I believe I have extensive experience that makes me a good candidate for the office of Geneva Library Board Trustee. I have served 2 1/2 terms on the Library Board. Currently I am the President of the Board and have been for 8 years. While this alone is not a reason for me to be qualified for the seat I do believe that my experience and knowledge of the Library, our successes and failures, our goals and achievements play a vital role in my qualifications to serve. I believe that anytime you run and serve on a Board you should be passionate about the contribution of that organization to the community. I believe that the Library plays a significant role in Geneva. We touch all ages and people in all stages of life. From the very young to the very old. I see our part in the community evolving. I stay active in the community in many ways which allows me to bring the voice of many residents to the Board. I have knowledge and experience directly related to the Library in regards to technology, space needs, planning for the future, hiring a new Director and community involvement. I pride myself in my commitment to making myself available to our patrons. I think every comment or concern is valuable to our success in providing services the patron expect. I am committed and enthusiastic about serving the Library for another 4 years.
I believe my three priorities would be:
First, to focus on maintaining the services our patrons expect and deserve while being conscious of the tax dollars we are entrusted with. The Geneva Library patrons have very high expectations for the Library and I believe it is vitally important to do all we can to maintain those services.
Second, I believe we need to stay focused on the future. We need to plan for what the Library will be. The Library has been a pivotal part of the community for over 100 years and that is not going to change. The Library has proven itself as a living evolving entity within our community. We are aware technology is changing quickly and it is imperative we stay in tune with the changes and prepare for it. It is important to remember that the Library is not a warehouse for books. It is a place to share information regardless of the format that information is in.
And lastly I believe we must begin the planning stages for a new Library. This is an opportunity to engage our community in what their vision for the Library should be. We have the time to research a Library that will provide the services for the District for the next 100 years. Gratefully we aren’t in a rush and that provides us with the opportunity to make the most of the planning stage for the new facility.
I am proud of the fact that the Library District is one of the taxing Districts that has in fact lowered its levy for the past two years. I as a Board member take very seriously our responsibility to the tax payers and how we spend our tax dollars. So as one of the Board members (we were unanimous) who supported the reduction in the levy I would say yes. There was a great deal of discussion regarding the reduction of the levy. We committed to trying to help the tax payers by doing our part to reduce the property taxes. We have also worked hard to streamline the way we plan and implement our budget. By going to a zero based budget, we have been able to find ways to reduce the spending within the Library. I believe we as a Board focus on spending money wisely. I am very proud of our success. The key to reducing the levy and working on cost control of course is to be able to maintain the services our Library patrons require. I think that is a key point to make. While reducing our levy we were able to maintain our services.
I have to say that as a Board we work well together and through the decision process there is a lot of give and take of ideas and opinions. I can’t honestly think of one decision as a Board that we have made where I feel I disagree with the final decision.
I am very proud of many of the achievements of our Board so to pick one is very difficult. While I believe being able to lower the levy was of extreme importance in light of where we are today economically, I have to say that I feel the signing of the contract to purchase property for a Library of the future was our greatest achievement in the last year. Geneva has a long history of being able to plan for the future even during hard times. Through war as well as economic hardship, Geneva has not just endured but achieved. It has planned for a future community where we are able to provide vital services that contribute to the quality of life for our residents. Geneva is a proud community where we embrace our history as well as make plans to ensure a quality community where families will want to live and grow in the future. Our predecessors used forethought when making decisions that maintained, while still looking forward to ensure that the community of the future was provided for as well. I believe that is the greatest balance that we can hope for. We have faced challenges this community has not had to face in years. We have to survive those challenges and continue to ensure our community will endure. I believe the purchase of property to provide for our future Library is of huge significance for our community and its future.
I believe voters should elect me to office because of my commitment to the Library and the Geneva community. I have established a track record of planning for the future, cooperation with other taxing bodies, fiscal responsibility and leadership of the Library Board. I believe in the atmosphere of teamwork that I have nurtured and encouraged on the Library Board. I believe as the Board President I have lead the Board through challenges with cooperation and communication. I also will continue to listen and take every comment made to me back to our Board from our residents for consideration and deliberation. I hope the voters will recognize my contribution to the community and again support me as a candidate for the Library Board.
The top item on my list would be my over 22 years of being a member of the Geneva Plan Commission. This experience has allowed me to learn how work with government regulations, work with group dynamics and develop an understanding on how to find common ground that will work in the best interest of the involved parties. My attendance record over that period, fewer than 10 absences in over 300 meetings, shows dedication to meet my commitment to our community. One has only to look at the growth since 1990 to understand the amount of work that the Commission has undertaken while I have been privileged to be a member. I have also served on the Board and as President of the Geneva Senior Housing Corporation, a not-for-profit, that worked to bring senior housing to Geneva in the late 80s till early 2000s
My top priorities are to continue learning as much as possible about the district. This includes reviewing past customer surveys and making sure they are relevant to the times; did ebooks exist when customers were last surveyed, finding out what the users need and want, understanding how State mandated requirements impact our district, looking at past board actions and melding together all that information with the financial resources available to the district. Finally I would work with the other Board members to provide the highest level of service to our customers.
