Kevin Miller
Name: Kevin Miller
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612.750.7325
Campaign Website: votekevinmiller.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page:
Candidate Bio
Forest Lake is more than just a city to me—it is my home, and a community where my family, kids, and grandkids thrive. I am running for re-election for the Forest Lake City Council to continue protecting and improving the town we love.
My track record of public service spans nearly 15 years. Before being elected to the City Council, I dedicated 12.5 years to the Forest Lake Planning Commission ensuring smart, sustainable local growth. Over the last two years with the council, I have focused heavily on building bridges across our community. As a proud council liaison, I work closely with both the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District (CLFLWD) and the Forest Lake Area School Board to protect our natural resources and support our local students.
Beyond my liaison roles, I actively work to improve our city’s operations by serving on the Forest Lake City Personnel Committee and the Airport Rules and Regulations Steering Committee. I would be honored to earn your vote once again to keep moving Forest Lake forward.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I bring a track record of common-sense governing and transparent leadership to our local government, with Responsible Spending, Proactive Public Safety, Smart Economic Growth.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
Moving forward, my top priorities remain focused on safeguarding the unique charm of Forest Lake while managing our growth responsibly. First, I am committed to preserving our local parks and lakes, next I will continue to lead the charge in rebuilding our city’s infrastructure. By combining smart-growth land management with balanced economic development, we can successfully expand our tax base without losing the historic community feel that makes Forest Lake our home.
What is the biggest challenge facing Forest Lake right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
Attracting businesses and housing investments, infrastructure expansion and fiscal restraints. These challenges are also the greatest opportunity.
How would you characterize the business climate in Forest Lake, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
The city and council are pro-business and work very closely with current business owners and future business opportunities. We have modernized our local zoning codes through the planning commission, and our EDA works proactively to fill commercial vacancies and attract Business.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
Growth brings new demands, and our top priority is ensuring public safety teams have the tools and personnel they need. We are tackling this by managing our budget carefully to keep our police and fire fleet reliable, while aggressively focusing on recruitment and retention to keep our officer numbers strong as departures and retirements occur.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability, and how do you view the role of rent control policies in that process?
Like many cities, affordable housing availability is a concern. My strategy includes expanding the supply of affordable units through zoning reforms with targeted housing incentives, such as expedited permitting and housing incentives, and streamline development approvals allowing higher density and a more diverse housing type.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
We have actively improved pedestrian and transit safety through a significant multi-million-dollar infrastructure upgrade, trail extensions and roadway reconstruction. We are installing a brand new multi-use trail along the south side of our Hwy 97 reconstruction project, with dedicated pedestrian crosswalks, a raised center concrete median, and new roundabout. We are also partnering with the county on our 11th Ave, project with a multi-use trail along the north side all of which connect to our local hardwood creek trail system. We are also beginning our site prep on Eureka Ave to Co. Rd. 32 (11th st), re-pavement, curb, gutter and dedicated pedestrian off road walkways. Our city also features the "Transit Link on Demand", a pilot service to provide literal door to door, shared ride service.
Residential property owners across the region are feeling significant strain from rising property tax bills. How would you approach balancing fiscal responsibility with the demand for services when setting the city levy?
That is tricky, however by implementing core-service prioritization, and maximizing non-tax revenue streams, and operational efficiency we can keep our levy reasonable. We optimize local government aid and deploy our capital improvement plan strategically as we have budgeted for through our financial management plan and continuing to expand our commercial and industrial tax base.
What are the two or three issues where you believe city government is best positioned to lead — and why the city rather than the state or county?
Our local expertise and community feedback make city government better positioned to lead. When it comes to neighborhood zoning, land use planning and targeted economic development, this allows our city to deliberately diversify our tax base, it helps shift the tax burden away from stressed residential property owners through commercial and tailored local development. When it comes to public safety, our local police and fire provide immediate face-to-face emergency services that define a resident's sense of safety and community stability. Cities own operate and directly maintain municipal street, water distribution facilities, and neighborhood stormwater management systems.
What does real taxpayer transparency look like to you, and what specific steps would you take to achieve it — both in terms of financial reporting and public engagement?
