Park District Candidate Q&A: Scott Meyers

Background :  I am currently serving as a park board commissioner, having been appointed in November 2010 after the of three elected commissioners due to the pension issues. I have a finance and economics degree (cum laude) from the Wharton School of Business, and a law degree (cum laude) from Georgetown University Law Center, where I was awarded a John M. Olin Law and Economics Fellowship. I have been a practicing attorney for 20 years in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, and have been named to Best Lawyers in America, Leading Lawyers, and Illinois Super Lawyers. I have managed multimillion dollar law firms and legal departments, and have advised numerous public and private companies in complex business and litigation matters.  I speak and write frequently on a variety of business and legal topics, and I have been quoted in a number of publications including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Forbes, Fortune, Time, U.S. News & World Report, Business Week, The Washington Post, The Times of London, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and The Financial Times. I have also provided commentary and analysis on Bloomberg Television regarding several significant legal and financial issues.

Highland Park Patch: How long have you lived in Highland Park?

Scott Meyers: I have lived in Highland Park with my wife, Elizabeth, and our son, Evan, since 2003.  Elizabeth is a PTA co-president and room mother at our Highland Park elementary school. Evan is in third grade and working hard as a defenseman for his Falcons hockey team in the playoffs.

HP Patch: What was your first experience with the Park District board?

Meyers: Last year, I was outraged over the pension scandal, so I decided to do something about it. I volunteered to serve as a Park District commissioner and fill one of the recently vacated seats on the board. After a lengthy and thorough evaluation process, my application was ultimately accepted and I was sworn in as a park commissioner in November 2010.

Since then, I have worked closely with the park board and its various committees, and we have accomplished much in a short period of time. We cut taxes by $1.3 million without sacrificing any services or programs. We devised a strategy for reclaiming the funds paid to Messrs. [Ralph] Volpe, [Ken] Swan and [David] Harris, and we retained outside counsel to execute this strategy. 

We are implementing meaningful reforms to prevent further pension spiking. And we made substantial improvements in the process for developing Rosewood Beach, including returning to the community for additional input and facilitating an architectural design competition for the site. 

HP Patch: What do you think the Park District's strongest program or facility is?

Meyers: In terms of financial strength, our recreation programs, including the summer camps, are some of our largest revenue drivers, and also some of our most popular offerings. I am also a strong supporter of our athletic programs and special events, including the Fourth of July celebration, Touch a Truck and the Haunted Hayride.

In terms of facilities, the certainly stands out, as does . Together, these programs and facilities bring our residents together and inspire a unique sense of community that is central to the Highland Park experience.  

HP Patch: What do you think is its weakest?

Meyers: It is important to keep in mind that we are dealing with a Park District that was founded in 1909, and thus has significant issues with infrastructure, facility integrity and physical plant maintenance. Much needs to be repaired or replaced so we can continue to meet the needs of the community.

To accomplish this, the park board is in the process of creating a long-range strategic plan and a related capital budget so we can identify with particularity the nature, scope and magnitude of all such necessary projects, and ensure that we have sufficient resources to fund these improvements out of existing revenues and reserves without burdening the community with unnecessary tax increases.

HP Patch: What do you think makes you best qualified to be a park board commissioner?

Meyers: I respectfully submit that my business and legal background, my actual and ongoing experience as a park board commissioner, and my genuine commitment to the people of Highland Park make me the best candidate for the six-year term of Park District commissioner.

As discussed above, I have been a practicing attorney for 20 years and have significant legal and business experience advising and managing public and private entities in complex matters. Given the nature of my practice, I regularly rely on my finance degree as much as my law degree in helping clients run their businesses and solve problems. This skill set has served me well during my tenure on the park board, where I have had to deal with many of the same issues that I manage every day for my clients.

Also, I am the only candidate running for the six-year term who has any actual experience as a park board commissioner. I volunteered for this position last year because I truly care about our community and believe that I can make a difference.

Since joining the board in November 2010, I have been, and remain, very active and involved in the Park District’s activities, having been elected vice president of the park board, serving on the advisory committees for recreation, lakefront and ice, participating on the board’s finance committee, and working with outside counsel to reclaim the pension funds.

HP Patch: The Park District came under fire from the community last August because of the pension scandal. How do you think the board handled that situation? If you were on the board, what would you have done differently?

