Jonathan Sprawka: Candidate profile
Bio
Name: Jonathan Sprawka
City: Lake Zurich
Office sought: Village of Lake Zurich Trustee - 4 Year Term
Age: 38
Family: Wife (Sarah), 2 Daughters (Abby & Kate)
Occupation: Corporate Finance - Large Financial Services Company
Education: BA - Augustana College, Business Administration and Accounting, MBA - Lake Forest Graduate School of Management
Civic involvement: Village of Lake Zurich Trustee - 2009 to present
Previous elected offices held: Village of Lake Zurich Trustee - 2009 to present
Incumbent? Yes, elected 2009
Website: None listed
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LZProgress/
Twitter: None listed
Issue questions
What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?
Comprehensive Planning: in recognition of the changing landscape of the Village and surrounding landscape, the Lake Zurich Progress party will move the Comprehensive Plan update forward at a greatly accelerated pace, in conjunction with the next 5-year strategic plan. Leadership: Together with the village board, I have invested heavily in selecting and securing a strong management team that has successfully executed on our strategic plan, placing Lake Zurich in a much stronger financial and service-oriented culture. Our next term will continue to focus on this strong partnership, while setting strategy and adopting policy that continues addressing the evolving needs of our community - from aging infrastructure, to in-fill development, to diminished sources of funding at the state level.
What makes you the best candidate for the job?
Along with my fellow Lake Zurich Progress running mates, we are not encumbered by individual agendas - we simply want to continue serving the residents and businesses of our entire community. We pledge to continue doing so to the best of our abilities, in the most transparent, accountable and fiscally balanced way possible. This approach has helped move Lake Zurich move forward as a vibrant community offering great community events including Rock the Block, the Farmers Market, Miracle on Main, strong finances with a AAA Bond Rating and recognition of our efforts to maintain and strengthen a transparent environment as a recipient of the Sunshine Award. During my tenure on the board, we have created a new culture of government with higher standards, and more professional, innovative and resident friendly environment.
Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing actions and decisions with your village board or city council.
Over the past 10 years, I have worked collaboratively with my fellow board members, village staff and the community. While we haven't agreed on all matters, I've listened and considered multiple points of view to better inform policy decisions. I believe this approach has been particularly effective as difficult decisions were made to optimize operations, make development decisions and ultimately make the best decision possible with the entire community in mind.
How would you describe the condition of your community's budget, and what are the most important specific actions the town should take to assure providing the level of services people want?
We've worked hard over the past 10 years to place Lake Zurich on a stronger financial base. Operations have been optimized, pension obligations are now properly funded each year and we've partnered with the local businesses and area councils to maintain and strengthen a strong retail and manufacturing base to support our tax base. Over the next 4 years, our mission is consistent - continue to provide an affordable, balanced budget without significantly reducing Village services and with an eye toward maintaining the Village's triple AAA bond rating, in spite of continued unfunded State mandates, the reduction in State revenue and the increase in State fees.
What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?
Our village enjoys an excellent bond rating, AAA. With that comes exceptional borrowing ability, at a relatively low interest rate. While the overall economy has improved, our 20-year Capital Improvement Program has identified severely aged infrastructure that has not had the opportunity to be addressed due to decades of deferral prior to our tenure on the board. We have the opportunity to address and accelerate progress on our most pressing infrastructure needs through exploration of bond issuances - clearly linked to revenue streams that are supported by ongoing revenue streams.