Jake Wyatt

Video

See recent video below of Jake Wyatt talking about the issues.

• Jake Wyatt

On the Record

What experiences do you have that make you a good candidate for office?

Key leadership and management skills I developed as a leader of large organizations (Military Platoon to Brigade level and Corporate Region Manager and VP) combined with starting two small businesses have prepared me to meet the challenges of leading St. Charles. I have a strong background in developing profit plans/budgets in excess of $300 million and a proven track record in executing those plans. I am a graduate of the National War College – Industrial College of the Armed Forces that prepared me to do analysis of our nation’s industrial base and then develop short and long term strategic objectives to ensure our Nation’s war fighting preparedness. I will utilize these same skill sets as Mayor of St. Charles to further enhance St. Charles’ Comprehensive Plan, aggressively work to finish First Street development, structure business districts for East (Charlestown Mall) and West (St. Charles Mall) Corridors, and support the vision and implementation to make Downtown St. Charles a cultural arts center. My “No-Nonsense” Leadership style coupled with ethics and integrity still allows me to focus on the needs of the residents. My ‘Open Door Policy and Mayor’s Forum” will enable residents to express their concerns and ensure they are heard prior to Council votes. As Mayor, “A Promise Made is a Promise Kept”.

What are your top three priorities if elected?

1) Facing the Facts; Fiscal realities of our City’s debt through the misuse of TIF’s to encourage new business or developments. Prime example is our 1st street development – planned completion 2008; deferred because of the economy and 8 years later 2/3’s complete and 1/3 with no alternative plan. It’s time to work with developers to come up with an alternative plan for 1st street. We must re-evaluate and prioritize the “nice to haves & must –haves” to balance budget and pay off future bond debts. 2) Preserving & Enhancing Our Community: Taking a collaborative approach to development & redevelopment; fostering sensible growth in our business community. Example; would prefer expanding a development with 10 smaller businesses with broad & diverse opportunities/tax bases verses going for one big opportunity with limited tax base. 3) A Comprehensive Point of View: Keep an eye on the ‘Big Picture”. Often a decision is made for a short term gain that may not align with our long term strategy/master plan. Will institute a “Mayor’s Forum” to meet with residents, special interest group or business owners prior to each City Council Meeting. I will set aside Mondays as the “Mayor’s Open Door Policy” where any resident, special interest group or business owners will be able to walk in and have 10 minutes with the Mayor. I will continue to have my ”Meet Jake” on Saturdays at the American Legion Post 342

Would you support freezing your taxing district’s levy until housing prices rebound? Why or why not?

Being a property owner and a tax payer I would answer yes for what the city controls (11% of the total property taxes). City Council and City Administration have done a very good job in maintaining the City’s tax rate level for the past several years. Our taxpayers need to understand that there are eight taxing bodies. The percent breakout is as follows: School District 64%, City 11%, Park District 8%, County 5%, Junior College 5%, Library 4%, Forest Preserve 3%, and Township 2%. What is interesting These taxing bodies meet annually. I plan on studying past content and state statues that guide the discussions and decisions made at these meeting. As Mayor I will institute a quarterly meeting with ALL Taxing Bodies and review/discuss all proposed increases and that they are coordinated with in view of the big picture and best interest of the community and residents. All complaints come to City Hall when in fact the City may not have any influence over that taxing body. My goal will to make it a coordinated effort.

What one decision by the city council do you most disagree with and why?

The recent approval of the Lexington TIF was not handled well. Prior to Christmas the Planning Commission met and voted down the Lexington TIF by a vote of 7 no and 2 yes votes. At the first Council meeting in January 2013 a vote was taken with 5 no votes and 5 yes votes and the Mayor voting yes as the tie breaker. I question what took place to have 2 Alderman to change their votes to Yes and what was the rush to get this vote passed. As Mayor I would have withheld my vote and put the Lexington project back into Committee for further discussion with the developer and the citizen’s special interest group that opposed several key aspects of this project. Once all issues heard then I would bring it back before Council for the vote.

What was the biggest accomplishment of the city council in the past year?

I would have to recognize the City Riverside Radium Removal project. The City and Engineering Enterprises Inc. received several awards for a “Job Well Done”. They finished the project early and under budget by $1Million. I mentioned earlier the City has been able to keep the budget year over year flat with not increase. Chris Minick has done an exceptional job in managing the City budget that reflects a positive savings of $288K in 2018 verse a $750k deficit.

Why should voters elect you to office?

I care about St. Charles and want to preserve the history and values of our community. I am the best-qualifies candidate based on my life experiences: I am a retired U.S. Army Colonel. The capstone of my career was working for General Norman Schwarzkopf as Deputy Joint logistics Officer for Desert Storm in support of 33 Coalition Nations. In this position I managed a budget of $57 billion providing material, service and assistance in-kind. I was awarded one our Nation’s highest medals “The Defense Superior Service Medal” for wartime and post war logistics support. I am the recipient of the “Bronze Star” for valor during the Vietnam War. The most memorable moment of the Vietnam War was bring home the last of the POW’s. As an Executive at Sears, I supervised a budget of $300 million and engineered $150 million in saving and cost avoidance. After Sears, I join GENCO Inc. as a VP in-charge 15 distribution centers developing profit plans and negotiating multi-year contracts and leases. I own 2 private businesses, MAC5 Mortgage INC and Wyatt Consulting in Colorado; this gives me firsthand knowledge of the rewards and challenges of small business, with no local conflicts of interest. I have been active and involved with the American Legion, VFW and AMVETS in St. Charles, providing sound financial advice and assistance. I am a long-time resident of St. Charles. My wife Judy and I are both graduates of St. Charles High School. We have three sons and seven grandchildren. I want to ensure we preserve the rich history, beauty and charm of St. Charles and these qualities are worth protecting against challenges that exist in the future and can impact our City’s precious quality of life. When elected I will listen to the citizens, serve them and represent them while maintaining clear communication with an “Open-Door-Policy”. A “Promise Made will be a Promise Kept”.