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Heath Rosten: Candidate profile

Bio

Name: Heath Rosten

City: Lindenhurst

Office sought: Village Board

Age: 36

Family: Married to wife, Sarah, and has an 8-year-old daughter, Elli.

Occupation: Sales Manager for Rust Oleum Corp

Education: B.S. Business Management University of Minnesota

Civic involvement: RO Cares Committee, Millburn School Board, and Millburn Chamber of Commerce

Previous elected offices held: Board of Education for Millburn School District 24

Incumbent? Yes. If yes, when were you first elected? Appointed in 2017.

Website: LindenhurstBestChoice.com

Facebook: Lindenhurst Best Choice

Twitter: N/A

Issue questions

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

The primary issue I hear from the community is the amount of property taxes we pay, followed by the need for more economic development. Regarding the property tax concern, most residents are surprised to learn that the amount they pay to fund village operations is only 2.5%. That rate is one of the lowest in our area and something I pledge to maintain. As a Board Member, I have voted for measures that make our operations more efficient by implementing more data-driven decisions. I also work very closely with village staff to ensure purchases and projects are done within budget and on time. We have been lauded as innovative, fiscally-responsible leaders who spend the public's tax dollars prudently. As a result, Lindenhurst has the 2nd lowest property tax rate of all surrounding municipalities. When it comes to economic development, one of the first steps that were taken since I joined the Board was hiring a pro-business village administrator. Since that time, we have made substantial progress in investigating ways to make that our village more appealing for new businesses to open shop in here in Lindenhurst. Attracting new businesses creates more jobs and opportunities for our residents.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

First and foremost is that I am fully invested and engaged in Lindenhurst, and I will always do the right thing for Lindenhurst. My wife is a local business owner along with being an active member of the Millburn PTO and Immanuel Church. My daughter is a second grader and involved with many local activities. I have a real understanding of the community and residents that I represent. I will be a taxpayer in this village for many years to come and I want to make certain that I do my part to keep Lindenhurst on a path of growth that will provide opportunities for my family and neighbors. I can relate with a lot of the young families that choose to live in Lindenhurst because of the sense of community, opportunity, and security our village provides. I speak with them and we are all encouraged by listening to, and learning from, the longtime residents that have built this community into what it represents today.

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

My leadership style is to lead by example. I won't ask people to do things that I wouldn't do myself, and I try not to make decisions without feeling confident that I have all the pertinent information and input required. The reason I continue this style, and believe it will continue to be effective in producing positive results, is that I would never ask the residents of Lindenhurst to commit their tax dollars to initiatives that I would not personally support. I believe in treating every hard-earned taxpayer dollar as if it were my own. What I trust the residents have noticed most about my time on the Village Board is that I truly want to get them involved in the village and that I value their input. Whether it involves attending community events or being active on social media, I truly aim to be a voice within the community. I believe that continuing to employ these philosophies will drive action by reassuring the residents that their concerns and interests do not go unnoticed.

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?

When I joined the Board, my main concern was to make sure my tax dollars were being spent efficiently and effectively. And to my delight, the current Board and I have done a fantastic job of running all village operations despite levying one of the lowest tax rates in the area. More importantly, When the state of Illinois withheld funding from municipalities over the past two years, other municipalities raised taxes but instead we worked to get leaner and smarter, finding additional efficiencies and re-prioritizing our spending. In order to keep our tax rates affordable, we have put certain cost control measures in place. We have cross-trained employees to cut down on redundant job functions and implemented a robust multilayered purchasing process to make sure we get the greatest value for our money. We have also created many channels of communication through our website, social media, phone apps, and text messages that allow us to gain input from members of the community in real time to make data-driven decisions.

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

I am working on strategies to make Lindenhurst a haven for small, community-focused businesses. I have observed that there are some villages that manage to maintain a thriving, viable downtown, even in the shadow of large malls. I believe that some of the best ideas come from the residents themselves and I engage with Lindenhurst neighbors to see how they would approach such a project. While there is always room for improvement in any social structure, the one thing that has impressed me more than anything about Lindenhurst is the amount of community, togetherness and support this village really demonstrates. We all share the same vision of being safe, secure and surrounded by opportunities, which is why I want to focus on bringing more small businesses to Lindenhurst.

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