kathy dodd
wilmette village board
personal statement
Please tell us something about yourself and what would make you an asset as a Village of Wilmette Board Trustee.
My name is Kathy Dodd and I’m excited to be running for re-election to the Village Board of Wilmette. I grew up in the area, graduated from New Trier High School and have lived in Wilmette for over 25 years. I have been married for 27 years to my husband Bob, and we have 2 daughters, Cameron and Stacy.
I graduated from Miami of Ohio with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and received my M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. I worked for over 20 years at a large Global HR Consulting Firm, where I focused primarily on financial and administrative systems and process improvement.
I’m an avid tennis and paddle tennis player and an active parishioner at Saint Joseph and Francis Xavier Church. I also enjoy our beautiful summers at the beach, on our local golf course or riding our tandem bike around town.
I’ve been an active and engaged member of the village board for the past 4 years. I’ve worked to demonstrate a collaborative and thoughtful approach to all board decisions and feel this is the most important attribute any trustee can have. I also believe my extensive consulting experience and process improvement background makes me an ideal candidate to address some of the upcoming board issues.
My name is Kathy Dodd and I’m excited to be running for re-election to the Village Board of Wilmette. I grew up in the area, graduated from New Trier High School and have lived in Wilmette for over 25 years. I have been married for 27 years to my husband Bob, and we have 2 daughters, Cameron and Stacy.
I graduated from Miami of Ohio with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and received my M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. I worked for over 20 years at a large Global HR Consulting Firm, where I focused primarily on financial and administrative systems and process improvement.
I’m an avid tennis and paddle tennis player and an active parishioner at Saint Joseph and Francis Xavier Church. I also enjoy our beautiful summers at the beach, on our local golf course or riding our tandem bike around town.
I’ve been an active and engaged member of the village board for the past 4 years. I’ve worked to demonstrate a collaborative and thoughtful approach to all board decisions and feel this is the most important attribute any trustee can have. I also believe my extensive consulting experience and process improvement background makes me an ideal candidate to address some of the upcoming board issues.
responses to voter guide questions
1. What do you hope to accomplish as a Village Trustee? Please explain why these goals are priorities for you.
I believe a priority of our board should always be to maintain excellence in our core services (such as timely street plowing, reliable garbage and recycling pickup and clean water), be fiscally responsible and ensure our residents’ safety. My priorities in the coming years entail:
Thanks to the diligence of the current board, our village is in a very strong financial position. Moody’s recently reaffirmed our AAA bond rating. Our reserve levels are strong and we continually receive the GFOA Certificate of Excellence for our financial reporting. Looking forward, addressing the challenges of rising pension obligations, declining sales tax revenue (due to increases in online sales) and managing operating expenses are our top financial challenges. I believe we can address this in two ways: fill retail vacancies to increase sales tax revenue and implement operational efficiencies to lower our costs. My 20+ years of experience in business consulting with an expertise in operational effectiveness make me well suited to address this issue. I’m also hopeful that the changes to the allocation of online sales tax to communities could alleviate some of our declining sales tax revenue numbers.
3. Identify successes and/or failures you have seen in the Village’s COVID-19 response, as well as any changes you would like to see while the pandemic continues.
The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most challenging situations I hope our community will ever have to endure. The loss of family and friends, the social isolation, the shutdown of schools, the closing of some of our beloved businesses will leave a mark on our community for years to come. Overall, I feel very positive about our response to the pandemic as our staff has worked tirelessly to mitigate the challenges we all face. At the initial outbreak of the pandemic, we had extra paramedics available if needed to ensure we had ample support to meet the needs of community. We also made the necessary adjustments to provide remote support for all village hall services typically handled in-person. We implemented a Community Caretaker Program designed to provide assistance to our most vulnerable residents, including seniors and residents with a disability, who are unable to leave their home. We were also one of the first communities in our area to establish a grant program, to provide financial assistance to our local businesses in the short term until larger federal grants became available. Our next priority must be to help our residents in the community receive the vaccination. We are working with Cook County and our neighboring communities to create a pilot program allowing local paramedics to give the vaccination. We hope to begin this program in the upcoming weeks, starting initially with school teachers to help keep our schools open. If successful, and approved by Cook County, we will expand this program to more residents in the community.