The political answer is “of course I support freezing or lowering of taxes not only till housing prices rebound but beyond!”. The realty is that past actions to provide services have consequences that require funding levels to keep up with the increasing cost of providing those services or we have to cut the services. Additionally the math involved with property taxes is convoluted to the point where decreasing housing values guarantee increasing property taxes. I would support looking at user fees schedules to help increase revenue to reduce property tax burdens where that can be implemented.
Having served on many Boards, I understand that information the Board uses to make its decision is usually not the same information that the public sees. Therefore I can not say I disagree with any of the past decisions the Board has made since I was not privy to all the information that Board had. That being said, I would fully support any taxing districts attempt to place full disclosure of information on its website so the public has the same information going into a meeting that the Board has, limited only by items deemed required by the Open Meetings Act to be keep confidential to the Board only.
Rather than speak of the past, I would hope to work with the other Board members and staff to enhance the opportunity for the public to gage what the Board is looking at and how we plan to enhance services. Transparency in access to information is one of my goals. I would hope to do a survey, last done in 2003, prior to the eReaders and other technology advances, to find out what the customers experiences are, along with their expectations. By looking backwards, we can start to work forward with innovative ideas of how the Library can joint venture with others, public or private, to more effectively provide services around what is reported as an inefficient building.
I feel that I have shown a long term commitment to public service in Geneva. The office I seek is unpaid as have been all my previous positions. Since I am fully retired, I have the time to fulfill the obligations for which I am asking the voters to give me. My past history of public services details the highest of ethical standards, personal integrity and my attendance record confirms my commitment to fulfill the duties of the office.
I have been a Member, and the Treasurer (2 years), of the Geneva Public Library District for the last four years.
I have also served our community in a variety of ways over the last 20 years:
Liaison to the Library Interconnected Network (LINC) for Geneva, Member of the City of Geneva Advisory Committee relating to the Anniversary of SPAC, Member of the City of Geneva Smoking Ban Task Force, Member of the City of Geneva Water Rate Review Committee, Past President of the Kane County Bar Association, Board Member of the Kane County Bar Foundation, Member of the Board of the Aurora Family Counseling Service and Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Chairman of the Greater Aurora Chamber of Commerce School/ Business Partnership Program; Republican Precinct Committeeman for Geneva Precinct 3 (2008 to present); Member of General Assembly for the Illinois State Bar Association (2009 to present).
All libraries face a critical challenge in the access to library books as more and more information comes out in electronic formats. Surprisingly, publishers are either limiting, or outright refusing, to allow libraries access to their publications. As citizens increasingly look to libraries for electronic materials, if publishers refuse to sell to libraries, the public libraries viability will be seriously challenged. We need to address this issue head on.
Also, we, as a community, need to continue to evaluate our library’s space. Some community members wish to move the library, others wish to stay in its current downtown historic building. I believe this will continue to be an important dialogue for the board in the next four years and the changes in electronic media will affect this discussion significantly.
I prefer not make absolute statements or pledges. Our library has always “held the line” on expenses while continuing to serve the community. In fact this last year we LOWERED our levy. We will continue to manage the libraries finances in a responsible manner.
Dwelling on past decisions will not serve our community. Our library board has worked well to expand library services while maintaining a balanced budget.
1) Lowering our tax levy while expanding library services! This includes expanding access to electronic resources like e-books and reference materials; 2) Also, just before I assumed the Treasurers position, I advocated for a change in the way our budget was created each year. The changes I initiated challenged assumptions and required that budgets be based actual experience rather than estimates. I also restructured the budget to provide simplicity and clarity in its reports.
I am running for re-election for several reasons, but two issues are most significant. One: I have been blessed with many benefits in my life, one of which is the opportunity to live in the wonderful community of Geneva. As such, I wish to repay that benefit through this service. Libraries have, in my opinion always been a key element to our nations liberty and democracy. By serving, I want to insure the library’s continued viability and relevance in our community. TWO: I offer my experience in governing and finance. Throughout my entire legal career, I have advised local governments on issues relating to good government. I have seen many good and bad decisions and the consequences of those decisions. I bring that diverse knowledge and experience to this Board. In several capacities I have been responsible for the finances of several organizations similar to the Library Board, as such; I also have brought that experience to the Treasurers’ position. I believe we need to balance the need to fulfill our mission and to retain competent professionals, with the tax burden on our residents. I will continue to advocate for lean and transparent budgets.
