peter barrow
wilmette village board
personal statement
Please tell us something about yourself and what would make you an asset as a Village of Wilmette Board Trustee.
I've served on the Village Board since 2019 and prior to that, on our Plan and Transportation Commissions for a total of ten years. We’ve lived in Wilmette for almost four decades and our three children all attended the District 39 schools and New Trier. Three of our grandchildren live and go to school in Wilmette (Harper and the Wilmette Community Nursery School) and one daughter is a special ed teacher at Romona. Besides my Village service, I’m also on the Board and a former Treasurer of The Family Service Center, a Wilmette-based counseling organization. I’m Of Counsel to a downtown law firm, where I was the Chair of its banking and finance practice. My wife, Amy, has been a long-time Adult Services librarian at the Wilmette Public Library and now plans and presents remote author events, including the Library’s One Book, Everybody Reads program.
I've served on the Village Board since 2019 and prior to that, on our Plan and Transportation Commissions for a total of ten years. We’ve lived in Wilmette for almost four decades and our three children all attended the District 39 schools and New Trier. Three of our grandchildren live and go to school in Wilmette (Harper and the Wilmette Community Nursery School) and one daughter is a special ed teacher at Romona. Besides my Village service, I’m also on the Board and a former Treasurer of The Family Service Center, a Wilmette-based counseling organization. I’m Of Counsel to a downtown law firm, where I was the Chair of its banking and finance practice. My wife, Amy, has been a long-time Adult Services librarian at the Wilmette Public Library and now plans and presents remote author events, including the Library’s One Book, Everybody Reads program.
response to voter guide questions
1. What do you hope to accomplish as Village Trustee? Please share your goals and how you will lead the Board and staff in accomplishing them.
Whether you’re a new or a long-time resident, think about why you chose to live in Wilmette. I’m confident the list would include beautiful neighborhoods, great schools, strong municipal services, including police, fire, and public works, a Village government that responds promptly to the needs of its residents, and a welcoming community of neighbors and friends. Preserving and growing this Wilmette is the job of the Board and my priority as a Trustee. The Village of Wilmette is a service business; it exists to provide valuable and critical services to its residents and businesses and to help create a desirable place to live. My priorities as a current Trustee, and continuing if reelected, are to continue the work of the Board to preserve what we cherish in Wilmette. We’ll do this with careful spending of our tax dollars, responsive prioritizing of our resources, long-term planning, and a welcoming environment that make Wilmette a desirable place to live, raise our families, retire, and locate local businesses.
2. What are your financial priorities for the Village and how will you ensure they are implemented?
While Village finances and reserves are strong, COVID-19 has had a significant effect, reducing general fund revenues in 2020 by about $500,000. Recurring revenues such as sales tax, building permits, and real estate transfer taxes continue to stagnate or decline. These, coupled with increasing pension obligations and increased storm water debt, make financial management Job One for our Board. Our current Board has utilized a budgeting process that requires each department of the Village to justify its spending requests, to provide alternatives and to address the costs of deferring or foregoing an expenditure. Our budgeting process also looks to future, so we can anticipate, and plan for, major expenditures. As a Trustee, I will continue this approach to Village finances in order to identify necessary current and future expenditures, along with revenue sources, so as to minimize property tax increases. Only by thoughtful financial management can we ensure that the Village continues to provide the services we expect and also remains affordable for its residents.
3. Identify successes and/or failures you have seen in the Village’s COVID-19 response, as well as any changes you would like to see while the pandemic continues.
Our Board responded quickly in the spring to the COVID-19 challenge, including analysis of projections for financial recovery, the reduction by almost $1 million of Village expenses by holding open vacant positions, reducing operating expenses, deferring capital spending, etc., and by creating three business assistance programs providing almost $500,000 to local Wilmette businesses, including our restaurants. These actions, coupled with strong reserves, have allowed the Village to maintain expected levels of services. COVID-19 remains a major concern in 2021; we simply don’t know its full effect upon our local economy and employment. Looking forward, we’ve adopted a conservative budget for this year, along with a plan for expense reduction should revenues suffer, including reviews of internal cost controls, capital spending, contracted services, and personnel expense. While the future is unknown, our Village is well positioned to identify and respond to any continuing or new effects of COVID-19 on our local economy.
4. What are your priorities under the Village’s Comprehensive Plan and how will you ensure they are implemented?
Our Comprehensive Plan, last revised over 20 years ago, is the “blue print” for development and the quality of life in our Village. We will shortly undertake a thorough review and revision of the Plan that will surely include a fresh look at our infrastructure, business development both in the downtown and in the outlying districts, finances, housing, and sustainability to name but a few areas to be addressed. All of these are important, of course, but one of particular focus must be economic development. We must encourage economic development to fill our vacant storefronts because our local businesses are the lifeblood of our community. In our downtown, several large parcels are either vacant or available for redevelopment. We must be sure that the height, density and types of businesses, especially in the downtown, reflect the vision for Wilmette shared by our residents. Several Village Boards and Commissions, along with the Village Board, will be involved in reviewing and revising the Plan and resident engagement is essential. As a Trustee, I’ll be sure the Village publicizes these meetings and holds them at convenient times for our residents (by Zoom and hopefully, in person!), to maximize engagement and contribution.
