind in maintaining the quality of streets Schaumburg deserves. I would re-allocate funds over the next two years to provide for more money to bring our streets up-to the level we expect.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I am the only candidate that comes to the table with any local government experience.This is not a position you simply walk in, sit down and start work. The Village of Schaumburg is a multi-million dollar organization with a large employee base and a $250M budget. As your future Mayor I come to the position with the knowledge, experience, dedication, time, and leadership, to transition Schaumburg into the next phase. This is no time for the village to be placed in the hands of someone with no governmental experience. Experience does count for something and with my 24+ years on and off the board I know how to manage budgets, having helped maintain a balance budget every year I have been in office. Do not be misled. Experience counts.

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

I have always been and will continue to be an independent voice for Schaumburg.I am an easy going individual, accessible to everyone. As Trustee the first thing I learned was how to work with my fellow board members to get things done and sometimes that meant being able to compromise. Working with my fellow board members and compromising when necessary has helped make Schaumburg the community it is today. It is been from working together that Schaumburg has achieved so much in the last 28 years. Being Mayor means being able to work with not only with my fellow board members, elected officials in surrounding communities, state officials, and community leaders for what is best for Schaumburg. I bring that independence and ability to work with others in everything I do and I have the full support and backing of the current board in making this next step.

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?

Schaumburg has had a strong fiscally balanced budget with a AAA bond rating for every year I have been on the board. I have acted as a good steward of the village finances ensuring projects are budgeted and completed within the allocated funds.As Trustee I suggested and helped established a number of "reserve funds" where by the village deposits funds annually into these accounts to prepare for the day when things need to be replaced such as police and fire vehicles, office equipment, building equipment (HVAC, roofs, etc) without severely impacting the budget. With these reserve funds in place, the village is able to draw down from them without having to impact the budget thereby eliminating or minimizing the need for bonding.

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

Schaumburg has a great opportunity to build a entertainment area north of the convention center. This area would consist of not only entertainment venues that would act as a draw for the area, convention center, and hotel but generate additional sales tax dollars used to fund Schaumburg's budget. In addition, Schaumburg is poised to see the redevelopment of the surrounding Woodfield region as it re-defines itself for the future with additional growth. I have the leadership, the time, and the experience to lead Schaumburg through this future growth and provide it with the direction it needs to make it there.