Brad Hettich: 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: LisleWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Lisle Village Board Age: 41Family: Daughter, Elizabeth Hettich, Freshman SIU Edwardsville studying Pre-Med. Son, Evan Hettich, 8th Grader Lisle Junior High. Travel soccer player for the Lisle Dragons. Son, Xander, 5th Grade Schiesher Elementary, Lisle. Travel soccer player for the Downers Grove Road Runners. Wife, Cathy Hettich. 8th Grade Language Arts Teacher Troy Community Consolidated School District in Plainfield, where she has been at for over fifteen years.Occupation: President, Commercial Lending X. Bank Consulting Firm and commercial financing company.Education: Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Political Science from Eastern Illinois University, graduated in 1997.Civic involvement: Lisle Rotary Club Member since 2004, Past Club President. Lisle Eyes to the Skies Festival Committee (a festival benefiting charities) Treasurer from 2009 to 2011, Co-Chair in 2015, and Chairman since 2016. Junior Achievement Education Volunteer Lisle Schools from 2006 to 2008. Community Support Services Enterprise Team Member Doggy Daycare Program in 2006. Scarecrow Scramble Committee Board Member from 2005 to 2009. Village of Lisle Ogden Avenue Corridor Commission from February 2009 to March 2010. Village of Lisle Planning Zoning Commissioner from May 2009 to December 2012. Village of Lisle Trustee since December 2012 to Present.Elected offices held: Village of Lisle Trustee since December 2012Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I have been active in many different areas of the community for many years and know what is going on within the Village and what concerns and needs the residents have. I have been involved with the Village since 2009 and have been active in the planning process for the Village, and have a strong understanding of the various issues Lisle faces in bringing in additional businesses to the Village, enhancing the business presence on Ogden Avenue, and in improving downtown. I have been active in promoting new business development within the Village and have supported many new businesses coming to Lisle over the past eight years including Navistar's corporate headquarters, UTI, the new Marquette Development in downtown Lisle, along with many others. My background in working in finance and with various businesses gives me a unique perspective on best business practices and what has worked to make businesses successful, and that has translated to recommendations I can make to Village staff. My experience with finance gives me a sound foundation for strong fundamentals when it comes to finance, debt, and budget management. My experience operating my own company allows we to understand the challenges and bring solutions to the table when working with staff and employees. Lastly, I have been involved in financing development projects for many years, and understand the nuances developers face and can help work with staff and my fellow Trustees to find solutions and bring up concerns for new projects.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.I am a fiscal conservative and never want to see taxes go up, and I see no need to raise sales taxes in the Village of Lisle and would fight any requested sales tax increases within the Village of Lisle or within DuPage County. I also would prefer not to have to raise property taxes. The Village of Lisle has seen the property tax rate fluctuate over the past ten years with changes in property values. During the housing boom property tax rates dropped as home values and assessed values continued to climb. During the economic downturn property tax rates increased as assessed values declined with lower home values. Over the last several years as home values and assessed values have begun to climb again, we have seen the effective tax rate begin to drop again. Unfortunately as a non-home rule community, Lisle has limited means to raise revenues, and certain expenses, such as Police Officer Pensions and other liabilities continue to climb each year. I have voted in favor of increasing the amount of real estate taxes that has gone to the Village slightly each of the last several years to help offset increased pension liability and other costs. The increase has been minimal, and because part of my duty is to be sure the Village has the funds needed to operate, I have voted for these small increases. My hope is we can continue to grow business so that we do not need to raise taxes going forward.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 Lisle Woodridge Fire District is a separate taxing body and is not under the control of the Village of Lisle. With that said, the Fire District has had some issues in the past, but I think the current Board has done a good job of cutting expenses and streamlining services and is putting most of those issues in the past, while continuing to maintain the high level of service the Fire District has always had. As it relates to the Lisle Police Department, I could not be more proud of the Department we have. Under the current leadership at the Department there has been great strides forward. The Police Officer's at the Lisle Police Department have always been great and the service has been excellent. But the current administration has really focused on community policing through reaching out to citizens, community groups, hosting open houses, and other events, and encouraged its officers to get involved. During these challenging times for law enforcement this has really worked to build trust and a bond between Lisle's citizens and the department. I want to see these programs and this attitude continue. I am also always looking for opportunities to improve things for the officers and improve service if we can do things differently and cost effectively. I am not against hiring additional officer's when requested, and believe we have the capacity and flexibility in the budget to do so because senior staff is running the department with fiscal responsibility.