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Fritz Gohl: Candidate Profile

Barrington Hills Village Board (4-year Terms) (Independent)

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:BioKey IssuesQA Bio City: Barrington HillsWebsite: Candidate did not respond.Office sought: Barrington Hills Village Board (4-year Terms)Age: 66Family: Married with two children and three grandchildren.Occupation: Retired BusinessmanEducation: Colorado Alpine College, Colorado Milton College, WisconsinCivic involvement: Barrington Youth Service Board Brookfield Zoo Governing BoardElected offices held: Barrington Hills Village Trustee 2001-presentHave you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime? If yes, please explain: No.Candidate's Key Issues Key Issue 1 Maintaining five acre zoning. This will sustain open space, protecting wildlife habitat, minimizing housing density and protect our surface and well water supply while also protecting our air quality and our property values.Key Issue 2 Maintaining our village border agreements will keep our boundaries from shrinking, our land area intact and keep our zoning laws stronger. This also gives us an improved working relationship with our surrounding communities.Key Issue 3 Budget concerns are very important to the village in these difficult financial times. In total over the last four years we have been under budget and that has been helpful, but we must keep a watchful eye on the horizon to maintain our AAA bond ratingQuestions Answers Is the village taking appropriate steps to maintain its uniqueness in the region, or has such uniqueness become too costly to maintain?Yes, I do feel we are taking the appropriate steps in maintaining our uniqueness. I do not think it is too costly to sustain this very unique community. People move here for the open space and when looking at the cost in the overall budget it is minimal. We have been successful at keeping our uniqueness while having no tax increases during the last four years. In fact, last year we spent less money than the previous yearThe village has debated various forms of regulation in recent years. Is there a general philosophy on regulation that should be applied toward all present and future concerns?My concept for Barrington Hills has been and will be to preserve the past and protect the future. I believe all major regulations should be vigorously reviewed by the Village Board and its committees. I also believe in public meetings so we can have open discussions between the board and residentsWhat is your position on the horse-boarding controversy? Explain.I have lived in this community for sixty years. There has been horse boarding going on even before I moved here. If a person has a horse and does not or cannot keep it on their property, these facilities are a great service to Barrington Hills residentsIn these tight economic times, municipal budgets have to be prioritized. Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?There are only two ways this can work. One is raising more money (taxes) or two cutting spending, because our village is primarily residential and does not have significant income outside of property taxes. Therefore, that leaves our village to tighten its belt, which we have done over the years. There is very little we can tweak. Now we have to look at employee cuts to help trim our future budgetsWhat's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?I would love to see all the village's school age children be able to attend Barrington School District 220. This would make life much easier for all those families who now are in Community Unit School District 300. In the past I have worked on this problem and I would be happy to again try to work with residents to resolve this issue