Thomas Schwingbeck: Candidate profile
Bio
Name: Thomas F. Schwingbeck Jr.
City: Arlington Heights
Office sought: Village Trustee
Age (on Election Day): 60
Family: Wife Renee and 2 adult sons (Nicholas and Michael)
Occupation: President of RNM & Associates. A Sales, Metallurgical Engineering and Consulting Company.
Education: MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Business. BS in Metallurgical Engineering and BA in German Language and Literature from University of Illinois-Chicago.
Civic involvement: Arlington Heights Zoning Board of Appeals (June 2015-Present). Scoutmaster, Assistant SM and Committee Member of Boy Scout Troop 32 (2006-Present). Numerous Community Service Projects with Troop 32. Assisting the Arlington Heights Memorial Day Parade Committee with Veteran Sign placement. Cubmaster, Den Leader and Treasurer of Cub Scout Pack 129 (2001-2010). Member of Our Saviours Lutheran Church (1994-Present). PADS Volunteer and former Youth Basketball Coach at Our Saviours Lutheran Church. NCH Presidents Circle (2011-Present). Metropolis Performing Arts Supporter/Donor. AHYAA Baseball Manager/Coach (2001-2009).
Previous elected offices held: None
Incumbent? If yes, when were you first elected? N/A
Website: www.tom4ah.com
Facebook: Tom 4 Arlington Heights
Issue questions
What are the most important issues facing your community and how do you intend to address them?
1) The Village is a Service Provider. Our number one concern should be how we continue to provide the services that our residents have come to expect and while providing those services, keep our tax increases as low as possible while being fiscally responsible. 2) Downtown Redevelopment Projects. Review potential projects, look at variances if needed, listen to community feedback and do what is in the best interest of our community and our village. 3) Parking Issues. There has been an extensive study highlighting many potential improvement opportunities. The Department of Planning and Community Development prepared a Phase 1 Parking Improvements Implementation Plan and presented it at a Committee of a Whole meeting which I attended. These improvements to be finalized and decisions made on what will help alleviate problems at a reasonable expense. 4) Water Distribution and Sewers. We have over 250 miles of water mains and about 450 miles of combined stormwater/Sewer and Sewer mains that the village is responsible for operating/maintaining. The challenge from our Public Works and Engineering Department is coordination of projects, people availability and financial resources.
What makes you the best candidate for the job?
I think it is extremely important for a candidate to be prepared and immediately ready to take office if elected. I have been preparing myself for this election since 2015. I was appointed by our Village Board to serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals in 2015. I have gotten to know our Village Manager and many of the Village Directors and Department Heads. I have also been regularly attending Village Board meetings for the past 4 years as I believe it is critical that a candidate understand how the Village works, how decisions are made and the various issues currently facing the Board and Village. While we have a well-informed and capable Village Board, I am confident that my Engineering and Management background and experiences will enhance those capabilities.
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.
With over 30 years of Management/Leadership experience, I believe one of the most important qualities of a good leader is the ability to listen, take in all the information and make a well-informed decision.
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?
I think Arlington Heights is in a good financial position. We have a AA+ Bond Rating, have a balanced budget and have a healthy reserve fund in place that certainly helps us not only with our rating but it also allows us to deal with unforeseen expenses. Our Police and Fire Pension funds are funded at about 75 percent and we are in much better shape than most neighboring communities. As I mentioned in question 1, it is very important to continue to offer our residents the highest level of services possible while minimizing tax increases. In order to continually assure our residents that they will receive these high level services, the Village needs to always be looking for ways of bringing in additional resources beyond those from property taxes.
What's one good idea you have to better the community that no one is talking about yet?
I would like to set up a quarterly coffee meeting at a venue like the AH Library to give residents the opportunity to meet with a Trustee and/or Trustees to ask questions face to face rather than communicating via email. It's important to hear their thoughts and understand their concerns.