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?During the economic downturn there were some pretty significant cuts made to staffing and some services to offset the lower levels of revenues coming in from real estate taxes and sales taxes during that time period. Because of that I do not believe there is a lot of room in the current budget for additional cuts. The service schedules for the replacement or repaving of roads, sidewalks, sewer lines, and other items have already been extended to about the maximum I believe staff, my fellow Trustees, and I are comfortable with, so there really is not room to save money in public works. I would not want to cut anything at the Police Department. I believe they are already managing things with more fiscal responsibility then ever before and getting more from each dollar spent in quality service for our residents. And I do not think there is room to cut existing staffing costs without hurting the services residents get. A decent percentage of the existing Village staff is nearing retirement age, and as some staff retires I think you will see a natural reduction in budgets as younger employees come in at lower salary levels. I would like to see us spend a bit more money on economic development to bring more businesses and tax dollars into the Village, but I want to do so cautiously and in ways we are confident will generate additional revenues for the Village via sales taxes or new property taxes for new buildings.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I want to start a branding and outreach program from Lisle to the citizens by encouraging all aspects of Village Staff from office, public works, police, elected officials, and others to attend local events, get tables at local churches, schools, and other public venues, and have staff reach out to its citizens. I want residents to know what services are offered by the Village and know that it is easy to approach and work with the Village. I also think this is a great way for the Village to get residents signed up for many programs we have such as e-blasts, Code Red (emergency notification service), weather service, etc. We offer many great services within the Village that many residents are not even aware exist and could benefit from, and there are many local non-profits that could help citizens in need. There is also the opportunity to promote economic development and promote shopping in Lisle and using Lisle businesses, which works to keep sales tax revenue within Lisle and helps encourage business growth in Lisle. More often than I would like I run into residents that are disconnected and do not always know what is going on, and I think we need to get more proactive as a Village to reach out to those residents.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?First and foremost, I want to see Lisle stay an independent community and Lisle services to stay in Lisle. There was a recent push to consolidate Lisle into Naperville, and I think that is completely wrong. Lisle has its own unique identity and sense of community, and I believe that is very important to the majority of the residents and businesses that reside in Lisle. Although Naperville is a nice community, I live in Lisle because I love Lisle and I know Lisle is a better community, and I don't want to ever see that change. I want to encourage continued fiscal responsibility and be sure Lisle continues to keep six months of operating reserves in the Bank and operates within budget. I want to encourage additional economic development. Like most communities we have some areas that are somewhat downtrodden and some areas where vacancies are higher, and I want to find ways to attract new businesses and encourage redevelopment of these areas to keep Lisle fresh and vibrant. I want to continue the project of improving Lisle's downtown by encouraging more development and by finishing off a new master plan for downtown. Having a strong downtown is a vibrant part of any community as it serves as a gathering spot for residents and a destination for visitors. Lastly, I want to continue to see community outreach from staff and the Police Department to build strong bonds with our residents.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Ayn Rand for everything she had to overcome and for the unique perspective on life and business she was able to share.What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?To always be honest. Every lie leads to another lie, and you will always get caught. Life is easier when you are honest.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?Honestly, nothing. I have made plenty of mistakes, but I have learned from them all and would not want what I have now to change.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?I loved history. It has helped me always be able to study whatever I am working on looking both in the past and forward.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Work hard, believe in yourself, and trust in others, and there is nothing you cannot accomplish.