St. Charles City Council Ward 5 Candidate Profile: Mike Weller

Mike Weller is running for re-election as Ward 5 city councilman against Nathan Schauf, whose candidate profile can be found . Weller was interviewed in person for this questionnaire. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Age: 53

Family: Married with five children including a son who is 29, a daughter, 26, who is married and has a 3-year-old boy, a son who is 23, a daughter who is 14 and a daughter who is 12

Education: Graduated from South County Technical High School, attended St. Louis Community College, Forest Park and St. Louis Community College, Meramec

Occupation: "I own my own consulting engineering company," Weller said. "I do IT consulting for IBM. I run their data center relocation projects. So, when a large firm wants to go to outsourcing with IBM, I do a lot of the initial planning."

Party affiliation: Neutral

Previous elected offices: Served two terms on the St. Charles City Council

Applicable experience: Chairman of IT committee for city, two terms on St. Charles City Council

CANDIDATE QUESTIONS

What is the primary reason you are running for this office?

Weller has several projects that he has helped start and that he would like to see through to completion, he said. "I’m the chairman of the IT committee, and through that committee I’ve been pushing for a number of years to switch out a full-blown new enterprise system," he said.

The City has chosen the new system and through 2010 has integrated several different departments on the new system. The rest of the system, including financial systems, human resources and payroll are due to go live in midsummer of this year, he said. 
"We'll be fully on a new state-of-the-art, web-based software project," he said. "We won't be finished until the end of 2011." 

What will be your single most important priority if you get elected?

Weller said he focuses on citywide economic development since all of Ward 5, except for Wapelhorst Park, is residential. 

"I have several road projects I'm working on," he said.

Weller said the city is positioned well for the future. "We're focused on economic development citywide," he said. "We're continually growing Fountain Lakes also with a lot of focus on the Streets of St. Charles. I think there's been a lot of road project improvements to support our businesses like Ameristar." 

What sets you apart from the other candidates, if contested?

"I have the experience," he said. "I put in the time. I’m involved in the finance and audit. I understand the city and the audit process. With the Enterprise Management System we'll have full transparency into everything from cash accounts to investment accounts."

"When I look at what's changing here real quick this year, and next year, the advances we've made, we're trying to bring more information to our residents," he said. "I think everybody will see a noticeable difference by the end of the year." 

How long have you lived in St. Charles? 17 years

What's your favorite thing about St. Charles?

"It's a very good residential area," said Weller. "I love the historic downtown Main Street and the parks systems. I can get anywhere in 10 minutes. I like history, from downtown St. Charles, to historic Main Street to the riverfront. It's fortunate to have that as our front door." 

What is the biggest problem in St. Charles?

Weller said tax revenue is the biggest issue as the city relies on real estate taxes. "We're continually growing our retail base," he said. "We've been doing a really good job." Weller said the City has to watch the budget, because the last thing council members want to do is cut services, something they have been able to avoid thus far.