Kevin Coyne: 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: NapervilleWebsite: www.coyneforcouncil.orgTwitter: @coyneforcouncilFacebook: Kevin M. CoyneOffice sought: Naperville City Council Age: 41Family: Wife, KimDaughter, CharlotteOccupation: AttorneyEducation: LL.M. Master of Laws, John Marshall Law School; Juris Doctor, DePaul College of Law; Bachelor of Business Administration, University of IowaCivic involvement: Naperville JayceesNaperville Last Fling Naperville Chamber of Commerce Naperville Exchange ClubElected offices held: Naperville City Councilman (2015-Present)Questions Answers What should be the city's role in promoting availability of housing for people of all ages and income levels in Naperville? What should be more important in making decisions about proposed housing developments -- the opinions of neighbors or the housing needs of the community as a whole? Why?I believe our City should give great weight to developments that are affordable for seniors and low income owners and/or renters. It should be a positive for the development under review to offer affordable housing choices to our community. That said, I am against mandating developers to incorporate arbitrary percentages of affordable housing in any particular development. However, I do believe if a developer is able to bring affordable offerings, such a project should be given a positive boost when being considered by Council.Virtually all developments of note in Naperville have had some level of neighborhood opposition. Such development approvals need to be done carefully and with all the likely impacts on a neighborhood being considered. The positive benefits of the development need to be weighed and balanced against any possible detrimental impacts on a neighborhood that might come from that project. Our approval process must be fair for all and mindful of the legal rights of the parties before us. We, as a council, should not go into these discussions as biased either for or against the developer. The merits of the project at issue, not politics, should carry the day.How should the city prepare and pay for major expenses in its public utilities such as water, wastewater and electric service? How can this be done within the current financial principles of passing structurally balanced budgets, reducing debt and increasing reserves? Should those principles remain, or do they need to be changed? Why?I am fully committed to our City's approved financial principles. Debt reduction, improved cash reserves, a structurally balanced budget, and creative cost cutting are all "musts" with respect to the management of our City's finances. The principles approved by our City Council should remain in place.There should be a direct connection between an individual's amount of usage of the utilities and the rates that are being passed through to that person(s) home. The cost of power and water are tied to markets outside the control of council. I believe these costs should be passed through to the users through rates as these utilities are used. We should not expect future generations of Naperville residents to subsidize the utility usage incurred today.We know substantial investment will have to made into the water department in coming years due to federal regulation relative to phosphorus. We should address that very substantial long term capital item now and not wait until it is immediately upon us. I believe the significant outlay that will be required by our City to comply with federal law should be paid in part by debt to the extent that our doing so is done within our approved financial principles. We need to address these long term capital concerns in a manner that does not overwhelm our balance sheet with debt.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?I give our police and fire departments an A+ in terms of their efficiency and performance. Our City has remarkably low crime rates. Clearly our professional police force has had a large hand in keeping crime low in Naperville. Our Fire Department has terrific response times and we have fire houses spaced out well across our City. Both our Fire and Police Departments are progressive and attract top talent. I am confidant that we have the people in place to lead Naperville's Fire and Police Department into the next decade. In terms of changes, and though I am a big supporter of our police and fire personnel, the pension obligations owed to both have created a punishing and unsustainable financial burden. We have rightfully kept pension reform as a top legislative priority and we should continue to do so. Absent such reforms, these pensions will continue to cause severe stress to our budget every year.In terms of safety concerns, I have two main concerns. The first is the heroin and drug epidemic that has plagued communities across our country. The second is the crime in Chicago which is increasingly growing. We are not far from Chicago. At the rate crime is growing there it will be a increasingly difficult task for our police to keep it out of Naperville. Accordingly I believe it is critical that we keep a well staffed, talented, and professional police force in place.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?There is no doubt that in the coming year that our City will have to again cut expenses to balance our budget. I believe we should look to contracting out services more in the future than we do now. Doing so will not only reduce payroll but it will reduce the heavy cost of benefits which go along with having employees. I believe at times we could be less ambitious with our capital projects and clearly certain road projects and other capital items (namely vehicles) should be deferred where possible and especially in lean budget years. Current and retired employee health insurance costs are also an enormous burden for our taxpayers. We need to look to find new ways to lower these costs even if it means new and current employees share a little bit more of the load.I believe we should invest more in technology. We are a large, modern suburb. We should take advantage of any efficiencies to be gained by technology. The City's new ERP system upgrade will dramatically improve our City's efficiency. This program will reduce the need for current levels of administrative staff, will streamline building permits, and should lead to great savings and convenience for our taxpayers over time.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I would like our City to think much bigger with how we use the SECA money that we collect through the Food and Beverage Tax. Right now the SECA funds are distributed to many dozens of groups, and in some cases, in very modest amounts. If the right idea were to come along, I would welcome the idea of using SECA funds to help finance a community capital project that stirred economic development and increased community goodwill.I believe the prospect of using SECA to build a brick and mortar project of cultural and economic development value would be very much in line with the purpose of the fund and would give the taxpayers something far more tangible to point to with respect to the use of their tax dollars.If such a project had public support and appeared to be of significant benefit to Naperville, I would be very open to the concept of using SECA funds in this manner.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?1. East Ogden. The gateway to our community from the East is still not where it needs to be. While aspects of East Ogden have improved (the pole signs are coming down one by one and mall vacancy has also been going down) we still have not landed the marquee businesses there that have come to other parts of the City. We need to continue to work hard to hold the property owners along Ogden to a high standard so that this area is as attractive as possible to new business and customers. East Ogden needs to be aggressively policed to limit nuisances and bad elements that have at times plagued this area in the past. We need to keep the attraction of new business to Ogden as a priority one issue. Many residents that live near East Ogden are unhappy with it. Let's listen to their ideas for making it better too. East Ogden simply has to be improved, both aesthetically and in terms of economic development.2. Real Estate Tax Reduction and Government Consolidation. These two concerns are tied together because, in my opinion, there cannot be meaningful real estate reduction without government consolidation.We should continue our push to share costs and partner with other government entities and eliminate duplicative taxpayer costs wherever possible. We need to follow through on our Council's demonstrated commitment to sharing costs with neighboring townships, cities, and counties wherever possible. This is simply the only way that meaningful tax reduction will occur.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.This lifelong Cub fan has to say that it is a tie between Theo Epstein and Tom Ricketts. A historic win with humility and class.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To work hard and stay humble.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I would travel extensively after college (before kids, career, and a mortgage came into play).What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I always enjoyed social studies. It is important to appreciate our diverse society and differing perspectives. Especially as an elected official.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?If you find a job that you love, then you'll never "work" a day in your life.