4. What are your priorities under the Village’s Comprehensive Plan and how will you ensure they are implemented?
Our review of our Village Wide Comprehensive Plan is one of the most important projects in front of the board today. This long term planning tool will help set the framework for what we in our community want Wilmette to be. Involvement from residents and business owners is a critical component of the process to help shape the priorities. Included in this project will be a review of our village center master plan which is one of my top priorities. I hope the village center update will address additional green space opportunities, connectivity of the east and west side of railroad tracks and recommendations on the Metra Parking Lot area. Some additional areas of focus include sustainability goals, housing needs, community diversity and active transportation/multi-modal opportunities. Additionally, looking at our some of other business districts (Linden Square, Ridge Road Corridor and Plaza Del Lago) is necessary as these areas have faced recent challenges.
5. What, if any, are your environmental priorities for the Village and how will you ensure they are implemented?
The village board has taken a proactive approach to environmental issues. We adopted the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ Greenest Region Compact (GRC) which brings communities together to create a more sustainable community. My number one environmental priority would be the creation of a Sustainability Plan that can serve as our model in improving our environment. Some additional initiatives I’d like to see our village consider include:
6. What actions will you prioritize to foster a safe and equitable community as pledged in the Board’s June 4, 2020 Letter to the Community?
I’m incredibly proud of the work I led as part of the Administration Committee to reinvigorate the Housing Commission and the Human Relations Committee (HRC). These 2 commissions will be critical in helping to foster a safe and equitable community where all people feel welcomed. The mission of the HRC is to foster and promote an inclusive community where all racial, ethnic, gender, religious, sexual orientation and cultural backgrounds feel safe and welcomed. The HRC will conduct several community engagement discussions to help us understand the real issues and define some clear solutions. We recently approved the members to both these commissions and the diversity and quality of the residents who volunteered to serve on these commissions is incredible. Another important component of our Administration Committee work was a board diversity statement for all board and commissions stating our goal that all boards are filled with members from diverse backgrounds which includes but is not limited to different races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, ages and socio-economic differences. We’ve already made significant strides in this area with our recent appointments. As chair of the Administration committee, I am committed to being actively engaged in the work of these 2 commissions.
I believe a priority of our board should always be to maintain excellence in our core services (such as timely street plowing, reliable garbage and recycling pickup and clean water), be fiscally responsible and ensure our residents’ safety. My priorities in the coming years entail:
- Continue strong financial management practices that ensures we manage our property tax increases and other fees to residents to keep Wilmette affordable. We also need to be fiscally responsible so we can meet our pension obligations, invest in critical capital improvement projects and address our rising operating costs.
- Remain focused on downtown vibrancy and economic development.
Our vibrant downtown is the envy of many other communities and I personally love the energy in our downtown on a busy Friday night. We need to pursue new retail opportunities in several important business districts like Eden’s Plaza and the Treasure Island space. We’ve recently hired a consultant who specializes in national retail chains to help us move the Eden’s Plaza space forward and I’m excited for their input. - Make prudent infrastructure investments in our roads, sewers and our water plant. Our capital improvement plan is a forward looking plan that helps us budget for upcoming infrastructure needs. Our board needs to continue to make smart and thoughtful decisions to invest in these projects.
- Ensure Wilmette is a Welcoming Community to All! Our board letter to the community on June 4th reinforces the commitment from the board to welcome all members to our community. Our newly formed Housing commission and Human Relations commission will play a critical role in helping us achieve this goal.
- Plan for the Future. We will be creating a new Comprehensive Plan to address the changes in our community over the past 20 years. We are also establishing a Sustainability Plan that emphasizes the growing needs of our society to be more mindful and proactive in managing our environment. I’m also excited about our Master Bike and Active Transportation Plan that connects various places in our community.
