Matt Rinker
Name: Matt Rinker
Occupation: Shelter Insurance Agent, serves on various municipal boards
Previous Experience: US Navy Veteran
Reasons for Running: “I think anybody who is familiar with City Government and long-term outlooks…when they look at the City of Burlington, they have some concerns, and I do have major concerns because of the lack of investment and growth in our community over the past 5, 10, 15 years. There are a lot of issues out there, and depending on who you depends on what issue is important to them. It could be crime, it could be housing, it could be jobs, but all those things are really related to each other, and it has to do with a lack of growth in multiple areas…I want to join the council to help create an environment for that growth.”
“Why should voters pick you?”: “I’ve had to opportunity to work with a lot of different groups of people, both private and public sector, and have had conversations with them about different things we can do and be more efficient at doing. That’s where a lot of my ideas come from.”
On tax increases to fund personnel at Burlington Police and Fire: “There are obviously situations that can be presented to the community where you will have to raise property taxes. I will tell you, that’s my last resort. I see the need for property tax increases as something more emergency related, like if we have a significant infrastructure cost that we weren’t planning for that arises and that’s the only option…I am for more police officers. My goal is that isn’t a long-term necessity. if you can create an environment where people who commit crime are uncomfortable committing crime, ultimately the goal is that they will go somewhere else and the need for another 6, 10, or 15 police officers isn’t there, and you can cut back at that point.”
On Tax Increment Financing (TIF): “Every project is different…I am going to look at things like what amount of infrastructure the developer wants to put in and what part of the market need is this project meeting? What is out long-term tax revenue going to be?”
On water and sewer rates: “The only thing we can really do is increase our taxable base in order to cover some of the [sewer] costs down the road so that we’re not constantly increasing sewer rates. The only reason we’re increasing those rates today is because the leaders of our city haven’t done a good job in the past 15 to 20 years to create a plan to grow and cover those costs…maybe it wasn’t as expected and they had to react to it rather than be proactive.”
On mitigating crime: “There are a lot of different techniques cities like us have done. When I lived in San Diego, California, they created a community policing program that included a community watch. People within their community would volunteer with this program and work with the local police department…basically, they’re an ‘observe and report’ community watch force…I’d like to see us have another K-9 Unit and I’d like to see the [reserve] force brought up to full strength.”
Listen to our latest interview with Rinker to hear his take on the issues facing Burlington:
Listen to our first interview with Rinker to learn more about his candidacy:
