Three at-large City Council seats are up for election Tuesday. There are eight candidates. We asked each candidate to answer five questions and we are publishing the answers verbatim.
Here is the Q&A with Eugene Jankowski.
If elected, what’s your #1 priority? My number one priority is to maintain fiscal responsibility with proper budgeting while providing essential services and continued support of Downtown development.
There has been great progress in the city toward revitalizing the core downtown business community. What will you do to accelerate the revitalization process? I will work to ensure the Downtown Revitalization Grant is properly fulfilled to maximum effectiveness and continue the City Council mission. “Our mission is to create and sustain a vibrant, affordable, safe community where people choose to live and work and where, through a supportive environment, businesses continuously flourish.”
What services currently provided by the city should be cut or eliminated, if any? How and why? Each year during the budget process council members go through the draft budget line by line with Department heads and every expense must be justified. This is an efficient process that in past years has identified areas of duplication that needed to be trimmed. Budgets the last 3 years have maintained essential services with healthy reserves, along with a reasonable amount of unassigned fund balance. The City of Batavia has also received the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget presentation for the third consecutive year. This year we were able to use some of those reserve funds to purchase a new fire truck and avoid thousands of dollars in additional finance costs. At this time I believe services are right where they need to be and I support continued fiscal responsibility.
What business, leadership, or economic training and experience to you have that make you more qualified for a job on the City Council over other candidates? I’ve patrolled the streets of Batavia as a police officer / Lieutenant/ Emergency Response Team (ERT) Commander for over 33 years. ERT required 100’s of hours of additional specialized training along with advanced decision-making skills and critical thinking under pressure. I’m a college graduate and a graduate of the 198th session of the FBI National Academy. The FBI academy included advanced leadership and management courses.
What one, two, or three books first published within the past 250 years has most influenced your thinking about society and government? I haven’t read any books that have influenced my thinking on government or society. However “Lincoln on Leadership. Executive Strategies for tough times.” Has had an influence, as well as aided my leadership skill development. It has proved useful in my role as Council President and serving our community.
