Kevin Burns: 2025 candidate for Geneva mayor

Bio

Office Sought: Geneva mayor

City: Geneva

Age: 60

Occupation: Communications, development & advocacy

Previous offices held: Geneva Library Board Trustee, Geneva Alderperson 1st Ward (1997-2001), Geneva Mayor (2001-Present)

Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? Also, what makes you the best candidate for the position?

To protect, preserve and promote the city of Geneva's success in the six core areas that the citizens and businesses owners have determined essential in the 2030 strategic plan — Strong Governance, Informed & Engaged Citizenry, Purposeful Development & Economic Vitality, Safe, Active & Welcoming Community, Environmental Stewardship, Quality Infrastructure & City Services.

My fidelity to the 2030 strategic plan — developed by nearly 2,000 citizens and business owners and cultivated by diverse and dedicated members of the strategic plan advisory committee — reflects the unanimous vote of the city council in September 2024. Our collective pledge to follow the plan as our “GPS coordinates” and help steward the policies and programs that enrich Geneva is paramount.

We can't risk demolishing all that has been built by our residents, business owners, countless volunteers, business associations, not-for-profit organizations, our schools, library, park district and township by handing over the future to someone who has never invested time to participate in the work of community building.

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

Our budgeting process addresses key issues by investing dollars to address them within the framework of the approved strategic plans. Such issues are given full attention in the spirit of resource allocation including human, capital and financial.

The most pressing issues identified in the 2030 strategic plan include — enhancing our aging infrastructure, increasing our renewable energy portfolio, advancing facilities that serve our professional staff and community, public safety and the laser-like focus on providing information in an easily accessible and understandable format so all Geneva stakeholders can be informed and inspired to participate in the process of cultivating our community's promise.

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?

Excellent. The city of Geneva continues to receive accolades for not only its superb financial status but also its transparency on such matters as budgeting, sharing of information in an easily accessible format and exceptional transparency on all expenditures made (all bills paid are posted online for everyone to see) from such respected organizations as the Government Finance Officers (GFOA) — a nonpartisan organization dedicated to financial accountability and reporting.

The city has $0 debt in its general fund, earned an Aa1 bond rating (the highest rating for a non-home rule community), developed a healthy and respectable financial reserve (a.k.a “rainy day fund”), and just approved the FY2026 property tax rate in 44 years at .477 (less than 5% of a property owners tax payment).

Geneva is a lean organization that prides itself on making investments that serve our strategic plans, achieves sound return-on investments in all we do and continuously seek feedback from all our stakeholders.

The city’s annual budget is a planning document, it’s not carved in stone. Anyone, at any time, can make suggestions to amend the budget and those suggestions are rightly debated.

What do you see as the most important infrastructure project you 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 stated earlier, our infrastructure needs are many — the aging utility pipes nobody sees, the facilities that require modernization and the general upkeep of capital goods such as vehicles and equipment essential to carrying out our city services. We invest necessary monies to ensure we are “staying ahead of the curve” in terms of capital improvements but and when it comes to public facilities' we know that the Geneva stakeholders' financial commitment will be required to address such large investments over time.

The definition of “back burner” is subjective, some investments are ongoing and will require time to reap the benefits, others we know for a fact cannot be delayed — equipment to advance the essential duties of professional staff (i.e. police, fire, public works, etc.) — yet realize that the horizon for more significant investments such as facilities that better serve our team and our community require careful planning within the context of the broader economic environment.

Describe your leadership style and explain how you think it will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your city council.

Accessible, responsive and collaborative. Recognizing that every policy, program and expenditure approved the city of Geneva requires — at minimum — a majority of the council to approve, my role is to help cultivate an environment where every topic is debated fully by every position being considered in earnest.

Providing information in a factual way — by subject matter experts we have on staff — is the cornerstone of good discussion, debate and decision making. Each agenda is built to advance the core principles of the adopted strategic plan and never created to advance a personal or political agenda.

My duties as mayor are unmistakable, work alongside the city council, city administrator and department directors to advance the strategic plan’s core principles (and multiple goals and objectives) by helping set the agendas for the city council discussion and decision making and to facilitate those public discussions so every voice is heard.

My authentic involvement in the community has shaped my leadership style — during public meetings and more intimate settings — by approaching each issue, large and small, with an open mind and collaborative spirit.

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

1. Building off the successful — and highly regarded by participants — Police Academy program we established (where residents can learn everything there is to know about policing in Geneva), I'm inspired to broaden the opportunities and will work to develop a fire department, public works, and city council academy designed to achieve intimate knowledge of how the respective departments operate and the city council conducts its affairs as policymakers.

2. Developing a “Ward Crosswalk Art Program” whereby each Alderperson works with their ward residents to identify crosswalks in their respective neighborhoods and invite residents to help design and create “crosswalk art” that reflects the spirit of the neighborhood.

3. Building on the success of the public art throughout Geneva, work with volunteers from the art community, local artists, private and public land/building owners and create areas for the display of their creations including paintings, murals, sculptures and the like.