Bridget Yule has been the director of Student Center and Programming Services at Syracuse University for 21 years. She was sworn in as village trustee last month. Yule is the mother of Daniel Talbot, a civil engineer for Arcadis of New York, and Emily, a graduate student of speech pathology at Ithaca College. Eagle Observer: What led you to apply for the trustee position?
Bridget Yule: Mike Montero our mayor is also my neighbor. I moved into the neighborhood last January and was welcomed into the neighborhood by Mike and his wife, Jennifer … When Mike had an unexpected vacancy he approached me to see if I would be interested in the position. EO: Why did you decide to become a trustee?
BY: I was new to the neighborhood and got to know our mayor. He approached me after both he and I had several conversations concerning the town and some of the issues the community was facing this fiscal year. He then asked if I would be interested in filling a vacancy on the board until December 2011. I love volunteer work and thought this would be a great time in my life to take advantage of a political position for a small village. EO: Is this your first job in local government?
BY: Yes, it is my first position in local government.
EO: What do you bring to the table?
BY: I bring 31 years of business and higher education experience. I am a native Syracusan born and raised here. Syracuse is my home so I am familiar with Camillus and the area. I lived in a small town, the town of Cazenovia, for 21 years where I was an active member of the community through my volunteer work at St. James Church, Girls Scouts, Pop Warner Football, PTA and various other committees throughout the school system with my children. I am a member of the Junior League of Syracuse, which is an organization of women committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and to improving the community through the effective action and leadership to trained volunteers. I understand how important community life is to a village like Camillus. EO: What are your goals coming in?
BY: Learn the position, support business development, support community issues and concerns to better the village of Camillus. EO: What is the board of trustees currently doing well?
BY: Since I have just come onto the board and have two board meetings under my belt, I think the board is working very hard on community development to bring in new business, address new revenue streams, and most importantly provide a balanced budget for the upcoming fiscal year in light of the loss of sales tax revenue from Onondaga County. EO: What could be done better?
BY: I only have two board meetings under my belt so at this time I will not comment just yet.
EO: Are there aspects of the village of Camillus that, as a trustee, you hope to improve?
BY: I hope to participate in the developing of new businesses that will generate new revenue, improve the look of the village main street through signage, design and diversity. I will work with the mayor not just at the board meetings but outside of these meetings to meet with current and prospective business owners to create a continuous improvement plan for the village. EO: Do you foresee any challenges arising with the job?
BY: I think challenges will be there for the board fiscally as rising health care, retirement and basic services provided to the village increase yearly. EO: And finally, what part of being a village trustee do you look forward to the most?
BY: I look forward to the village monthly board meetings where I get to meet and interact with village residents and business owners. These resident and business owners bring their issues, concerns and new business ideas for board review. I find the information that we receive and discuss as a board interesting, exciting and challenging in these economic times.