Andrew Burke: Candidate Profile

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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:BioQA Bio City: Lake BarringtonWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lake Barrington Village Board Age: 54Family: Wife-Chris Daughters - Caitlin (25), Clare (23)and Molly (21)Occupation: President and CEO, Insight Beverages, Inc.Education: BS Industrial Engineering, Purdue University (1983) MBA Management, Loyola College of Maryland (1992)Civic involvement: Trustee, Village of Lake Barrington (2007-present). Zoning Board of Appeals, Village of Lake Barrington (2005-2007). President of The Estates of Lake Barrington Homeowners' Association (2002-present).Elected offices held: Trustee, Village of Lake Barrington (2007-present) Zoning Board of Appeals, Village of Lake Barrington (2005-2007)Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have 8 years of experience as a Trustee for the Village of Lake Barrington. I have displayed leadership in this position by successfully chairing both the Roads and Infrastructure and Economic Development Committees. In addition, I have served as President of my neighborhood's HOA, which allows me to stay in touch with residents and the issues that are important to them. As President and CEO of a successful mid-market, privately owned business in Lake County, I have proven leadership experience in financial management, strategy deployment and development, team development and building accountability in a results-oriented environment. Additionally, I have demonstrated throughout my two terms as Trustee that I have the skills and acumen to balance the needs of the broader community with those of the individual residents. Residents, staff and colleagues see me as objective, hard-working, fair and passionate when dealing with critical issues affecting my community.What is your opinion of your community's present level of local sales and property taxes? Is the tax just right, too low or too high? Explain.The sales tax in Lake Barrington is very competitive with those of the surrounding communities so that we are able to successfully attract new business to our village. As Chairperson of our Economic Development Committee, it is my goal and responsibility to increase the total tax revenue generated by drawing more tax-paying business to the village. Increasing the total sales tax generation in the village takes the pressure off of having to raise sales or property taxes while allowing the village to continue to provide the best possible services and amenities for our residents, such as police protection, road maintenance, trash removal and the preservation of open spaces.Rate the efficiency of your town's police and fire coverage. Are the departments well prepared for the next decade? What, if anything, should be changed? Do you have specific public safety concerns?The Village of Lake Barrington employs the outstanding services of the Lake County Sheriff and the Barrington-Countryside fire departments. There is tremendous value and efficiency in these arrangements as we receive excellent police and fire services in a very cost-effective manner while minimizing the village staff's direct time and involvement in managing these services.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?The Village of Lake Barrington prides itself on the efficient utilization of staff and funds dedicated to the daily operation of the village. I do not see any immediate opportunities to trim the budget as we are extremely fiscally conservative. One area where I would like to dedicate additional funds would be to road maintenance as this is one of my areas of ongoing concern. Our roads are deteriorating faster than we are replenishing our motor fuel tax and other forms of revenue generation dedicated to roads and infrastructure. This is why I see my work with the Economic Development Committee as critical in the coming years. Increasing sales tax revenue generation will allow the village to better address our future roads and infrastructure needs while keeping the pressure off of property taxes.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I believe that our village does a very good job communicating in a timely and transparent fashion through monthly board meetings,mailings, phone calls, email blasts and social media. With that said, I believe that there is still an opportunity to achieve a higher level of engagement between our residents and our elected officials and staff. To improve communication and collaboration in the community, I plan to propose bringing all the village's neighborhood HOA presidents together with staff and elected officials on a quarterly basis to discuss important issues within the various neighborhoods as well as those of the broader community.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Responsible economic development is my primary focus as a Village Trustee and I am proud of the progress we have made in this area over the past several years. Also of importance to me is improving and protecting the quality of life of our residents by preserving open spaces in the community, improving roads and infrastructure and by providing additional amenities that all our residents can enjoy (such as the Freier Farm).Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis, because of his humility, compassion, intelligence and conviction no matter how unpopular his stand may be with the majority.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Be kind, be humble and help those less fortunate than you.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would spend even more time with family and friends.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math taught me problem solving skills that I use today in all aspects of my life.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Be kind, be humble and help those less fortunate than you.