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Christine Klein: Candidate Profile

Hampshire Village Board

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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: HampshireWebsite: https://www.facebook.com/christinekleinforvillagehampshiretrustee/Twitter: Candidate did not respond.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christinekleinforvillagehampshiretrustee/Office sought: Hampshire Village Board Age: 46Family: I have been a resident of Hampshire since 1977 and most of my immediate family remains in the local area. We are all very close and family time is a priority to us. Being that I work with my mother and sister everyday as owners of Century 21 New Heritage, we maintain a very strong family bond. My husband and stepson are Jamaican and have recently relocated here for us to plant roots in Hampshire as a family.Occupation: Commercial Real Estate BrokerEducation: Hampshire High School Graduate - 1988Bachelor's Degree - Augustana College -1992Real Estate Brokers License 1994CCIM (candidate) commercial real estate license 2016Civic involvement: Member of Hampshire Chamber of CommercePast President REALTOR Association of the Fox ValleyPast Chairman RPAC committee - REALTOR Association of the Fox ValleyElected offices held: Candidate did not respond.Questions Answers What makes you the best candidate for the job?As a life long resident of the Hampshire area, I am extremely familiar with past and present issues facing the Village. This coupled with my 23 years in the real estate industry allows me to use my education and experience to ensure help shape the future of our Village. Just In the last 12 months, I have brought 5 new businesses into Hampshire through my commercial real estate work. I have attended most of the Village board meetings in the last year, so I am very familiar with current issues the Village is working on and the path the current board is looking to take the Village.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.Property taxes in Hampshire are quite high in my opinion. WIth some strong focus on Economic Development, I think the Village could attract a lot of businesses and industrial companies to the area. There is plenty of opportunity for economic growth with available land space and existing building space that needs to be acted upon now. With this potential growth, this would help offset both property taxes and sales taxes.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?In regard to Hampshire's current police and fire coverage, I feel they do an excellent job with the available resources they have. As always, there is room for improvement and as our Village grows and more residents move into the Village, we need to ensure all our residents receive property police and fire coverage.Where, if anywhere, could the current budget be trimmed, and conversely, are there areas the budget does not give enough money to?I feel our Village does a good job budgeting with the resources they have. As the Village grows (both residential growth and business growth) I think we need to pay close attention to the allocation of the increasing funds available to the Village to make sure they are used for their highest potential with the most benefit to the community.What is one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?One area that I feel needs change is the fact that we do not have a Village Administrator. WIth this vacant position, I think we are lagging behind our surrounding communities in promoting Hampshire to potential businesses looking to relocate, expand or start up. Also, without an Administrator, there is no one to help guide people through the various avenues and processes one must go through to get established in the Village.What other issues, if any, are important to you as a candidate for this office?I have always felt that I want to live in a place where that the residents are proud to call home. A sense of community is very important to me. If there are things that I can help maintain or change to keep that sense of community and have our residents proud of where they live, I am happy to apply my knowledge and experience to do so.Please name one current leader who most inspires you.Condoleezza RiceWhat is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?Growing up in a small town with an entrepreneurial mother, we learned first hand that hardwork, dedication and customer service are the keys to success.If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?I truly feel like I have had an amazing and blessed life. I have been given great opportunities and learned valuable lessons along the way.What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?Math... yes, really Math! It helped with my understanding of how concepts work and all things typically fit together to come up with solutions.If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?Go the extra mile... always!