Q&A: Town Council Candidate Kevin Dombrowski

Note: In the days leading up to Election Day, the Ledyard Patch will run short profiles of all town candidates for council and board of education, along with their responses to three questions that we asked. Election Day is Nov. 8.

Name:  Kevin J. Dombrowski

Age:  45

Education: AS Electrical Engineering

Work Experience: 24 Years at Electric Boat, Currently as a Test Engineer Specialist

Civic/Political Experience: 

• Member, Ledyard Town Center Committee (Past Chairman)
• Member, Economic Development Commission
• Member, Zoning Board of Appeals
• Chairman of the Joint Planning & Zoning Commissions Regulation re-write Sub Committee
• Past member, Zoning Commission (Past Chairman)

Family:  Married / No Children

1. Why are you running for this office?

I am already an active volunteer in the community by serving on several boards and commissions. I decided that I would like to be more involved in town government by running for Town Council to better serve our town and our community.

2. What do you believe is the greatest challenge Ledyard faces today, and what would you do to meet this challenge?

I believe that there are two challenges that exist.  The need to improve town services, while maintaining current fiscal constraints is the greatest challenge. This could be accomplished by providing a more efficient use of current resources. Some savings could be found by sharing some of these same resources between departments that provide/require similar functionality.  This could be one method to reduce cost between departments within the General Government budget and the Education budget, similar to what the current town council has done by utilizing one Human Resource Director to oversee the needs of both the General Government and the School System.  All of this needs to be done in such a way as to maintain the town services to the residents and maintain the education system for the students who will be the future of Ledyard.

The second challenge is to build up the commercial tax base by making Ledyard a friendlier environment to commercial/retail development. This can be accomplished by making our regulatory language easier to understand while ensuring there is no conflict with State statutes. And allowing for a better balance between commercial and residential, while also encouraging agricultural uses.  Another part of supporting future business opportunities would be to streamline the application process for developers between the various land use commissions and offices.

3. How would you rate the performance of the current council overall, and what, if anything, would you do differently?

I would rate the performance of the current town council very high. The current council has done an excellent job over the past several years in holding the line or putting forth only marginal tax increases.  I would like to continue that effort as well as continue with the positive working relationship with the Board of Education, to maintain transparency of the Ledyard Government, and work to keep lines of communication open between the Town Government, Town Employees and the Residents.