Liliya Sablukova

I attribute my success to my self-motivation. I've always wanted more, and I wanted to travel more, cook new things, and explore new areas. I just never stopped. I don't like to sit at home and just do nothing. I'm always finding something to do, whether it will be to learn, be curious, maybe improve myself on something, or help others, or whatever it is. I just never stop, just never sit and do nothing. You know, always be active, do something, and grow, personally and professionally.

The best career advice I ever received is to never stop learning. Because the industry evolves, and if you're not learning, if you're not staying on top of everything, you'll be left behind. That's why I always strive to get additional certifications, and I always take classes and attend conferences. I want to stay on the cutting edge. I want to make sure I'm not falling behind. So the best advice will be never stop learning, be curious, keep moving. Otherwise, you'll be left behind. Technology evolves from AI now, and a lot of governments and counties are implementing AI. The moment you stop learning, you'll be left behind.

My advice to young women entering my field is to never stop learning, just keep going, keep moving. The moment you stop learning, you'll be left behind. Technology evolves, and AI is now reshaping how governments operate. I recently went to training where we met with all city mayors and administrators in Fort Myers, and we talked about how AI is reshaping the government, how we operate, how we think, what we do. For example, in Fort Myers, they now install cameras in the front of business vehicles that record the condition of roads and feed into AI software that analyzes and prioritizes which roads need to be repaired. We don't have that implemented yet, so we are behind. My advice will be: explore, be curious, don't stop learning. You know, that way you will be ahead of the game in whatever industry you're at.

The biggest challenge in my field right now is balancing the cash flow with growing costs and demand. Like, a year ago, two years ago, the road repair would cost a certain amount of money, and that's what we would collect on the tax bill, and now it is more. So the challenge is determining what's the priority today. How do we eliminate certain services in order to accomplish others that are more important? Or do we go and increase taxes and collect more from the residents? It's always a balancing act to see the priority projects and the cash flow. For example, mulch will cost half a million dollars to do our area. So the question is, do you want to do it every 16 months instead of once a year? Or instead of twice a year, do you want to do it every 9 months to extend the timeline? We look at things that are not safety-related and see what we can adjust. If we have a pothole, we've got to fix it. We don't want anybody to lose a wheel on their car. If we have a sidewalk that's been lifted by the roots of oak trees, we have to address that because that's a safety issue. Those are priority items. But then we look at what we had in the budget for the nice-to-have items. Residents live here, they expect a certain level of standard, they expect the grass to be cut to a certain level, they expect plant material and mulch. So now, if we overspend on safety items, we have less money for other nice-to-have items. So what do we do now? Do we replace bushes that died because of the drought? Do we keep the mulch? What's the priority? We talk to board members, and they help, but they don't, because they cannot agree on anything. They have different priorities, and sometimes they cannot agree. We say, hey, board members, we're looking for guidance. You are the ones who are setting the policy, we're just implementing it. So what would you prefer? And they go in all kinds of directions.

Family is most important to me, and the support of the family. And at work, what's important for me is that I want people also to grow and learn. When I have the opportunity, I do my best to send my people to conferences and trainings, because I don't want them to be left behind, and I don't want to manage them. I want to grow leaders in my team. Sometimes I grow a leader who wants to go work somewhere else, and it's totally fine with me, because it will be a promotion. And actually, I'm happy about it sometimes, that I put so much time and effort into this person, and they are growing, and they're succeeding, and they're making influences. I'm mentoring them to their success.