Meyers: Last August, the community rightfully demanded accountability from the commissioners who had been involved in approving the payments at issue. I believe that those commissioners missed an opportunity to demonstrate true leadership by immediately addressing the situation and acknowledging that they had made mistakes.

Had I been in that situation, I would have said the following: “We hear your concerns and share your outrage. What happened here was wrong. And it happened on our watch. So it is our responsibility. Although we would like the opportunity to fix the problem and make amends to our constituents, we understand that we have lost the public trust. We are therefore immediately resigning as park board commissioners. Although we leave this position with great regret, we stand ready, willing and able to ensure a seamless transition, and we will help those who take our place to understand what went wrong so they can fix the problem and make sure that it never happens again.”

HP Patch: What can the park board do to ensure something like what happened last summer never happens again?

Meyers: I have been working closely with the park board to develop and implement a series of reforms to make sure that pension spiking never happens again. These reforms include, but are not limited to: (1) prohibitions on compensation increases paid during the final years of employment with the purpose of increasing a participant’s pension; (2) disclosure to the entire park board of the impact of compensation increases on Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) pension contributions; (3) support of statewide reform measures designed to end such abusive practices; and (4) implementation of a written compensation policy that mandates (i) the adoption and publication of a transparent and publicly available annual compensation plan as part of the annual budget; (ii) ongoing compensation plan reviews and employee performance evaluations; (iii) maintenance of individual pay within designated salary ranges; (iv) an absolute prohibition on pension spiking; (v) independent audits to ensure compliance; (vi) limitations on employee use of Park District vehicles; and (vii) substantial restrictions on the use of employment contracts for Park District employees. 

We have also retained outside counsel to assist the park board in reclaiming the funds paid to Messrs. Volpe, Swan and Harris. Not only can this legal action help get our money back, but it also reinforces our message that such practices will not be tolerated.

HP Patch: The Park District is the only governing body to lower its tax levy this year. What do you think of that decision?

Meyers: I am very proud of this decision. I initially proposed a tax reduction and strongly advocated for its adoption. I also voted in favor of the tax reduction, and urged my fellow commissioners to do so as well. And I continue to support our decision to provide tax relief to the people of Highland Park, particularly since we were able to do so without reducing any of the Park District’s services or programs.

HP Patch: What would you like to see happen with Rosewood Beach?

Meyers: First, I would like to see the park board return to the community for additional input on the collective needs and wants for the development of this property. This could be accomplished with both community outreach meetings as well as the formation of an advisory commission for Rosewood Beach.

Second, I would like to see the park board implement an architectural design competition among top firms specializing in these types of projects so the community could compare and review alternative visions for the space.

Third, I would like to see the park board continue to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to stabilize and improve the natural shoreline and beachfront areas.  Working together, we can create an environment at Rosewood Beach that is truly worthy of the site.

HP Patch: What would you like to see happen with the Fort Sheridan preserves?

Meyers: The Fort Sheridan issue is a classic land-use conflict involving stakeholders with competing interests. The residents of Fort Sheridan who want a golf course argue that they were promised one when they purchased their homes. Opponents argue that there is no longer an economic justification for building another golf course in Highland Park, and the community would now be better served by using this property for other purposes.

Although this is unquestionably a significant issue for our community as a whole, it does not directly involve any property that is owned or operated by the Park District of Highland Park. If another course is built, however, this increased competition could indirectly impact the Park District’s golf operations. Though important, the economic impact on the Park District is just one of many issues that need to be evaluated as part of the overall solution to this complex problem.

I would like to see the key stakeholders bring closure to this issue quickly so we can move forward with a solution and stop operating in the face of such substantial uncertainty.

HP Patch: Some candidates for City Council and mayor have suggested consolidating services between the Park District and the city. How can the city and Park District work together? How often do you think they should?

Meyers: The city and the Park District have a strong history of working together on important community projects such as the recreation center, the country club, and the golf learning center.  This relationship is facilitated and enhanced by an ongoing intergovernmental task force of finance directors from all of the local taxing authorities who meet regularly to explore and identify meaningful opportunities to reduce expenses and improve efficiency through collaboration.

In addition, the executive director of the Park District meets frequently with the city manager and the school superintendents from Districts 112 and 113 to collaborate on developing similar synergies and reducing duplicative services. I applaud these existing efforts and strongly encourage these entities to continue working together to ensure that our collective tax dollars are used in an efficient and prudent manner.