Jason Lohmeyer: 2023 candidate for Barrington village board

Bio

Town: Barrington

Age on Election Day: 52

Occupation: CFO of a healthcare company

Employer: RMS Lifeline

Previous offices held: Barrington Village Trustee

Q&A

Q: What is the most serious issue your community will face in the coming years and how should the city council or village board respond to it?

A: We must continue to carry on the village's tradition of fiscal responsibility. As trustee, I will continue to help manage the village's finances responsibly and take a conservative approach to taxing and spending. This will be an even more important priority after the community approved 'Home Rule' this past election that provides the village greater flexibility to address our local issues. In an age of online shopping, we must focus on continuing to responsibly grow businesses, jobs, and activity in our village by supporting our local businesses so they can continue to thrive, including looking for potential opportunities to improve our downtown. We also need to further enhance the quality of life for our residents by investing in our infrastructure to reduce congestion and improve walkability, such as the much needed Route 14 underpass.

Q: How would you describe the state of your community's finances?

A: Barrington is in a similar position as most older villages with aging infrastructure and costly replacement options along with all of the normal day-to-day services and expectations. We are currently able to manage the daily services and meet most of the needed community expectations, but we are challenged with supporting all the needs and wanted improvements. Managing those competing priorities to guide the best course from a timing, cost, and critical perspective is the challenge.Thanks to our strong tradition of fiscal responsibility, shared by our village and our residents, our budget remains in great standing. We will continue to take a responsible and conservative approach to our taxing and spending. In our roles, we understand we represent the residents of Barrington and we will continue doing what is in their best interest financially.

Q: What should be the three top priorities for spending in your community during the next four years?

A: Road improvement is a topic that is very visible to the community. Finding opportunities to enhance and accelerate the current road program in a fiscally responsible way, will be a top priority.We need to address our Public Works Department (building and the water treatment plant). They have aged out and needs investment. Our plant dates back to the 1920's with the last major additions occurring in the 1970's. The plant has been very well maintained to extend its life, but we have reached a point where it will need bigger investments. The plans have been created to help start the next phase. The Route 14 underpass is a major project occuring during the next 4 years. This will create the ability to transverse the community regardless of CN train traffic. It will not be a magic fix for all traffic issues but this is an important first step to improving traffic flow in our community while greatly enhancing safety by ensuring emergency vehicles are not delayed by trains.

Q: Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed? If so, what are they?

A: I believe there are always opportunities to reduce spending in certain areas. One of the current areas is telecommunications. We recently approved the installation of microwave technology to allow our public safety, public works, and village to communicate and removed a lot of older analog telecom switches that were very costly. This provides faster connections at a nominal monthly cost and is an example of looking at existing spending and finding a better and less expensive option.

Q: What do you see as the most important infrastructure project the community must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

A: As mentioned previously, the water and treatment plant rank very high in my opinion. These are systems and services that are easily taken for granted, but as we have seen from Michigan to Arizona ability to access water and treat it is imperative for a healthy community. We are looking at an upcoming opportunity to significantly improve the systems that remove iron and minerals from our current water source. This will be a replacement of a 25+ year old system that is at the end of its life, and with new technology and better processes we can potentially create water that is "Lake Michigan quality," which would address much of the feedback I have heard since I moved to the community.

Q: Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your village board or city council.

A: My work in a group setting is to listen to fellow trustees, staff, residents, and business leaders so we can work together to find a solution. I want to hear everyone's opinions, thoughts, and counterpoints so I can ensure I am making a well-rounded, thoughtful decision. This includes doing additional research to fully understand the various perspectives. Instead of just relying on my own research, I want to hear additional facts others bring to the table so we can discuss and reach a solution together. In my role as a trustee, I know I represent the people of Barrington and I want to hear what matters to others before making my own voice heard.

Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?

A: From having served the Village of Barrington in this capacity since 2015 and been a resident since 2008, I have a strong sense of what the residents and my neighbors expect from the Board of Trustees. I will keep advocating on their behalf and making sure their voice is heard. I will continue utilizing my financial acumen and other skills to help guide and support our village's strategic vision to ensure businesses and jobs continue to grow. We will carry on Barrington's tradition of fiscal responsibility and enhance our quality of life.

Q: What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?

A: The use of AI is rapidly expanding and impacting our broader lives. There is an opportunity to find areas and ways to apply it to make our village more efficient and able to identify and respond to issues. A simple example is the ability to spot and communicate potential water usage leaks to users. Leveraging AI to analyze historical normal usage patterns and the current twice daily readings would allow us to improve the notification to users of potential internal issues at their address (broken toilet, valve left on, or pipe burst). This will reduce both unnecessary consumption of water and negative impacts at the specific address.