Jay Murphy: 2023 Candidate for North Barrington Village President

Bio

Town: North Barrington

Age on Election Day: 53

Occupation: Program Manager

Employer: United States Department of Transportation

Previous offices held: Board/Officer Member Non-Profits

Q&A

Q: What do you consider the primary responsibility of the community's "chairman of the board"?

A: The primary responsibility of the Village President is to listen to the needs of the community and respond. The Village President should be courteous, accessible, reasonable, and flexible.

Q: What is the most serious issue your community will face in coming years and how should leaders respond to it?

A: The most serious issue North Barrington faces is our village identity. We are a small community of homeowners with few local businesses. More families are attracted to the greater region, and North Barrington has an opportunity to establish ourselves as THE community focused on quality of life.

Q: How would you describe the state of your community's finances?

A: Community finances have mostly seen shifts in funding to create a favorable appearance. Skipping routine maintenance in one year leads to excessively higher costs in future years. Our road repairs are one example. We should not catch up on projects only in election years.

Q: What should be the three top priorities for spending in your community during the next four years?

A: There are a few areas where the Village of North Barrington should focus. And the good news is, we can access state block grants for funding. We will add a public dock on Honey Lake for quiet community enjoyment. We will expand boardwalks and walking/cycling trails to the businesses in our surrounding communities. We will add a fenced space in Eton Park for off-leash dog play. And we will remove dead and falling trees from our right-of-ways for the safety of our public.

Q: Are there areas of spending that need to be curtailed? If so, what are they?

A: We need a balanced budget. Operating costs must be curtailed. Currently, Village Hall exists for the personal use by only a handful of elected officials. Our community has no access to the Hall for private meetings, club activities, nor even the fundamental right of voting. Since the community pays for the Village Hall facility, we should have access. Otherwise, we would be better to sell the facility and save the operating costs by holding board meetings and administration in a nearby community Village Hall. In addition, all service contracts must be competitively bid to achieve the lowest cost, including contracts for legal services (the bid and proposal process has been my lifetime professional career). We cannot accept favoritism in contracting. Finally, village officials need to stop using community resources to send mailers filled with self-promotion.

Q: What do you see as the most important infrastructure project you must address? Why and how should it be paid for? Conversely, during these uncertain economic times, what project(s) can be put on the back burner?

A: The most important infrastructure project we need to address is dead tree and tree-limb removal from our right-of-ways. A casual drive through many of our neighborhoods reveals massive half-fallen dead trees and limbs that pose a danger to drivers and walkers. In addition, the Village loses power during storms because the dead trees touch the power lines, which is an inconvenience and safety issue to all of us. The Village needs to coordinate with homeowners to remove intrusive trees as well. This activity needs to be budgeted, grants applied for, and ComEd needs to pay for removal activities. This has been ignored too many years and is an imminent safety issue.

Q: What makes you the best candidate for the job?

A: I have 25 years business experience in the aerospace, intelligence, and transit industries. I have three young children ages 10, 8, and 5 in our public schools, and I am a community volunteer. I have enjoyed living in our community for eight years and I am excited to get busy working on our future.

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

A: Grant funds for a public dock on Honey Lake and walking trails will significantly improve the community lifestyle.