Ryan Julian: Candidate profile

BIO

Name: Ryan Julian

City: Village of Barrington

Office sought: Village Trustee

Age (on Election Day): 69

Family: I've been married to Susan, a retired registered nurse, for 42 years. We have 4 adult children, all graduates of Barrington High School and products of the Barrington school system, and a rescue dog named Scout.

Occupation: I retired in 2016 after a 26 year career in telecommunications, working in strategy, planning and finance, and a 10 year career in financial services. I spent most of my career working on developing and introducing new technologies. I am now able to focus on a number of volunteer activities that are very important to me.

Education: I graduated from the University of Illinois with a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and the University of Chicago (Booth School) with an MBA in Finance and Marketing.

Civic involvement: Prior to being elected a Barrington Village Trustee, I served on the Village Zoning Board of Appeals for over 15 years. I have volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America since 1999, including as the former Scoutmaster for the Barrington United Methodist Church troop and current Scoutmaster for the troop at Little City in Palatine. I am a recipient of the Silver Beaver award, one of the highest recognition awards for Boy Scout adult leaders. I have also volunteered for over 20 years as a Special Olympics Event Coordinator, over 5 years as Junior Achievement classroom teacher, as a trained Citizens' Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteer, and as a P.A.D.S. volunteer.

Previous elected offices held: Currently a Barrington Village Trustee.

Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? 2017

Website: BarringtonProud.com

Facebook: Barrington Proud

Twitter: N/A

Issue questions

• What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?

First, we need to continue to responsibly grow businesses, jobs, and activity here in Barrington. With our downtown redevelopment completed, our village has never been more vibrant, with one of the lowest vacancy rates in the region. We will build on this momentum, continuing to drive responsible growth throughout our community. In addition, we will ensure we are driving development in the other three business districts in the village. The key to our effort will be pursuing appropriate and responsible development.

Second, we want to retain the small town feel and sense of community that makes Barrington so special. We want to protect Barrington's rich heritage and enhance our quality of life. One main issue I will address is that we must invest in our infrastructure by reducing congestion and improving walkability for our residents. Our focus will be on completing the Route 14 underpass, ensuring there is one unimpeded route to Good Shepherd Hospital, and installing new sidewalks on Hart Road.

Third, we must carry on the village's tradition of fiscal responsibility that is shared by our village and our residents. We will continue to manage the village's finances responsibly and take a conservative approach to taxing and spending.

• What makes you the best candidate for the job?

No one can fully predict the future. What we need in our civic leaders is someone who can gather the appropriate facts, understand the range of choices, keep the best interests of the village in the forefront, and make the best decisions for the village. I have the experience, understanding, and ability to do just that.

As a resident and homeowner here for 27 years, and a longtime community volunteer, I know Barrington as well as anybody. With over 35 years working in the business community, I know how to gather the relevant facts and make decisions based on facts. As we look at the upcoming challenges and opportunities we face, we need to be open to new ideas and not be satisfied with the status quo. I understand the need to support and improve our residential areas. I understand the need to help our commercial areas deal with the rapidly changing face of retail and the continued rise of the service economy. I understand the importance of effectively working with the other units of government on the county, State, and Federal level.

• Describe your leadership style and explain how you think that will be effective in producing actions and decisions with your village board.

I have a long history of servant leadership. The village government is here to serve the people of the village, and I understand that in my role, I am elected to serve our community. We need to provide our residents excellent service through our police, fire, public works and administrative staff. I see my role as a Trustee to be sure that the village prioritizes the right things, hires the right people, and gives them the resources to do their jobs. When the village administration effectively does its role, the residents of Barrington have a better quality of life.

• 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 must carry on the proud tradition of fiscal responsibility in Barrington. Our guiding principle is that we will not spend money we don't have. As a current Trustee, I know what we go line-by-line through our expenses and closely watching how taxpayer dollars are being spent. As we pursue continued growth, this will allow us to absorb additional costs like pension costs without increasing property taxes. In fact, we have achieved over 44% growth in sales tax revenue since 2011 through full year 2017.

It is this dedication to fiscal responsibility that led to our village's bond rating being increased to the highest level possible for a non-home rule community of our size, and we will maintain this excellent rating.

We must continue to manage the village's finances responsibly and take a conservative approach to taxing and spending. We will continue to be challenged to take on more as a village, but we must resist taking on new obligations without finding the means to pay for them.

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

One area that needs to be addressed for our community is the state's pension program and we need to start looking for ways to get these needs back on track. As our state mandated pension obligations have significantly increased over the past several years, we have had to make tough choices. We have deferred needed improvements for some our streets and sidewalks in our neighborhoods.