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Name: Joel Gesky
What office are you seeking? Mayor of Manteno
What is your political party? Manteno Choice Party
What is your current age? 52
Occupation and employer: Self-employed entrepreneur
What offices, if any, have you previously held? Village of Manteno trustee 2005-present
Lake Waldon homeowners’ association vice president 2000-present
Kids and Clays board member benefitting Ronald McDonald Children’s Hospital
KCTC Board Member
City: Manteno
Campaign Website: Manteno Choice Party (facebook)
Education: B.S. in Business Administration University of Nebraska Lincoln
Post- Graduate (advanced master’s program) Olivet University
Marist High School
Community Involvement: Volunteer Football Coach Manteno HS
Manteno Wildcat football Coach
Meals on Wheels volunteer
Christmas in April Volunteer
Marital status/Immediate family: Wife- Dawn
Three children: Jeremy, Josh, and Maddie
Questions:
What makes you the most qualified candidate?
Being a mayor you are responsible for leading a team. It is much different that being a trustee who makes decisions. The mayor is tasked with helping empower others to make the decisions that represent the best interest of the village residents. It is not about being a dictator, or for that matter even a decision maker. It is all about leading others and providing guidance to achieve a common goal.
My 18 years of trustee experience allows me to empathize with issues that trustees may face and allows me to provide advice and guidance as to how I have handled similar situation when I was in their shoes. My professional experience in managing 3 separate businesses (all of which have been recognized as leaders in the respective industry) proves that I can unify a team to achieve the highest results. Personally, I have contributed to successes for national championship caliber teams in college which demonstrates my ability to perform even under the most stressful of situations.
What would you rank the greatest weakness and strength of the governmental organization you’re running for?
The greatest weakness: there is a perception that the village has not been transparent. Despite the greatest efforts made over the last 20 years to be completely transparent we obviously have room to work on this moving forward. Currently the village post agendas and minutes of every meeting not only on the doors of village hall, but also on our village website. We have held public hearings for tax levy’s that we were not required to and have televised all meetings in which votes take place for action. We have solicited public feedback on several occasions as well but have not received input from the public. In reflecting on how we can improve on this, one thing that I have looked at recently and tried to address is to not assume that people all know and understand the processes we go through. Given my tenure and experience sometimes we take for granted items that are going on as everyday business transactions (such as why we levy taxes even though we are rebating them back, and what effects it has to the village and its residents). Unfortunately, many people may have no idea what, or why we are doing things. So as of late I have made it a point to try to take time out of each meeting to try to explain to people what we are doing. I think that if we continue to educate people perhaps the perception will change from questioning transparency to an understanding of the process.
The greatest strength: Over the past two decades of service, we have established fiscal responsibility while reinvesting within our community. We have attracted new industry and increased the villages revenue while completely rebating 100% of the village taxes. All while fully funding the resident’s garbage bills, something no other local town can say. We have the latest and greatest facilities for our village hall, police department, public works and our parks. We have made these improvements with the intention to withstand future growth for several decades and we have completely funded our pension plans. I am proud to say we have done this all without incurring any debt and while maintaining a surplus. Again something no other local municipality can say.
I look forward to continuing the tax and garbage programs we have in place.
There has never been a better time to live in Manteno!
Should local law enforcement cooperate with ICE to identify and deport immigrants who do not have legal status to be in the United States?
Absolutely. Under my direction we will continue to foster strong relationships with all other governmental agencies just as we have in the past.
What are your top three priorities for our city, and how do you plan to address them?
Continued financial stability
Improved transparency
Healing of a bruised community
One of the things Manteno should be most proud of is we have built upon a beautiful community and improved it dramatically. We find ourselves to be a leader in the Kankakee County in all regards. Simply look around and you will see why we are the envy of the county. We get to enjoy the counties most beautiful parks, the most high-tech facilities all while we enjoy 100% of our village taxes rebated to us and our garbage bill fully funded. Many of our neighbors have attempted to follow us but have done so at a expense of bonding for funds which will create future tax burdens for their communities. We have been able to do this all while remaining debt free and maintaining a surplus. It is of the utmost importance to us that we manage our village funds so that we can continue to enjoy these amenities without allowing our surplus to diminish. With our effective leadership and proven track record of fiscal responsibility I am confident that we can continue the tax rebate program and garbage subsidies well into the future.
