Mundelein mayor hopeful Meier vows to improve communication

Mundelein Village Trustee Robin Meier is one of three candidates running for mayor. Meier has just over four years of experience on the Village Board, and worked 41 years at AT&T, | Photo courtesy of Robin Meier.

Updated: February 22, 2013 9:32AM

MUNDELEIN — Mayoral candidate Robin Meier wants to modernize Mundelein’s political and administrative practices.

Utilizing technology and business strategies, Meier said if elected April 9 she would make the village more economically competitive and more politically fair.

Meier is a sitting trustee whose term expires in 2015. She has lived in Mundelein since 1986 and said four generations of her family called Mundelein home.

“Mundelein has not had the benefit of a strong leader with proven business skills,” Meier said in a prepared statement. “I will use my leadership and technical skills to better Mundelein and improve communication with residents and businesses.”

Current Mayor Kenneth Kessler is not seeking reelection. Meier is competing for the job against one-time Trustee Steve Lentz and long-time police chief and current park board vice president Wally Frasier.

Politically, Meier served one year on Mundelein’s Plan Commission before being appointed to fill Jay Schedler’s trustee seat in October 2008. She was then elected trustee in 2011.

Professionally, Meier continues her 40-year career with AT&T. She is the company’s representative to an organization that identifies problems, develops solutions and explores upgrades in the telecommunications industry.

Meier said Mundelein’s major needs happen to all revolve around communication, and that’s why she decided to run for mayor.

When businesses approach Mundelein, Meier said they do not get responses fast enough and often look elsewhere. Simplifying the permit process and streamlining other operations would save money and reward prospective businesses, she continued.

“I want us to have a reputation for being business-friendly,” Meier said. “If you look at all our neighbors, we’re way behind everyone and you can’t blame that on the economy. We were behind the times when the economy was good.”

Meier plans to use the same strategy everywhere else, mostly by creating a clear chain of command so information flows more efficiently and appropriately throughout the organization.

Having the right people using the right tools with concrete instructions will allow tasks to be completed faster, Meier said.

Installing performance measures would hold top administrators responsible for meeting goals faster, Meier said, while also strengthening communication between executives and the Village Board.

Meier said making the village more transparent would lead to savings, too. She wants a redesigned village website to be loaded with information that anyone anywhere might ever want, all of which presented in a user-friendly and Google-friendly format.

That one-time expense, Meier said, would reduce the number of annual inquiries, especially if the staff would regularly archive information online moving forward. She projects a $119,000 annual savings.

Meier said a new website would also hold elected officials accountable. If elected, she would subscribe the village to a state-of-the-art program called IQM2 Intelligent Meeting Management. The program would make all documents and videos from village meetings, including committee meetings, easily available for viewing and e-blast subscriptions.

In addition, the program would offer residents a forum to voice opinions before or after any meeting. But Meier said her favorite part is the trustee profiles that would document voting records.

Meier said information going to and from the Village Board also needs addressed, adding that some trustees get more information than others.

The village administrator, Meier said, should be the liaison from the staff and the mayor should be the liaison for the trustees. She said all trustees should get the same reports at the same time.

“Things go much more smoothly when everyone is properly organized and comfortable in their roles,” Meier said.

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