Jeff Palmquist: 2025 candidate for Geneva city council ward 5

Bio

Office sought: Geneva City Council Ward 5

City: Geneva

Age: 65

Occupation: Director of planning

Previous offices held: None

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

Geneva is losing population, from a high of 24,223 in 2009, to just over 21,000 in 2024 (a 13% decrease). Geneva High School enrollment has dropped by roughly 60 students each year over the past 6 years. What are the impacts of this demographic trend and an aging population? How do we respond?

One initiative is to provide more affordable housing. However, our response has to be more comprehensive. We need more diversity in our housing. Yes, a greater range of price points and affordability is necessary. Greater housing choice must also include lifestyle considerations.

Many potential younger Geneva adults do not want the costs and maintenance responsibilities of traditional single-family home ownership. Geneva must also provide more options for seniors. Many older Genevans are ready to move from their single-family homes but have no feasible local downsizing option.

In response, Geneva must provide flexibility in zoning. Increases in allowable density should be considered in exchange for more variety. Where applicable, provide incentives such as T.I.F. district assistance to incent creativity and bridge development funding gaps.

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?

Geneva’s financial health is strong, but at a crossroad. Our equalized assessed value continues to rise; the tax rate is now below 5%. The city’s portion of residents’ tax bill is 6.3%. This is noticeably lower than our neighbors in St. Charles and Batavia. This financial health manifests in a high bond rating.

While the city’s financial health is strong, funding for large-scale public safety and facility improvements has not been readily identified through the annual budgeting process.

Therefore, the top spending decision to make in the next few years is determining the best course to address the public safety facility upgrades to the police and fire stations. Options must first include a comprehensive examination of the city’s capital plan to prioritize projects to determine what, if any, planned expenditures can be eliminated or modified to free up funding.

What impacts to residents’ services would result? Based upon extensive experience in municipal capital planning and budgeting, I caution against deviating greatly from facility and infrastructure maintenance/replacement schedules. This shortsighted approach often leads to high costs down the road and potential impacts to public safety.

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?

Geneva has a well-planned, fiscally prudent infrastructure repair and replacement schedule and capital plan. Funding levels, taxpayer burden, infrastructure service and reliability are generally aligned.

Therefore, I agree with the recent city council action to deem public safety facilities as a priority infrastructure project. However, funding for this large-scale investment may not be available from standard annual city revenue while maintaining current levels of infrastructure service delivery.

The council had initiated a process that involved community input to determine what/if any level of tax increase via referendum residents would support.

Before revisiting the process, I endorse exploring the extent to which police station and fire stations plans can be modified or phased to be feasibly constructed at current revenue streams. At the same time, we should exhaust all alternative funding opportunities such as grants that can be applied to this project, or other city projects to free up revenue for public safety investment.

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 city council.

Throughout my professional career, I have facilitated countless resident group meetings, frequently at the neighborhood level. Those meetings built trust and disseminated important information. The outcomes of those meetings often focused on soliciting a group response that influenced policy.

Throughout my hundreds of hours of this grass-roots work, I learned how to lead discussions that are fact based, often requiring much pre-meeting preparation. I learned how to lead groups to prioritize ideas and form consensus. A favorite tool that I apply to group decision making is to provide alternative action scenarios and the pros and cons of each scenario.

My professional experience also includes leading presentations and facilitating discussions at hundreds of board, council, and commissions meetings at a myriad of jurisdictions throughout the Chicago region. The skills and tools I practice at the grass-roots level also apply to these formal settings.

What makes you the best candidate for the job?

I have lived in Geneva for 23 years and in the Fox Valley for most of my life. During my neighborhood walks with our dogs, I am continually stunned by the hometown charm of Geneva. My motivation to run for 5th Ward Alderperson is public service — giving back to this community.

After spending a 40-plus year career in city planning and related fields and in high levels of municipal government, I am ready to take vast professional experience devoted to creating better places throughout the Chicago region and apply that knowledge to help create a better Geneva.

My wife and I have escorted two kindergartners around the corner to Western Avenue School for their first day of school, attended Swedish Days with them, and watched them perform in the marching band at Vikings football games. Both graduated from GHS and went on to thrive in college and in their first jobs postgraduation.

I offer this vested 2½ decades of life experiences in our community coupled with a career’s worth of applicable professional experience. I am the best candidate to make hard, thoughtful decisions that preserve and nurture Geneva’s identity and quality of life.

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

More housing diversity — price and lifestyle choices — will help attract younger adults to invest in Geneva. However, to more broadly appeal to a younger ambitious cohort, let’s create and support an innovation/entrepreneurial hub and incubator center with connections to regional universities. Let’s feed this by capitalizing on the presence of the Metra station.

Ideally, we can site aspects of this within walking distance of the train station and expand upon the market for downtown business.

Our city council policy making in the upcoming decade must balance the challenge of retaining the historic attraction of Geneva for residents and tourists, with the need for a vibrant, economically sustainable and attainable community for new and current populations. Let’s keep our identity refreshed.