The next thing I feel we need to try to improve upon is the perception of transparency. Currently every meeting we have is properly posted with a full agenda. All meetings are open to the public and minutes of the meetings are posted to our web site. Additionally, every meeting where action may be taken is live streamed via Youtube. Even with all our efforts to communicate to the public there are times we find that public is not getting our message and are under a false impression that we are not being transparent. Even though I can assure everyone that the current village officials have never sought to be secretive about anything going on in the village, perception is reality. We need to solicit constructive criticism and seek out additional ways to ensure the message reaches the masses.
The third priority may be the most difficult while being the most important. We need to heal the community. We need to put differences aside and re-unify. Much like our country, there have been negative people who have made it their life’s mission to divide our community. They have chosen to make false accusations mainly motivated by individual vendettas. We need to take time and respect differing opinions without having personal attacks. It will be important for us to demonstrate through our actions as leaders to embrace the healings of our differences. To demonstrate through our own actions that we are above this. The Manteno Choice party is about UNITY. We will remain positive and look for ways to improve.
We truly believe there has never been a better time to live in Manteno!
How do you intend to balance economic development with environmental sustainability in the community?
We are always looking to explore additional economic growth. We do this while making sure the proposed business fits the needs of the village. As we have done with all businesses that come into town in the past, we must consider the incentives they request and insure that providing these incentives are a win, win, win. Meaning the business must benefit to be able to survive, the village must benefit from having the business and the business must fit the need of the community. If one party does not win then it’s a loss for all and failure is simply a matter of time.
What are your plans for enhancing public transportation and infrastructure in the city?
I believe that working in conjunction with representatives from metro we can continuously look for ways to improve the services already provided. That may include adding or changing stop locations etc. I believe we need to be open to change if that is what the public is requesting.
What role should the city council play in supporting local businesses and economic growth?
In the world of today business is tough, especially for smaller businesses. We need to look for ways we can assist them. We have done this most recently in altering the approach we have taken with Octoberfest. Traditionally there was a beer tent, which many of the adults enjoyed. Unfortunately, even though the fest brought many people to town we learned that the local establishments on main street may not have benefited. So, a few years back we adjusted the layout and did away with the tent and encouraged people to patron the local establishments. Thus far it has been a success. As we continue with our community events, we need to make sure that we continue to look for ways to drive business to our local businesses and view these events as a tool to help them prosper. We must remain flexible in our approach and constantly be reevaluating to make sure what we are doing remains relevant.
What are your top public safety concerns for our community and how would you propose addressing them?
My biggest concern involves the training and qualifications of our police force. Currently for our department to qualify annually for firearms they need to leave our village proper. In doing this one of two things are the result. We either are either forced to pay overtime to an officer and allocate resources to leave our community, or we leave our patrol understaffed with unavailable resources. It is my contention that neither option is adequate as public safety is our priority.
In today’s world we must be prepared for the worst, as such I would like to continue to explore options to be able to cost effectively provide our police department with their own practice range in town.
What can or should the city to do increase affordable housing?
How will you ensure that city policies promote inclusion for all residents?
Since I have been associated with the village we have always been in favor of complete inclusion in all policies, procedures and activities within the village. As the Mayor I will not tolerate ANY discrimination of any sort. We will continue to embrace our differences while holding each person to the same set of standards.
Do you support requiring government officials to publicly disclose potential conflicts of interest, and how would you enforce this?
Absolutely, this is already a requirement by the county. Each year every elected officer must complete their statement of economic interest with the Kankakee County Clerk’s office. We will continue to cooperate and adhere to these policies as we have in the past.
How will you make sure you are accessible to your constituents?
I am always accessible and am usually pretty easy to spot in a crowd 😂. I will maintain a village email address where people may reach out to me. Additionally, messages may be left for me at the village hall in which I will respond in a timely manner or people are free to reach out to me at any one of my business locations. I will gladly schedule an appointment so that we can address any concerns people may have.