Jason Lohmeyer: 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: BarringtonWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Barrington Village Board Age: 44Family: Wife (married 18 years) Daughter (5 years)Occupation: ManagementEducation: BS in Business (Accounting Business Administration) University of Kansas 1992 MBA (Finance) - DePaul University (2006) obtained CPA - Illinois (1999) passed exam on first attemptCivic involvement: Barrington Firefighters Pension Board (5+ years) Journey Care (Hospice) Northbrook Civic FoundationElected offices held: No previous elected government positionsQuestions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?I can provide a reasoned and measured voice to address and guide the on-going business of the Village. This position requires a thoughtful person who listens and takes into consideration all known facts and can weigh short and long-term objectives when reaching a decision. I am a dependable, trustworthy individual who can successfully get the job done, as demonstrated by my professional CPA designation and attainment of Eagle Scout in my youth. My wife and I have a young daughter, and I intend to help ensure the Village continues to be the vibrant and active community it is today, where her experiences can flourish. My background is in business with a financial emphasis. My career path has provided experiences working for small businesses to a Fortune 20 company. This provides a unique set of experiences that I can draw upon when development and business issues arise. I worked at a big 4 audit firm focusing on Health Care, Not for Profit, Venture Capital and their portfolio companies. I also held the Finance Director role of a $10+ billion health care division before moving into a strategic initiative role. The past 5 years, I have served as an appointed member on the Barrington FireFighters Pension Fund. Our 5-person board is responsible for overseeing the investments and determining disability applications. This has provided invaluable experience for the Village Trustee position, enabling me to work with village leadership, staff, critical issues, and process.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.The present level of sales and property tax rates seems appropriate for this community and the level of services the community expects to be provided by the Village. Overall sales tax collection is driven primarily by several car dealerships located in the Village, which provides a significant source of revenue. The Village portion of the overall Sales Tax is 1% and is driven by state statute and outside of Village control as a non-home rule entity. The 2014 budget shows sales tax makes up almost 24% of the total Village revenue, while property taxes are less than 20%. Since property taxes are subject to the Illinois Statute limiting it to the lessor of CPI (Consumer Price Index) or 5%, it provides little flexibility to the Village for changing the current property tax revenue. We do need to ensure we are being as efficient and effective as possible with taxpayers' money. If there are ways to provide relief to property taxpayers, we need to pursue that relief.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 efficiency of the Barrington fire and police can be seen in several key metrics. The Village Fire Department received an improved rating from the Insurance Services Office (ISO) that places our village within the top 1.5 percent of the nation. The rating improved to a 2 (scale 1 to 10 with 1 being the best) from a previous 4 rating when both the Village and Fire Protection Districts were combined. A metric to measure police issues is the number of reported crimes per 1,000 residents. This allows comparisons that remove population change impact. The rate has been below 10 reported crimes per 1,000 residents since 2009 and violent crime rate is even lower at less than 1 per 1,000 residents. This is not a surprising statistic considering the community but it is an important metric to monitor and manage if deviations occur.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?The Village has been making the many tough employment decisions, especially since 2008 when the economic downturn began. There have been decisions made to not replace several positions that became vacant after 2008 primarily in management roles (Deputy Village Manager, Deputy Police Chief, Assistant Director of Public Works, Central Garage Supervisor, part-time Public Service Officer). All of this is outside of the employment reduction associated with the Police and Fire Service intergovernmental agreements (Inverness/Barrington Countryside Fire Protection District). Employee salaries and benefits are approximately 40% of the total budget and an area that requires constant monitoring and scrutiny to ensure residents receive the value paid. Agree with previous decisions to impact management level positions at a greater rate than direct servicing personnel, ensure residents continue to receive maximum value for their money.What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?Barrington is known for its charming and attractive homes, green space, and shopping districts. For owners of vacant commercial properties, I believe an opportunity exists for the village to explore incentives that would encourage landlords to utilize space in more creative ways. One possibility is to create a technology hub using a similar model that Chicago has in the Merchandise Mart, called 1871. Co-working space is offered to entrepreneurs who want to build new companies. The benefit of offering incubators for a variety of industries is that it helps to ensure a pipeline of economic activity in the spaces, resulting in a community's growth. An initiative like this could also tie into Barrington High School's renowned Business Incubator Startup program, the entrepreneurial course where students partner with local business experts. With this example, vacant first-floor properties could maintain their zoning qualification by allowing young entrepreneurs the opportunity to jump start their retail business, while providing office space on the second floor. This could give students the needed platform to demonstrate their skills. And if the business is viable, it would provide the entrepreneurs an opportunity to relocate to vacant space within the village.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I feel it's important to maintain the overall character of our village through thoughtful and appropriate development that sensibly maintains our community's unique look and feel. I want to give back to our community and make a difference for my family, neighbors, and fellow Barrington residents. I will work to continue to make Barrington thrive, while maintaining a balanced budget.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.My father - a passionate learner with a humble leadership style. In business and community, he balances risk-taking and vision to achieve long term goals.What's the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Realized I could learn more from greater listening, and surrounding myself with people who had a variety of experiences and perspectives.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I wish we had moved to Barrington earlier than 7 years ago, as it has been an enriching personal and family experience.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Geography helped me appreciate different cultures, inspired my desire to travel, and helps me to better relate with work colleagues and neighbors.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Find your passion - If you commit to something you believe in, the reward will be worthwhile.