Kyle Hohmann: Candidate Profile

Note: Answers provided have not been edited for grammar, misspellings or typos. In some instances, candidate claims that could not be immediately verified have been omitted. Jump to:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: BataviaWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Batavia City Council Ward 3 (4-year Term)Age: 34Family: Married, two childrenOccupation: Sales at Vermeer MidwestEducation: Bachelor of Science in Agriculture Business, Illinois State University, 2001Civic involvement: Board of Directors at Batavia Historical SocietyElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: Candidate did not respond.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Tax Increment Financing Districts: their creation, continuation, and use of capital raised by them.Key Issue 2 Downtown Redevelopment: creating a business friendly environment that protects the integrity and history of downtown while making the process of moving a business into downtown as seamless as possible.Key Issue 3 Fiscal Responsibility: operating within budget while providing the highest quality services to the residents of Batavia as possible.Questions Answers Does the city council spend the right amount ot time and attention on downtown issues? Explain.I do not think there is a lack of attention being paid to the downtown issues, but certain critical issues are not getting enough discussion in the public forum.How should money collected in the city's tax increment financing districts be spent? Is it time to end the TIFs?TIF's by design were created to funnel capital for a short period of time into municipal accounts to cover the expense of infrastructure and facility upgrades around and near the development. They should not become long term sources of revenue for a municipality, starving the greater taxing body of those funds, causing the residents of the municipalities taxes to increase.What is your view of the city's business incentive programs?While there can always be improvements made I think Jason Bajor has done a very good job developing and administering the programs that are in place.Talking with your friends and neighbors, what seems to be their biggest public safety concern? Explain the concern as you see it, and discuss how you think it should be addressed.Given recent events in the nation, most people are concerned with the general safety of our children and families at schools and other public places. Recognizing that there are real dangers in the society we live in and then coming up with practical steps to ensure the safety of the public through training and adequate staffing of our local law enforcement entities will be a good start towards addressing those concerns.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?One of the best things we can do for Batavia as a community to make it better is to simply stop trying to be Geneva or St. Charles. One of the fundamental life lessons we all learn growing up is if you want to find success and happiness just be yourself, and do not strive to be something you are not. There is a perception among many people that we have to change Batavia and make it more like Geneva. I believe Batavia has the richest history in the Fox Valley. Couple that idea with the fact we have the friendliest people and most innovative entrepreneurs and business people, it begs the question why are we trying to be something we are not?