Josh McBroom: 2023 candidate for Naperville City Council, 4-year term

Bio

Town: Naperville

Age on Election Day: 44

Occupation: Financial advisor

Employer: Edward Jones

Previous offices held: Naperville Park District Commissioner since 2019

Q&A

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

A: I see 2. Public safety and an aging community that is in need of infrastructure repairs and replacements. Our police, first responders, and city capital improvements will be funded by prioritizing business friendly policies in order to maintain and expand our diverse tax base.

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

A: The City of Naperville maintains a AAA bond rating thanks to our vibrant local economy and diverse tax base. However, it's worth noting an alarming budget expansion in recent years.

From 2016-19, the city budget increased by $5.6M, but from 2020-23, it's exploded by $136M.

Some of this is due to COVID spending, but there are also significant infrastructure expenses the city is starting to get hit with.

For example, in 2023, there is over $50M budgeted for water and waste water investment budgeted. I would be looking for the 2024 budget to be cut once this expenditure has been completed.

And I would work with staff moving forward to make sure we are practicing sound long-term financial planning in order to avoid exploding the budget in any given year for projects such as this. At the very minimum, we need to look for spending that could be delayed to offset against these types of expenditures.

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

A: Public safety, infrastructure expenditures, and maintaining excellent city services. These are the areas that ensure the high quality of life Naperville residents expect.

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

A: My job as an elected official is not to tell staff where the cuts should come from, but rather to ask staff where the cuts can come from. These are the types of hard questions residents should expect from their city council.

For example, when a major expenditure such as the 2023 budgeted water and wastewater infrastructure projects needs to be included, your council representatives must be asking what other government spending can be cut or delayed to offset a budget spike such as this.

Q: What do you see as the most important infrastructure project the community 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: See previous answer

Q: Describe your experience working in a group setting to determine policy. What is your style in such a setting to reach agreement and manage local government? Explain how you think that will be effective in producing effective actions and decisions with your city council.

A: Not only do I have many years of nonprofit board experience in Naperville, I'm one of the few candidates running who currently holds elected office.

As a Naperville Park District Commissioner, my style is mutual respect, which is especially important when in policy disagreement with others. And I also believe board members should know each other on a personal level to be most effective in working as a team.

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

A: In my day job, I'm a financial professional working with families and business owners to develop budgets and execute on long-term financial plans. This experience would be an asset to the city.

At the Naperville Park District, I over see a $50M budget and know what the hard questions are that need to be asked related to spending, taxes and budgets.

I understand how good government works through first hand inside experience. I also know many of the city staff on a personal level already, due to my long time community involvement as well as having direct contact with them on community projects that affect both city and park district land.

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

A: Naperville doesn't have a shortage of families who want to move here, for good reason. And I believe most people agree the city should have a focus on affordable housing solutions for seniors and special needs residents. One demographic I think we sometimes might overlook - young professionals.

Naperville families send their kids off to college, and many never come back. We have all the amenities a young professional might desire; train station, restaurants, and entertainment. We just might be lacking in housing solutions for this demographic. This could be an area where city leaders could explore and discuss.