Kari Allen Village Trustee

04/13/2026

Tomorrow at 5:30: Village Municipal Building Public Hearing to discuss the 2026-2027 Budget

04/09/2026

Here is an update on Voss’s! Great news!!!!

04/08/2026

Spring has arrived again and so have our codes sweeps!

Today, the Village took steps to address some of the most serious health and safety concerns at a few properties in our community.

In situations like these, there are limits to what can be done immediately, but when conditions rise to a certain level, action is taken where legally permitted to improve safety and overall conditions.

This is one part of a larger process that also includes ongoing legal action and enforcement through the court system.

We know how frustrating these situations can be, especially for neighbors who live nearby. We share your concerns, and we are working every day to improve our community in responsible and legal ways. In many of these cases we are as frustrated as you are, if not more. Please know that progress is being made, and work will continue as these cases move forward.

Thank you to Mayor Stephens, Codes and Property enforcement officers, our DPW, Water, and Electric employees and Ilion Police for ensuring that our community is cleaner and safer today.

04/06/2026

Gorgeous photos my Sister in law Jodi Allen took in 2018 of Re*****on Arms. Sharing so everyone can enjoy

04/05/2026

03/29/2026

It’s Holy Week so I will keep this post positive and stay away from negativity.

I keep seeing posts about what Ilion “needs to do” to move forward. And while I appreciate the conversation, I do want to clear something up…

Much of what’s being talked about as if it’s “missing” is already happening.

Over the past couple of years, there has been steady, deliberate work happening behind the scenes:

Working directly with the PSC, NYISO, and NYPA on opportunities that could significantly impact our future

Positioning key properties for redevelopment and long-term use

Pursuing funding and making sure projects are aligned and ready when those opportunities come forward

Strengthening the foundation—our infrastructure, services, and financial stability

This work doesn’t always show up in a single post or soundbite. It’s complex, it takes time, and it requires coordination at a level most people don’t see day to day. It’s also not something we run to social media to announce unless it’s something of significance or a milestone crossed that the community should be proud of.

New ideas are always welcome—we should never stop thinking about what’s next. But it’s just as important to recognize the work that’s already in motion and the people who are doing it.

Because moving Ilion forward isn’t about starting from scratch. It’s about continuing the work, building on what’s already underway, and seeing it through the right way.

What I am most bothered by is the assumptions being made that are not correct. Our law firm, the board members, the Mayor, consultants, volunteers and village employees disagree with the intimation that we are all just sitting around just twiddling our thumbs.

We have made great progress on one critical project that has huge implications for our community. We can’t afford to go backwards with a change in administration. Again, this is the main reason I’m running again. Because to be blunt, it’s a job that requires a lot of willpower and patience to stay above the fray and not get sucked into the social media trap.

If anyone wants to talk or interact, I am available anytime

Have a blessed Holy Week and to all of my catholic friends, you are so close to the end of lent. You can do this!!

Respectfully
Kari

03/27/2026

Friday Facts: I want to take a minute to talk about something that’s been coming up more and more lately.

There’s been a lot of information being shared — some of it accurate, some of it not, and some of it only telling part of the story.

The reality is, municipal government is complicated. There are a lot of moving parts, rules, and layers that you don’t always see from the outside. So when something is explained without all of the context, it can sound very convincing… but still not be the full picture.

And I’ll be honest — we’re also in a time where tools like AI can give you quick, confident answers to just about anything. But those answers are only as good as the information that’s put into them. If the question or the details are incomplete or one-sided, the answer will be too.

That’s not anyone’s fault — it’s just how it works. That is why it is absolutely essential that everyone does their due diligence on topics they are not familiar with.

What matters to me is that our residents are getting clear, accurate information. Not pieces of it. Not assumptions. The full picture.

If you ever see something and think, “that doesn’t sound right,” or you just want to understand it better, please ask. I will always do my best to explain things in a way that makes sense and is based on facts and experience.

At the end of the day, this community deserves transparency and honesty — and that’s something I will always stand behind.

“Transparency” isn’t just a buzzword bingo word that gets thrown around because there is an election in June. As far as I know, I’m running unopposed so it’s more about truth and facts than getting elected for another 4 years

Respectfully
Kari

03/24/2026

Part 7 - Where Your Village Tax Dollars Go — And Why the Tax Base Matters

I’ve had a few people ask recently how Village services are funded and how everything ties together financially.

At the most basic level, Village budgets support the services we all rely on every day, like:

• Police and Fire protection
• Road maintenance, paving, and snow removal
• Water and sewer systems
• Code enforcement
• Parks and community spaces
• The day-to-day operations that keep everything running

To support all of this, municipalities rely heavily on a consistent and stable revenue base.

That includes property taxes, but in Ilion, it also includes municipal electric revenue, which plays an important role in helping support the Village overall.

When that revenue changes — whether it’s from business activity, utility usage, or broader economic shifts — it doesn’t just adjust overnight. It has to be carefully managed through budgeting and long-term planning.

At the same time, we’re always working on opportunities that can help strengthen the Village’s financial position moving forward. Those efforts often involve coordination with state agencies as well as sensitive security clearances for potential major planning projects.

A lot of this work happens behind the scenes, but it’s all part of maintaining stability today while planning for the future.

Local government is about balancing both — and making sure we’re doing it responsibly.

As always, I’m happy to help explain how any of this works.