5. What, if any, are your environmental priorities for the Village and how will you ensure they are implemented?
The Village Board will soon consider the Sustainability Plan prepared by the Environmental and Energy Commission. The Plan identifies environmental issues local to Wilmette and includes specific recommendations, including with respect to climate, economic, energy land use, and municipal operations, to name but a few. All the suggested solutions are beneficial and will contribute to a better Wilmette. Our challenge will be to choose what to do and when, which of the answers give us the greatest “bang for the buck.” One area of focus that may permit immediate, and importantly, measurable results, may be municipal operations. Our Police Department has taken delivery (soon to be in service) of four hybrid police cars and additional hybrid purchases are tentatively budgeted for 2022. As a Trustee, whenever the return is favorable, I'll advocate for the purchase of additional “green” vehicles for the entire Village fleet. Additionally, I'll encourage the evaluation and use of alternative methods for snow and ice removal, thereby reducing salt usage and expenditures and protecting our lands and waterways as contemplated by the Plan. Other opportunities to improve our sustainability abound. We’ll need to be proactive, but practical, in all these choices to realize the greatest benefit for Wilmette.
6. What actions will you prioritize to foster a safe and equitable community as pledged in the Board’s June 4, 2020 Letter to the Community?
The Board’s June 4, 2020 Letter speaks to the critical importance of building a community that’s safe and welcoming for residents and visitors alike. The Letter acknowledges the importance of policing with compassion and understanding and that’s where the role of the Board must begin. Police Chief Kyle Murphy’s June 23, 2020 Report to the Board and the community describes the Department’s policies on use of force, traffic and other stops, and most importantly, officer training. Besides great selectivity in hiring, a cornerstone of that training includes communication skills and a focus on de-escalation strategies, mental health, child and adolescent issues, risk assessment, and crisis intervention skills. All of these are critical to building and maintaining public trust in our police force. As a Trustee, I will ensure that these programs continue and expand and that our Police Department demonstrates, by its actions, its support for the values described in the Board’s Letter and reflected in our community. Thoughtful and responsive policing obviously isn’t enough and we look to the Board to create and implement policies that foster a welcoming and inclusive community. Our Board has begun that work by making Board and Commission selection more open and transparent and by invigorating the Housing and Human Relations Commissions with new responsibilities and highly qualified and committed members. Both Commissions are diverse in membership and are poised to create and manage far-reaching programs to encourage affordable housing, human rights and equity. As a Trustee, I will ensure that the Village Board implements the goals and framework we put in place last year. Concrete programs throughout the year, spearheaded by both Commissions and joined in by all Trustees and other civic and community leaders, to highlight our commitment to doing what’s right and to a welcoming Village, are essential if we are show that we mean what we say. As a Trustee, I do and I will.
Whether you’re a new or a long-time resident, think about why you chose to live in Wilmette. I’m confident the list would include beautiful neighborhoods, great schools, strong municipal services, including police, fire, and public works, a Village government that responds promptly to the needs of its residents, and a welcoming community of neighbors and friends. Preserving and growing this Wilmette is the job of the Board and my priority as a Trustee. The Village of Wilmette is a service business; it exists to provide valuable and critical services to its residents and businesses and to help create a desirable place to live. My priorities as a current Trustee, and continuing if reelected, are to continue the work of the Board to preserve what we cherish in Wilmette. We’ll do this with careful spending of our tax dollars, responsive prioritizing of our resources, long-term planning, and a welcoming environment that make Wilmette a desirable place to live, raise our families, retire, and locate local businesses.
2. What are your financial priorities for the Village and how will you ensure they are implemented?
While Village finances and reserves are strong, COVID-19 has had a significant effect, reducing general fund revenues in 2020 by about $500,000. Recurring revenues such as sales tax, building permits, and real estate transfer taxes continue to stagnate or decline. These, coupled with increasing pension obligations and increased storm water debt, make financial management Job One for our Board. Our current Board has utilized a budgeting process that requires each department of the Village to justify its spending requests, to provide alternatives and to address the costs of deferring or foregoing an expenditure. Our budgeting process also looks to future, so we can anticipate, and plan for, major expenditures. As a Trustee, I will continue this approach to Village finances in order to identify necessary current and future expenditures, along with revenue sources, so as to minimize property tax increases. Only by thoughtful financial management can we ensure that the Village continues to provide the services we expect and also remains affordable for its residents.
