advertisement

Don Edmonson: Candidate Profile

Hampshire Village Board

Back to Hampshire Village Board

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: HampshireWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Hampshire Village Board Age: 59Family: Wife - MaileChildren - Tahia, Shaina, Ashley, Kelia, Falon and JonathanOccupation: Finance Executive and Local Business OwnerEducation: BS Accounting Finance - Illinois Wesleyan University - 1979Duke University - Fuqua School of Business - Key Executive Disciplines ProgramCivic involvement: Hampshire Coon Creek Country Days Past President and VolunteerHampshire Lions Club - Past PresidentElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I am a finance and accounting executive with over 30 years of experience. I am very familiar with budgets and the budgeting process and will bring that experience to bear for Hampshire. I have experience in negotiating contracts and have led many projects through to fruition. I am a critical thinker and not afraid to ask questions. I believe my background experience and skill sets will be an asset for Village Trustee in the Village of Hampshire.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.Sales taxes are a use tax and relate directly to consumption. Therefore they are at a level driven by the consumer. I am a believer in use taxes.Property Taxes are an issue - in the aggregate they continue to go up, almost beyond belief. But to be fair, the Village of Hampshire's line item on the property tax bill has not increased that much over recent years leaving little money for needed improvements. The other line items on the property tax bill (ECC, CUSD 300, etc.) represent unknown quantities that definitely have an impact on the people of Hampshire. I would like to see a Village Trustee assigned to each property tax line item entity to attend and review the budgets presented for inclusion in the property tax bill. Sometimes having "eyes on" a process leads to questions, answers and possible reductions in expense which would correlate to lower property tax bills.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?Both departments appear to be fully staffed and have sufficient equipment to perform the functions. I have not been close enough to these departments to have formed an opinion on what, if anything, should be changed. But as with any organization one must be concerned that an atmosphere of complacency and entitlement does not exist within the departments. For those attitudes lead to waste and excess which is something any Village cannot afford.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?Again, I have not been close enough to the process to form an opinion on the level of spending included within the Village budget. Without reviewing the underlying assumptions included in the budget line items I would hesitate to render any opinion. The devil is in the details and that is what needs to be reviewed.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Probably not a new idea but, rather, one that has not seen much action in recent time: Downtown Hampshire Business District development. There has to be a way to promote a sustained increase in retail foot traffic in the downtown business district.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?Zero based budgets. Eyes on Property Tax Line Item Budgets. Accountability to the Public. Responsible growth for the village. Maintain Village service levels to the complete satisfaction of the public.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Bill Gates - he took a great idea and ran with it.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Anything worth doing is worth doing well.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I rarely look backward so it's hard for me to say. But perhaps I would've stayed in the Chicago area and not relocated to Florida.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Mathematics. It is at the very core of my chosen profession.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Always do your best and never give up!