We use transparent financial reporting for preliminary levy breakdowns, municipal payroll data, line-item approximations detailing projections down to line items such as golf cart permits and tobacco licensing revenues. We utilize community budget workshops, we encourage public engagement, we use resident feedback surveys, Social Media and the City website and city weekly updates online.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612.750.7325
Campaign Website: votekevinmiller.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page:
Candidate Bio
Forest Lake is more than just a city to me—it is my home, and a community where my family, kids, and grandkids thrive. I am running for re-election for the Forest Lake City Council to continue protecting and improving the town we love.
My track record of public service spans nearly 15 years. Before being elected to the City Council, I dedicated 12.5 years to the Forest Lake Planning Commission ensuring smart, sustainable local growth. Over the last two years with the council, I have focused heavily on building bridges across our community. As a proud council liaison, I work closely with both the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District (CLFLWD) and the Forest Lake Area School Board to protect our natural resources and support our local students.
Beyond my liaison roles, I actively work to improve our city’s operations by serving on the Forest Lake City Personnel Committee and the Airport Rules and Regulations Steering Committee. I would be honored to earn your vote once again to keep moving Forest Lake forward.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I bring a track record of common-sense governing and transparent leadership to our local government, with Responsible Spending, Proactive Public Safety, Smart Economic Growth.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
Moving forward, my top priorities remain focused on safeguarding the unique charm of Forest Lake while managing our growth responsibly. First, I am committed to preserving our local parks and lakes, next I will continue to lead the charge in rebuilding our city’s infrastructure. By combining smart-growth land management with balanced economic development, we can successfully expand our tax base without losing the historic community feel that makes Forest Lake our home.
What is the biggest challenge facing Forest Lake right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
Attracting businesses and housing investments, infrastructure expansion and fiscal restraints. These challenges are also the greatest opportunity.
How would you characterize the business climate in Forest Lake, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
The city and council are pro-business and work very closely with current business owners and future business opportunities. We have modernized our local zoning codes through the planning commission, and our EDA works proactively to fill commercial vacancies and attract Business.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
Growth brings new demands, and our top priority is ensuring public safety teams have the tools and personnel they need. We are tackling this by managing our budget carefully to keep our police and fire fleet reliable, while aggressively focusing on recruitment and retention to keep our officer numbers strong as departures and retirements occur.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability, and how do you view the role of rent control policies in that process?
Like many cities, affordable housing availability is a concern. My strategy includes expanding the supply of affordable units through zoning reforms with targeted housing incentives, such as expedited permitting and housing incentives, and streamline development approvals allowing higher density and a more diverse housing type.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
We have actively improved pedestrian and transit safety through a significant multi-million-dollar infrastructure upgrade, trail extensions and roadway reconstruction. We are installing a brand new multi-use trail along the south side of our Hwy 97 reconstruction project, with dedicated pedestrian crosswalks, a raised center concrete median, and new roundabout. We are also partnering with the county on our 11th Ave, project with a multi-use trail along the north side all of which connect to our local hardwood creek trail system. We are also beginning our site prep on Eureka Ave to Co. Rd. 32 (11th st), re-pavement, curb, gutter and dedicated pedestrian off road walkways. Our city also features the "Transit Link on Demand", a pilot service to provide literal door to door, shared ride service.
Residential property owners across the region are feeling significant strain from rising property tax bills. How would you approach balancing fiscal responsibility with the demand for services when setting the city levy?
That is tricky, however by implementing core-service prioritization, and maximizing non-tax revenue streams, and operational efficiency we can keep our levy reasonable. We optimize local government aid and deploy our capital improvement plan strategically as we have budgeted for through our financial management plan and continuing to expand our commercial and industrial tax base.
What are the two or three issues where you believe city government is best positioned to lead — and why the city rather than the state or county?
Our local expertise and community feedback make city government better positioned to lead. When it comes to neighborhood zoning, land use planning and targeted economic development, this allows our city to deliberately diversify our tax base, it helps shift the tax burden away from stressed residential property owners through commercial and tailored local development. When it comes to public safety, our local police and fire provide immediate face-to-face emergency services that define a resident's sense of safety and community stability. Cities own operate and directly maintain municipal street, water distribution facilities, and neighborhood stormwater management systems.
What does real taxpayer transparency look like to you, and what specific steps would you take to achieve it — both in terms of financial reporting and public engagement?
We use transparent financial reporting for preliminary levy breakdowns, municipal payroll data, line-item approximations detailing projections down to line items such as golf cart permits and tobacco licensing revenues. We utilize community budget workshops, we encourage public engagement, we use resident feedback surveys, Social Media and the City website and city weekly updates online.