Jeremy Heaberlin
1.) Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I grew up just north of Newton and attended Newton Community Schools from K-12 graduating in 1989. I worked for several local small businesses and have a great appreciation for individuals that are driven to use their talents to start and run a local small business.
After high school I went on to receive an associate’s degree in advertising design. After that I moved to Green Bay and Chicago to work in the sign industry. During this time I kept close with family and friends in Newton and made sure I understood what was happening and driving my home town.
In the past five years while working full time, I also achieved my bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in project management. This along with my experience in project management I feel will help when it comes to understanding the city budget over each department. I believe small business is the heart of our community and what drives the success of our country. I know several people who own businesses in Newton and I get to see first hand the good times and the struggles of the businesses they love. Thank you for all your support and I hope to serve you on the Newton City Council. Remember, taxes are money from your pocket and you should have someone manage your money responsibly.
2.) Why do you want to be a member of Newton city Council?
I have decided to run for city council because I would like to be a voice for Newton residents that don’t feel they have been heard over the years. I also want to provide an opinion from my generation and hope this spurs more young people to get involved in what happens with their city.
3.) What do you see as the most pressing issue or issues facing the city?
I believe that currently budget is the biggest issue. We need to curb our spending and bring it in line with what the current population and tax base is without increasing taxes. I know that everything adjusts for inflation but inflation has stayed steady or stagnant though this recession. As I said in the debate, we do not need to do what the state has done with the 10 percent across the board but rather look at each area of the budget and curb or cut what makes sense. Think about this, when you get laid off or get a pay cut you don’t just cut 10 percent of everything in your household, no you cut what you do not need and stick to the essentials. Everything is cyclical and we will come around again to having a solid base to build upon but for now it will be a struggle. Another issue I have seen is abandoned signs. There are several business that have closed but yet the signs are still up. I heard a story the other day that someone passing through Newton had stayed the night because he saw the sign for the Wrestling Museum just to find out the next morning that it was closed. I know that this is not a dire issue but it is just an example of things that need to be addressed.
4.)The city has a long list of needed equipment. How would you handle this? Forgo purchasing new equipment? Or if you favor purchasing some or all the equipment how would you fund it, by raising taxes, using general fund reserves or floating a bond?
I understand that the city departments do have a long wish list and we need to determine what that exactly is. From what I have seen it looks likes we can extend the life of certain items such as vehicles and focus on items that do not allow the city to function efficiently. I believe one of the items that need to be addressed is the Library roof leak. We have a top notch city library and this leak has been an issue for some time now. I have personally inspected this and it looks like it is actually deteriorating the structure.
5.) What should the city’s role be in the Maytag Bowl project?
This is simple for me, the role of the city regarding the Maytag Bowl is to bring it up to code, clean it up and ensure that it will be used as it was intended to be used for and has always been used for. If we need venue space I would think there would be private investors that would understand this need and develop something other than the Maytag Bowl and this space would be able to accommodate large crowds.
6.) What should the city’s role be in economic development? Do you favor the use of tax increment financing to provide business incentives?
This issue has had some interest as of late with the new budget coming up. NDC was previously a self supporting entity for many years. They used to generate all of their revenue from their members. I think that our Community Development Department does a good job with this and can be supportive to the NDC but I am not sure we should be giving part of our budget to them. As far as Tax Increment Financing I think this program is valuable. The way this is structured it helps bring in business and over time the money gets paid back into the fund to help develop and draw other new businesses. Although this is valuable to new businesses I think we could help promote our existing business as well. I would like to see if there are any ideas that would promote these small businesses and maybe even help them expand. They are our backbone and our future.