Thanks to the diligence of the current board, our village is in a very strong financial position. Moody’s recently reaffirmed our AAA bond rating. Our reserve levels are strong and we continually receive the GFOA Certificate of Excellence for our financial reporting. Looking forward, addressing the challenges of rising pension obligations, declining sales tax revenue (due to increases in online sales) and managing operating expenses are our top financial challenges. I believe we can address this in two ways: fill retail vacancies to increase sales tax revenue and implement operational efficiencies to lower our costs. My 20+ years of experience in business consulting with an expertise in operational effectiveness make me well suited to address this issue. I’m also hopeful that the changes to the allocation of online sales tax to communities could alleviate some of our declining sales tax revenue numbers.
3. Identify successes and/or failures you have seen in the Village’s COVID-19 response, as well as any changes you would like to see while the pandemic continues.
The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most challenging situations I hope our community will ever have to endure. The loss of family and friends, the social isolation, the shutdown of schools, the closing of some of our beloved businesses will leave a mark on our community for years to come. Overall, I feel very positive about our response to the pandemic as our staff has worked tirelessly to mitigate the challenges we all face. At the initial outbreak of the pandemic, we had extra paramedics available if needed to ensure we had ample support to meet the needs of community. We also made the necessary adjustments to provide remote support for all village hall services typically handled in-person. We implemented a Community Caretaker Program designed to provide assistance to our most vulnerable residents, including seniors and residents with a disability, who are unable to leave their home. We were also one of the first communities in our area to establish a grant program, to provide financial assistance to our local businesses in the short term until larger federal grants became available. Our next priority must be to help our residents in the community receive the vaccination. We are working with Cook County and our neighboring communities to create a pilot program allowing local paramedics to give the vaccination. We hope to begin this program in the upcoming weeks, starting initially with school teachers to help keep our schools open. If successful, and approved by Cook County, we will expand this program to more residents in the community.
4. What are your priorities under the Village’s Comprehensive Plan and how will you ensure they are implemented?
Our review of our Village Wide Comprehensive Plan is one of the most important projects in front of the board today. This long term planning tool will help set the framework for what we in our community want Wilmette to be. Involvement from residents and business owners is a critical component of the process to help shape the priorities. Included in this project will be a review of our village center master plan which is one of my top priorities. I hope the village center update will address additional green space opportunities, connectivity of the east and west side of railroad tracks and recommendations on the Metra Parking Lot area. Some additional areas of focus include sustainability goals, housing needs, community diversity and active transportation/multi-modal opportunities. Additionally, looking at our some of other business districts (Linden Square, Ridge Road Corridor and Plaza Del Lago) is necessary as these areas have faced recent challenges.
5. What, if any, are your environmental priorities for the Village and how will you ensure they are implemented?
The village board has taken a proactive approach to environmental issues. We adopted the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus’ Greenest Region Compact (GRC) which brings communities together to create a more sustainable community. My number one environmental priority would be the creation of a Sustainability Plan that can serve as our model in improving our environment. Some additional initiatives I’d like to see our village consider include:
- Increased Recycling, including food waste recycling, particularly for businesses in our community
- Identify additional electric charging stations, especially in future developments like Eden’s Plaza
- Tree preservation, which keeps the beauty of our community but also contributes to sustainability
- Research technology improvements for opportunities
6. What actions will you prioritize to foster a safe and equitable community as pledged in the Board’s June 4, 2020 Letter to the Community?
I’m incredibly proud of the work I led as part of the Administration Committee to reinvigorate the Housing Commission and the Human Relations Committee (HRC). These 2 commissions will be critical in helping to foster a safe and equitable community where all people feel welcomed. The mission of the HRC is to foster and promote an inclusive community where all racial, ethnic, gender, religious, sexual orientation and cultural backgrounds feel safe and welcomed. The HRC will conduct several community engagement discussions to help us understand the real issues and define some clear solutions. We recently approved the members to both these commissions and the diversity and quality of the residents who volunteered to serve on these commissions is incredible. Another important component of our Administration Committee work was a board diversity statement for all board and commissions stating our goal that all boards are filled with members from diverse backgrounds which includes but is not limited to different races, ethnicities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, ages and socio-economic differences. We’ve already made significant strides in this area with our recent appointments. As chair of the Administration committee, I am committed to being actively engaged in the work of these 2 commissions.