3. Identify successes and/or failures you have seen in the Village’s COVID-19 response, as well as any changes you would like to see while the pandemic continues.
Our Board responded quickly in the spring to the COVID-19 challenge, including analysis of projections for financial recovery, the reduction by almost $1 million of Village expenses by holding open vacant positions, reducing operating expenses, deferring capital spending, etc., and by creating three business assistance programs providing almost $500,000 to local Wilmette businesses, including our restaurants. These actions, coupled with strong reserves, have allowed the Village to maintain expected levels of services. COVID-19 remains a major concern in 2021; we simply don’t know its full effect upon our local economy and employment. Looking forward, we’ve adopted a conservative budget for this year, along with a plan for expense reduction should revenues suffer, including reviews of internal cost controls, capital spending, contracted services, and personnel expense. While the future is unknown, our Village is well positioned to identify and respond to any continuing or new effects of COVID-19 on our local economy.
4. What are your priorities under the Village’s Comprehensive Plan and how will you ensure they are implemented?
Our Comprehensive Plan, last revised over 20 years ago, is the “blue print” for development and the quality of life in our Village. We will shortly undertake a thorough review and revision of the Plan that will surely include a fresh look at our infrastructure, business development both in the downtown and in the outlying districts, finances, housing, and sustainability to name but a few areas to be addressed. All of these are important, of course, but one of particular focus must be economic development. We must encourage economic development to fill our vacant storefronts because our local businesses are the lifeblood of our community. In our downtown, several large parcels are either vacant or available for redevelopment. We must be sure that the height, density and types of businesses, especially in the downtown, reflect the vision for Wilmette shared by our residents. Several Village Boards and Commissions, along with the Village Board, will be involved in reviewing and revising the Plan and resident engagement is essential. As a Trustee, I’ll be sure the Village publicizes these meetings and holds them at convenient times for our residents (by Zoom and hopefully, in person!), to maximize engagement and contribution.
5. What, if any, are your environmental priorities for the Village and how will you ensure they are implemented?
The Village Board will soon consider the Sustainability Plan prepared by the Environmental and Energy Commission. The Plan identifies environmental issues local to Wilmette and includes specific recommendations, including with respect to climate, economic, energy land use, and municipal operations, to name but a few. All the suggested solutions are beneficial and will contribute to a better Wilmette. Our challenge will be to choose what to do and when, which of the answers give us the greatest “bang for the buck.” One area of focus that may permit immediate, and importantly, measurable results, may be municipal operations. Our Police Department has taken delivery (soon to be in service) of four hybrid police cars and additional hybrid purchases are tentatively budgeted for 2022. As a Trustee, whenever the return is favorable, I'll advocate for the purchase of additional “green” vehicles for the entire Village fleet. Additionally, I'll encourage the evaluation and use of alternative methods for snow and ice removal, thereby reducing salt usage and expenditures and protecting our lands and waterways as contemplated by the Plan. Other opportunities to improve our sustainability abound. We’ll need to be proactive, but practical, in all these choices to realize the greatest benefit for Wilmette.
6. What actions will you prioritize to foster a safe and equitable community as pledged in the Board’s June 4, 2020 Letter to the Community?
The Board’s June 4, 2020 Letter speaks to the critical importance of building a community that’s safe and welcoming for residents and visitors alike. The Letter acknowledges the importance of policing with compassion and understanding and that’s where the role of the Board must begin. Police Chief Kyle Murphy’s June 23, 2020 Report to the Board and the community describes the Department’s policies on use of force, traffic and other stops, and most importantly, officer training. Besides great selectivity in hiring, a cornerstone of that training includes communication skills and a focus on de-escalation strategies, mental health, child and adolescent issues, risk assessment, and crisis intervention skills. All of these are critical to building and maintaining public trust in our police force. As a Trustee, I will ensure that these programs continue and expand and that our Police Department demonstrates, by its actions, its support for the values described in the Board’s Letter and reflected in our community. Thoughtful and responsive policing obviously isn’t enough and we look to the Board to create and implement policies that foster a welcoming and inclusive community. Our Board has begun that work by making Board and Commission selection more open and transparent and by invigorating the Housing and Human Relations Commissions with new responsibilities and highly qualified and committed members. Both Commissions are diverse in membership and are poised to create and manage far-reaching programs to encourage affordable housing, human rights and equity. As a Trustee, I will ensure that the Village Board implements the goals and framework we put in place last year. Concrete programs throughout the year, spearheaded by both Commissions and joined in by all Trustees and other civic and community leaders, to highlight our commitment to doing what’s right and to a welcoming Village, are essential if we are show that we mean what we say. As a Trustee, I do and I will.