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.orgOffice sought: Naperville City Council Age: 39Family: wife (Kim), daughter (Charlotte)Occupation: Business AttorneyEducation: Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), The University of Iowa; Juris Doctor (JD), DePaul College of Law; Master of Laws (LLM), The John Marshall Law SchoolCivic involvement: City of Naperville Fair Housing Commission (2006-09); City of Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission (2010 to Present); Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors (2014-Present); Naperville Jaycees, Board of Directors (2003-2006, 2008-2010); Naperville Last Fling, Executive Committee (2003-2006); Advisory Committee, KidsMatter (2013-Present); Member, Exchange Club (2013 to Present); Member, West Suburban Irish (2013 to Present).Elected offices held: Naperville Planning and Zoning Commission (2010-Present); Naperville Fair Housing Commission (2006-2009).Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?Given the significant turnover which will take place on our council, my experience sets me apart from other candidates. I have 8 years of experience serving on Naperville city commissions. I am a partner in the Naperville law firm Nyberg Cassioppi and will bring technical expertise and business savvy to our council. Moreover, I have been heavily involved in our Naperville not-for-profit community which plays such a big role in our city. I understand how our municipality works, Ive worked extensively with our city staff and all city departments, and I know our community very well. I'll be ready to serve and contribute immediately upon being elected.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.Both are far too high...especially our real estate taxes. I work with real estate tax bills professionally every day. What we pay in real estate taxes here in Naperville, and around the state, is shocking and significantly more than is paid in neighboring states. Real estate taxes have to be reigned in or seniors and working class will simply be pushed out of our community. Our sales taxes, though in line with comparable cities, are also high and should be reduced as finances allow.Early projections for the fiscal year 2016 budget showed a $12 million deficit. What can the city do to avoid future budget deficits? Where can the city save money or make cuts?Many measures need to be taken. I have 11 ideas and they are listed as follows:(1) protect our local brick and mortar retailers and support legislation that will salvage sales tax revenue lost from on-line sales (2) end pension double-dipping and reign in pension abuse and manipulation (3)consolidate municipal services and partner where possible in shared-cost service agreements with neighboring cities (4) look for efficiencies within our development approval process which could lead to savings on staff time (5) make sure commercial FOIA inquiries pay for all staff time and costs incurred as part of their inquiry (6) eliminate health insurance coverage for part time elected officials (7) consider broadening the scope of SECA dollars to cover budgetary shortfalls (8) make city projects such as electric car charging stations cost neutral to the tax payers (i.e. the user of those services pay enough to fully cover the cost the city incurs by implementing the service) (9) contribute public dollars to developments in narrow circumstances and only when strict criteria and metrics exist which justify such investment (10) increase fees and penalties against bars and patrons that cause public disruption and break laws and (11) increase our real estate tax base through our continued aggressive push to recruit quality businesses and development opportunities.What additional regulations, if any, should the city council impose on bars and liquor license holders to help keep the downtown night life safe? What do you think of the restrictions recently created, such as relating to late-night entry, shot sales, beer sizes, drink specials and security training?I do not believe the new regulations on bars will have significant impact. Our bars have not been equal contributors to late night trouble. The city's prosecutorial arm should be directed entirely at the wrongdoers...i.e. the bars that consistently have problems should be the focal point of this issue. Fines and prosecution of those individuals committing late night trouble should also be strengthened and enforced more assertively. The broad, minimalist changes made will impact everyone...including those businesses operating professionally and individuals behaving peacefully. Such measures hurt local small businesses without achieving any public benefit. I do not support going the direction of outlining laundry lists of operating procedures for the bars to try and follow and for police to monitor. The bars should control their crowd, not over serve, have strong security, and encourage a safe atmosphere. We should not try and dictate their business practices, the bars need to figure out how they get there...if they fail to do so then they should be held accountable. In summary, all attention should be on the bad actors. The ordinance that was passed will achieve little other than to enlarge the size of our local government and bureaucracy in which our local businesses have to contend.What should the city council's role be in bringing businesses to town? Should businesses be allowed to bring in proposals under code names, such as "Project Panda"? What do you think of the decision to approve the SKF development at Warrenville and Freedom roads before informing the public of what the development would be?Naperville definitely should, and does, actively search out economic development opportunities. Bringing in new businesses and growing our existing ones, is our best path to a prosperous financial future. We want a diversified local economy, that is not dependent upon one or two companies or sectors. Successful economic development will be critical to Naperville maintaining its position as a dynamic and leading suburb and AAA bond-rated city. The SKF development was a very unique circumstance and approving future developments in the same manner should not happen without extreme cause. This company will bring up to 200 quality jobs and pump millions of dollars into the local economy. It will be a tremendous asset to the community and to reject it would have been a terrible mistake. Please note, there were public hearings on this development and sworn testimony as to what this project would be was given. The name of the petitioner was not given but there was sworn testimony as to what would occur on the premises. While far from ideal, in this limited scenario, the benefit of the project outweighed the shortcomings of its petition.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?An issue that is of great concern to me is flooding. We have many residents that deal with horrendous flooding problems. I have seen these problems as part of my law practice and while presiding over cases on the Planning and Zoning Commission. Improving our infrastructure to better deal with stormwater detention during heavy rain must be a top priority for our city.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Pope Francis is the leader most inspirational to me. He is a bold, transformational leader on the world stage and whom I greatly admire.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To work hard and be nice to people. You can never have too many friends in life.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I became active in community service later in life than I should have. I would volunteer in my teens if I could do it over.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?History. Knowing the problems, challenges, successes and failures of those before us can make your problems seem small and dreams seem achievable.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Follow your passion. The important things in life cannot be purchased.