Fox Lake Village Clerk
I am currently serving as Village Clerk and have spent the last year performing the functions of the position. I have the experience, training and certifications required to fill the position to its maximum potential. Additionally, my professional background includes over 15 years in Project Management. Project Management requires attention to detail, timeliness, communication, organization and bearing responsibility; skills which all support the demands required for the office of Village Clerk.
As my primary goal, I feel it is very important to convey the full role and responsibilities of the Village Clerk and ensure our current residents and businesses that, as our community grows toward its full potential, the Clerk’s Office will continue to deliver its exemplary level of service and compliance on behalf of those residents and businesses.
An additional goal is to encourage and increase voter registration. As a Deputy Registrar, I have had the opportunity to register many of our current residents to vote. Being available and in communication with residents has been key in accomplishing this. As Fox Lake grows and new residents join our community, availability and communication will continue to be important.
Although freezing the district’s levy sounds appealing, I do not feel it is the best option. The forecasted dollars received are important to maintaining the services we all expect from our Village. The Village of Fox Lake is well aware of the difficulties facing our community and continually striving to find other sources of revenue such as motor pool contracts and encouraging new businesses. Additionally, I have great confidence in our current Village Board and the staff appointed to oversee our finances.
Although I understand the reason for the decision, discontinuing the Fox Lake Senior Shuttle Service was difficult. I realize this was a necessary and difficult decision by the Board Members and directly related to the condition of the vehicle. I am grateful that the Village of Fox Lake did partnership with Grant Township and is able to continue to provide some services for our Senior Citizens. I look forward to the day when the budget once again allows for this service to be restored.
A big accomplishment this year was the completion, acceptance and integration of the Comprehensive Roadway and Water/Sewer Studies. An accurate view of the current infrastructure is necessary to focus grant funding and budget for the future in the most beneficial way. For the Village of Fox Lake to grow, we must be able to maintain and expand our infrastructure to meet the requirements of residents, businesses and visitors. I believe planning and preparing for the future saves both time and money.
I am currently serving as Village Clerk and have spent the last year performing the functions of the position. I have worked hard to gain the knowledge, experience and certifications necessary to legally ensure the Village of Fox Lake’s compliance with State and County Mandates, to maintain and make available the records as required and to accurately document our Village’s history. Since leaving my professional career in Project Management, I have committed my life to the service of others. I am committed to serving the Village Board and the residents of the Village of Fox Lake by serving as their Village Clerk.
I have held the position secretary for Pack 455 for the past three years, and have the experience of seeing how important having agendas and minutes posted in an expedient time frame. I was also a past member of the Fox Lake Planning Commission which opened up to me the importance of being involved in local government. I have held jobs in businesses as a bookkeeper, and secretarial positions that afforded me experience in computers as well as in bookkeeping/accounting, records management and basic office management. I have dealt with phones and clients for these corporations with professionalism and a positive attitude. This gives me confidence that I can handle the statutory side of the clerk position.
If I was to be elected as Fox Lake’s Village Clerk, my main priority is to make the village government more accessible to the townspeople and encourage attendance of village meetings while educating residents about voter’s registration and the importance of making their voices heard.
Secondly, to circumvent future FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request, I would like to make more information available on the Village’s Web site so the residents can research the information they are requesting themselves and possibly eliminating the need for an official Village request. I would also like to see the Village implement an online FOIA request form. Both of these ideas could in turn save time and money for the village.
Although it a temporary solution, I would be in favor of freezing the tax levy until property values begin to rebound. While I understand that this could reduce revenues for the Village, families and businesses alike have taken the burden of upside down mortgages as well as increased state and federal taxes. However, I believe raising taxes is not the best way to assure people that Fox Lake is a great place to live or work.
I think the one bad decisions Village board did was offering a tax incentive to the Thornton’s gas station that is being built. The developers offered to pay the streetscape construction cost when they first appeared before the board regarding the project in February. Thornton’s then come back AFTER the project was approved and asked for economic incentives. This is the 13th gas station in Fox Lake, and the sixth on Route 12. None of the others received economic incentives when they were built, so it’s subjective for Thornton’s to get incentives.
The Village board has been there to back many socials events in Fox Lake, such as the Illinois Special Olympics’ Polar Plunge, the Mayor’s 5K Challenge and many other great events. These events give the people of Fox Lake a sense of community and additionally give back to the local business by increased revenue.
Fox Lake is a community where the majority of our residents value a small-town atmosphere. Our success as a village depends on our elected officials who always have the best interest of the community at the heart of their decisions, and employees and volunteers from the community working together so that Fox Lake operates efficiently. This is especially important in these economically challenging times. The position of a village clerk is a vital position as he or she has to be responsible, accurate, a good communicator and must adhere to strict deadlines. I believe my employment during the past decade as an office manager and my time volunteering for many local organizations has given me the experience that would allow me to excel as a public servant.