Transparency and understanding benefit everyone.

Respectfully

03/22/2026

My beautiful sister Katie Clark shared this with me today and it gave me chills. She always knows the best way to inspire and motivate me and others. Enjoy! 🇺🇸

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1F1irpyQde/?mibextid=wwXIfr

03/20/2026

My Story ~ The Day I Couldn't Fill a Blank Page: Why I decided to Get involved

I want to tell you something that happened to me in 2012 that I have never really talked about before. I'm putting it here because I think some of you need to hear it, and I keep getting asked why I do this?

Not because it's impressive. Because it's honest.

In 2012, I attended a three-day leadership intensive called Leadership Breakthrough to Change, run by Crux point Consulting. I went in thinking it would be another leadership course. Good content, useful frameworks, some reflection time. I'd done plenty of those. It wasn't that. As a matter of fact, it was anything BUT that!

At some point during the course, we were given a simple exercise. First, we were asked to talk about what we loved about our work — the role, the people, the challenge, the results. I had no hesitation. Not one second of pause. I could talk about that all day. I was good at my job and I knew it.

Then they handed us a blank piece of paper and asked us to write our obituary.

Not our professional obituary. Our OWN obituary.

Who were you? What did your life mean? What would people say about you at the end — not the people in your office, but the people at the funeral?

I could not come up with ONE thing.

Not one thing that I had done outside of being good at my job and a halfway decent widowed parent.

I sat there staring at that blank page and it was pathetic.
That was the word I used then. That is still the word I use now.

I want you to understand the context. I wasn't in an easy season of life when I walked into that room. I had lost my mother. I had lost both grandparents. I was widowed, raising my son, and was struggling through a second marriage. I had poured everything into work because work was the one place I felt competent. In control. Valued. When everything else hurt, work was where I could breathe.

And in doing that — in surviving the way I needed to survive — I had quietly let work become my entire identity. Not because I was a bad person. Because I was a human being doing what human beings do when life is too hard: I leaned into what worked.

But that blank page didn't lie.

Here's what I decided in that moment: I was done making excuses for myself. I had done myself and my team a disservice by enabling mediocrity — including my own. Not professionally. Personally. And from that day forward, I was committed to changing that.

What Changed After 2012

I didn't just feel bad about the blank page. I did something about it. That's the part that matters.

I started spending more time with my family — genuinely present, not just physically there. I got involved in my community in ways that had nothing to do with quotas or revenue. I started to volunteer. I joined the Elks, the Knights, the MCL. I sat on boards and local committees & commissions. I wrote grants for Parks & Rec. I tried to make a difference in places that would never show up on a performance review. Then eventually, I ran for office and became a trustee/Deputy Mayor.

And I kept excelling at work. Not instead of those things — alongside them.

My son grew up. He has children of his own now. I have an amazing job that doesn't feel like a job and where I am respected and appreciated. The blank page eventually has things on it.

The course didn't give me those things.
It just forced me to be honest about what was missing.
That honesty was the breakthrough

So when I ask you to get involved, volunteer, step up and help others, I am not just asking for the benefit of our community, I am asking for the benefit it will give you

Respectfully,
Kari Allen

03/19/2026

Part 6 - Codes Enforcement, Problem Properties, and What Happens Behind the Scenes

Following the Mayor’s post outlining the work completed over the past several years, I wanted to take a moment to highlight one area that residents often ask about — codes enforcement and problem properties.

This is an issue that impacts neighborhoods directly, and it is something I have personally spent a significant amount of time working on over the past few years. It was part of our original election campaign and one we make sure we live up to as much as legally possible.

Many residents are familiar with properties that appear vacant, neglected, or in poor condition. These are often referred to as “zombie properties,” and they can be frustrating for neighbors. I heard a term this week that struck me as ironic “NIMBY” because we all see the issues, we don’t like what we see, and yet these issues are one of the most common problems in our society today. (NIMBY stands for Not In My Back Yard)

What is not always visible is the process required to address these properties properly and legally.

Code enforcement involves:

• Inspections and documentation
• Identifying and locating property owners
• Issuing formal notices and compliance timelines
• Court proceedings when violations are not corrected
• Coordination with attorneys, financial institutions, or estates

In many cases, action is already underway even if it is not immediately visible to the public.

For example, just this week, the Village brought two of our more egregious properties back to court. The property owners did not appear — for the second time — which unfortunately adds additional time to the legal process required to resolve these situations.

This is one example of why these cases can take time, even when the Village is actively working to address them.

Over the past several years, we have also taken steps to strengthen our approach to code enforcement, including:

• Updating and strengthening property maintenance laws
• Increasing penalties and fees for violations
• Implementing a structured building inspection program
• Creating new local laws to address emerging issues, including smoke shops and va**ng establishments

These changes did not happen overnight. They required months of research, drafting, and coordination to ensure they were legally sound and effective.

Addressing problem properties is a priority — but it must be done carefully, legally, and responsibly to ensure lasting results.

I understand the frustration when progress is not immediately visible, and I will continue to share information to help residents better understand how these processes work behind the scenes.

Trustee Dan Sheffield made a comment a few months ago that has stayed with me “There are not enough people left who care, and the people who cared, left” I don’t think he’s too far off base. But it’s not too late to get that pride in our community back. Get involved, ask what you can do, volunteer.

It takes a Village

Transparency and understanding benefit everyone.

Respectfully,
Kari