Michael Schenk: 2025 candidate for Vernon Hills village board

Bio

Office sought: Vernon Hills village board (Vote for 3)

City: Vernon Hills

Age: 51

Occupation: Restaurant franchisee

Previous offices held: Vernon Hills Village Trustee since 2021

What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the village board respond to it?

Maintaining a strong financial position for the village is always the driving factor for the health of our community. The majority of the revenue the village of Vernon Hills relies on is generated from local sales tax, as we do not levy a property tax.

Fiscal responsibility is a requirement, in my opinion, to allow a community to be a great place to live, raise a family, attend great schools and have great services. This should be expected from our residents and I fully understand the accountability that comes with being an elected official.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

We have been able to maintain a AAA Bond rating each year which is very important when it comes to municipal government. We have a very strong financial position year over year with a surplus. This has all been done with mostly sales tax revenue and not levying a property tax on our residents, a much needed relief to our community members.

As a business owner, I know how to be responsible with spending as I can apply this knowledge when I need to vote on fiscal decisions for the village.

Currently, I am very proud we do not have a bloated budget, and the dollars spent go to where it belongs, back into the community.

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project the community must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

Budgeting for capital improvement projects is an extremely important task our staff must take on each year. The job of a trustee is to give staff guidance for these projects. A current example of a recent infrastructure project are the repaving of neighborhood streets. A 5-year project to maintain all of our neighborhoods.

I also am working with staff to improve the pedestrian crosswalks on Fairway Drive near the VHAC to improve safety. We are also working to improve our 911 call center. Vernon Hills is one of the founding villages that is supporting the construction of a consolidated call center for Lake County-Lake Comm. The new call center will allow for faster response times for critical services when a 911 call is placed.

As a current trustee, I also look what can we do as a village to improve our overall community. One example is we added approximately 100 parking spots to the VHAC.

Although we wanted to add more, we had to limit the number of spots in order to keep the cost of the project aligned with our budget to not over extend our finances.

Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach an agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board.

Over the last 4 years as trustee, I’ve been able to respectfully present my point of view to the board over all kinds of issues. I feel confident my arguments are always heard and respected. We have great board members who all add substance to any issue. Maintaining proper meeting decorum has always been a priority at the village. I try to lead by example by showing respect to fellow board members knowing. The mutual respect for each other will always lead to better decisions.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I believe strong leadership qualities are a must. To clarify, being able to spend the time understanding the issues at hand and being able to dig deep to find the best possible outcomes for the community. I have always asked the difficult questions and will keep asking until I am satisfied with the answers given.

A candidate must possess unique qualities when joining a board that sets them apart from other candidates. I’m proud to bring my business mind and insights to the board meeting. I’ve found over the last 4 years as trustee, many of our decisions we make benefit from a business point of view.

I also find my attention to detail will always make a good candidate, because if you look deep enough, you can find the facts that will allow me to make confident decisions.

Finally, you must love your community. I love everything about Vernon Hills, the people, the schools, park district, police department, fire department, library, shopping, restaurants and how Vernon Hills is a great community to raise a family.

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

Giving more opportunity for residents to be heard. Currently, all are welcome to come to public comment, but having other forums would be beneficial. I would like to have semiannual town halls to allow residents to present to the board their ideas to help improve our community.