Having served the patrons of the Geneva Public Library District as an elected Board member since 2005, I offer continuity to the Board as we continue to face many challenges. I believe my personal and professional experiences bring a solid, public and private enterprise perspective to the Board while having gained a true appreciation for the challenges faced by today’s libraries.
Financials – Continue proactive financial management and discipline for the District in an environment of economic uncertainty and increased taxpayer burden.
Planning – Executing a plan of short-term reconfigurations of current space while working with our partner governing bodies and other parties to secure a long-term, downtown solution for a new library.
Technology – Managing technology and its impact on library services and staff.
We (the current Board) were successful in reducing our levy in 2013 without sacrificing staff, resources, or services to our patrons.
Being a current Board member, it is tough for me to criticize what we have done during my tenure. We have solid financials while minimizing the impact on our tax base; we are executing our long-range plans; we have expanded services; and we have a stable, professional staff that continues to provide outstanding service to our patrons. I think we have done a good job.
Making solid progress on a downtown solution to our long-term space needs.
Continuity, dedication, and my record as a Geneva Public Library District elected Board member.
Forty-four year career in active practice of law. Fifteen year membership on Board of Education (St. Charles.) Chairman, Geneva Economic Development Commission. Six years co-facilitator, Geneva Learners/ World Affairs discussion group. Twenty-one year Geneva resident. Regular, frequent user of Geneva Public library services.
Not necessarily in rank order: (1) Help move the District away from the Cetron-property/future building bond referendum oriented strategy for expansion toward a more nearly realistic plan based on actual needs and realistic prospects. Make better use of existing space and existing expansion possibilities. (2) Expand library services to community members who are retired or approaching retirement,starting and pursuing second careers,needing help finding further education opportunities appropriate to their needs and interests,seeking assistance acquiring and perfecting IT skills, and/or those wishing to access library materials relevant to post-retirement pursuits of all kinds. Existing GPLD services are quite weak or non-existent in this area and the present Board has no plans for improvement. (3) Revisualizing the GPLD as a community learning and cultural center sponsoring lectures, film series, travel and book groups that will attract a wider patronage than it does currently. (4) Curtail drastically the practice of conducting business in closed session.
No. The GPLD levy should be raised or lowered or repeated (a) within the limits set by law, (b) pursuat to applicable rate referenda and (c) in line with budgeted needs as determined by the elected Board after holding public hearings and considering recommendations from the staff and from the public. Arbitrary limitations and conditions are unworkable in the real world.
The interrelated decision to focus attention on a hopelessly ill-advised and unrealistic long-term plan for building a new library building on the former Cetron property and in turn entirely to avoid giving productive attention to needs for modernizing and extending library services to underserved members of the community. Public libraries are essential to maintenance of a free and productive society. Yet the system of free public libraries is being stressed by various forces including the Internet.This Board must redirect its focus to the matter of how to make our library more nearly responsive to contemporary needs of the many different elements of the community now and in the near term. Focus on long-term plan that has little or no chance of success at all, much less now or in the immediate future, wastes the resources and human energy needed in order to save the library and make it currently relevant.
The Board had no significant accomplishment during the past year.
The voters should elect me because I have the knowedge, experience, time,energy and vision to redirect the Board’s resources toward making the GPLD a vibrant community learning center regarded by all as an important part of their individual and community lives. I will take great care to ensure than resources are used efficiently to that end and to see to it that the Board functions with much more community input and transparency than it has in the past.
I’ve often worked with groups of people who share common goals, serving on my church board and on many university committees. As part of my research I’ve also planned many facets of experimental facilities at Fermilab.
My family has had a wonderful experience using the library and I want to see the library continue to function for families in Geneva. I will work to keep the library viable as a downtown hub.
The last survey of public opinion about the library services and possible facility expansion occurred in 2003. I’d like to help the board complete a new survey.
I’m also comfortable with changing technology and want to make sure that the library takes advantage of this.
It is the responsibility of any trustee to work to make sure that the levy is enough to support the desired library services. The library has been able to maintain excellent services because the levy has increased to compensate for the decrease in assessment during the housing downturn. As the economy continues to recover, the levy could be frozen or even reduced to support the library’s steady operating costs. However, a clearer picture of future expansion, and its required funding profile, should be presented to the public so the public can decide whether to incur, or how to service, any required future expansion debt.
The most recent decision to prepare to move the library from the core of downtown occurred in 2010, before the ramifications of the housing downturn became apparent. Since the approved land purchase continues to pose problems, the decision should be reexamined in light of the current financial situation in town, with the help of a new public survey.
Maintenance of strong services and introduction of a new speakers series.
I hope to bring a big picture approach to supporting the library in a way that is financially realistic, but that will keep and expand the excellent library services we have.
