Martin Bauer: 2025 candidate for Arlington Heights village board

Bio

Office sought: Arlington Heights village board (Vote for 4)

City: Arlington Heights

Age: 54

Occupation: Actuary and Insurance Executive

Previous offices held: None

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

Currently, the most pressing issue for Arlington Heights is to find the right path forward for some of the bigger development opportunities, with none bigger than Arlington Park. This will require a combination of vision and patience. While the opportunities are significant, so are the risks. Any large development will require a public-private partnership to collaboratively achieve the best possible outcome. However, the village needs to be vigilant and avoid the potential financial downside of large subsidies being spent in the hopes of economic gains that may or may not materialize. As trustee, I would insist on a full range of economic projections, including potential unfavorable “what if” scenarios, along with detailed analyses on traffic, impact on immediate neighbors as well as other parts of the village, etc. It is also important that we find solutions that benefit the entire community rather than benefit one group at the expense of another.

How would you describe the state of your community's finances? What should be the top priorities for spending during the next few years? Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed?

Arlington Heights is a well governed community and its finances are in good shape. That said, over the past 20 years, no line item on residents’ property tax bills has increased more than the portion that goes to the village (despite modest increases in recent years). This means that being careful with managing spending while simultaneously finding ways to grow other revenue sources has to be a key focus for our village.

The top priorities for spending, aside from funding the non-negotiables, i.e., police and fire protection, should be the management of the village’s aging infrastructure. This includes the continuation of the ongoing water main replacement program as well as the lead pipe replacement efforts.

I do not currently see any areas of spending that should be cut back. However, the timing of certain more discretionary expenses such as when to replace aging vehicles within the village fleet will always have to be considered.

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?

As indicated above, keeping our infrastructure in good repair should always be a priority for village spending, because deferring maintenance can be more costly in the long term. One project that stands out in the near term is the ongoing lead service line replacement program which is acknowledged by the village as putting a strain on our infrastructure expenditures (but is mandated under state law). The replacement of the village owned portion of the lead service lines have to paid for with village funds (financed in Arlington Heights’ case with a bond issue). The companion effort of replacing the portion of the lead service line that is owned by the homeowner is currently subject to a cost sharing agreement where homeowners can receive up to $2,500 in public funds. While this is a good incentive to drive participation in the program, the level of this subsidy could be reconsidered if an economic downturn resulted in tighter finances overall.

What economic incentives, if any, should Arlington Heights be willing to offer the Chicago Bears to attract the team's stadium project to Arlington Park? Please explain your reasoning.

The development of Arlington Park has to be a key priority for the next government. Any project of that size will require a positive and constructive cooperation of the owner/developer and the village government. This will almost certainly involve a public-private partnership and some level of incentives, primarily designed to assist with infrastructure needs. However, any viable plan should be clear that the financial risk must sit primarily with the Chicago Bears. In other words, the sharing back of tax revenue generated by the development of Arlington Heights should happen only after the fact and be conditional on clear financial metrics have been met. As a matter of overall fairness, any economic incentive plan should consider potential adverse scenarios such as the development not generating as much revenue as initially projected and fully protect the village’s, its residents’ and its existing business owners’ interests.

If the Bears succeed in developing a new stadium in Chicago instead of Arlington Heights, what type of development would you want to see on the Arlington Park property? How would you see that benefiting the community?

We need to make sure that the Arlington Park property does not sit empty for an extended period of time, but I want us to maintain an open mind about a variety of possible development options rather than insist on a very specific use of this land. I am open to listening to various proposals brought before the village and would support any development that enhances Arlington Heights and the lives of our residents. I could see a mixed-use district that would expand on and complement the existing dining and entertainment options (for as long as it doesn’t compete with other parts of the village, principally downtown), but if the property owner chose to capitalize on the proximity to the highway and the rail line with more commercial development, this would likely also be beneficial in boosting the village’s tax base and therefore present a worthwhile alternative for at least part of the land.

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

I can point to significant experience, both in my professional and personal life. Professionally, I work extensively with the Board of my employer, Wespath, the Benefits and Investments agency of The United Methodist Church, and its committees, and I am a member of various leadership teams. The decisions we make impact the benefits and thus the lives of about 100,000 plan participants and their families.

Personally, I served for many years as treasurer on a local condominium board. During my tenure, we established the most significant capital spending plan in decades which had to address years of deferred maintenance and involved prioritizing various major tasks. This meant that we had to carefully weigh the financial abilities of the owners with the maintenance needs of the aging buildings.

In such settings, it is important to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard and points raised are considered. However, while reaching consensus is the objective, it is important to recognize that it is not necessary for decisions to be unanimous.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

The next Board of Trustees will have to deal with issues of very significant financial implications. I am the only candidate who has the professional training and proven expertise to evaluate options and to deal with and understand complex financial models. I am also the only candidate (aside from incumbent Bertucci) who has closely followed all of the Board’s proceedings over the past 2+ years and am therefore able to be effective on day one.

Lastly, I believe one of the duties of the Board of Trustees is to exercise its oversight responsibility over paid staff. While this should happen in a constructive fashion, it also requires digging into details and asking tough questions. I’m not afraid to do that.

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

Much of the work of the Board of Trustees is routine. What seems to be missing is deeper reflection on the future of the community. There are a lot of changes happening in society. For example, young adults are much less interested in homeownership and are more interested in living in a walkable distance to amenities. This raises key questions such as how the village might want to change and adapt to not only stay relevant but thrive amidst those societal shifts.

At the same time, the way we do business has changed and is likely going to continue to change, with big box retail stores being much less in demand than we thought would forever be the case 20 years ago.

I could therefore imagine embarking on the creation of a strategic plan “Arlington Heights 2050” to determine the vision for our village. This should go well beyond the current process whereby the village determines its strategic objectives every other year. Doing so would serve to bring into focus more clearly what type of investments are needed to move closer to this vision.