Tom Schuenke
Name: Tom Schuenke
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612-816-6390
Campaign Website:
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page:
Candidate Bio
A cities City Council has, as a primary responsibility, allocation of funds for projects, infrastructure and daily operations of the city. I have been working professionally, and still am, in a capacity that is responsible for budgeting and execution of construction, real estate and operational budgets for 45+ years. I have been doing this in roles with nationally recognizable organizations; such as International Dairy Queen, Great Clips for Hair and currently with Wings Credit Union.
I have performed these duties on three continents, providing me with a broader and more empathetic view of our current world.
And, I have been a resident in my current Burnsville home for over 30 years and lived in another Burnsville home for three years before moving abroad.
I have sat on the Burnsville Police Master Planning Task Force in the early 90’s – accomplished successful Clinton Cop grant and was President of the Burnsville Athletic Club for almost ten years – accomplished institution of financial governance to protect against fraud and theft.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I am a pragmatic leader. Problems require decisive real-world practical solutions. Defining problems or needs, requires complete understanding of the situation and the impact it has on the community. When I decided to run for City Council I thought about the reasons, I was trying to understand how our budgeting and expenditure exceeded our means by so much. I hope to be able to be in a position to understand the whys and how’s and look for collaborative decisions that work for all of Burnsville.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
Understand Expenditure.
Bring a fiscally responsible presence to the Council.
Work for the resident homeowners of the city.
I would need to understand exactly what the uncertainty is and when known, I would stand for not counting on it and adjusting expenditure accordingly.
What is the biggest challenge facing Burnsville right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
Tax increases, like we have seen in the past two years are unsustainable to the aging population that wants to stay in their homes. We need to get a handle on spending, focusing on the basic services a city should be supplying and nothing more.
How would you characterize the business climate in Burnsville, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
The business climate in Burnsville is challenging. The perception I get from my neighbors and friends is that the city is doing everything to make it difficult for our remaining businesses to survive. The Burnsville Center is a tragic loss. While larger manufacturing and distribution operations seem to be on relatively solid ground, the impact the city has on their success is something I would like to understand further, what the city government should do is provide consistent and affordable resources for larger concerns to operate.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
Enforcement seems to be a challenge, perception of lower patrol vehicles, and a blatant disregard for traffic laws is the worst – most visible issue. There are undoubtedly more issues out there that I am unaware of.
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?
There should be no rent control discussed or even considered by the city. This is not a municipal issue.
Burnsville has added a significant amount of multi-unit housing in the past few years and now is time to step back and understand how the mix of multi-unit and single family is affecting our community. Then plan for adding additional units in the future – if feasible.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Ask for rigid enforcement from our police department. Provide the department with the tools it needs to do this and the unwavering support of this council member. This doesn’t stop there, if the judiciary is unwilling to support this then we need to find creative ways of addressing these significant threats to our peaceful existence in our community.
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?
Again, I need to understand where the money is going and why. City spending needs to be focused on basic services and those services need to be looked at from a hierarchical perspective.
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?
Supplying world class infrastructure, utilities and first responders – because that is the job of the city.
Controlling the expansion of strains upon the infrastructure, utilities and first responders.
Enforcing the ordinances we already have to maintain the quality of life.
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?
Stop the private meetings, all budgetary and levy meetings should be open to the public and should include specific notification for large scale projects that impact the cities portion of property taxes.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612-816-6390
Campaign Website:
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page:
Candidate Bio
A cities City Council has, as a primary responsibility, allocation of funds for projects, infrastructure and daily operations of the city. I have been working professionally, and still am, in a capacity that is responsible for budgeting and execution of construction, real estate and operational budgets for 45+ years. I have been doing this in roles with nationally recognizable organizations; such as International Dairy Queen, Great Clips for Hair and currently with Wings Credit Union.
I have performed these duties on three continents, providing me with a broader and more empathetic view of our current world.
And, I have been a resident in my current Burnsville home for over 30 years and lived in another Burnsville home for three years before moving abroad.
I have sat on the Burnsville Police Master Planning Task Force in the early 90’s – accomplished successful Clinton Cop grant and was President of the Burnsville Athletic Club for almost ten years – accomplished institution of financial governance to protect against fraud and theft.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I am a pragmatic leader. Problems require decisive real-world practical solutions. Defining problems or needs, requires complete understanding of the situation and the impact it has on the community. When I decided to run for City Council I thought about the reasons, I was trying to understand how our budgeting and expenditure exceeded our means by so much. I hope to be able to be in a position to understand the whys and how’s and look for collaborative decisions that work for all of Burnsville.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
Understand Expenditure.
Bring a fiscally responsible presence to the Council.
Work for the resident homeowners of the city.
I would need to understand exactly what the uncertainty is and when known, I would stand for not counting on it and adjusting expenditure accordingly.
What is the biggest challenge facing Burnsville right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
Tax increases, like we have seen in the past two years are unsustainable to the aging population that wants to stay in their homes. We need to get a handle on spending, focusing on the basic services a city should be supplying and nothing more.
How would you characterize the business climate in Burnsville, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
The business climate in Burnsville is challenging. The perception I get from my neighbors and friends is that the city is doing everything to make it difficult for our remaining businesses to survive. The Burnsville Center is a tragic loss. While larger manufacturing and distribution operations seem to be on relatively solid ground, the impact the city has on their success is something I would like to understand further, what the city government should do is provide consistent and affordable resources for larger concerns to operate.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
Enforcement seems to be a challenge, perception of lower patrol vehicles, and a blatant disregard for traffic laws is the worst – most visible issue. There are undoubtedly more issues out there that I am unaware of.
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?
There should be no rent control discussed or even considered by the city. This is not a municipal issue.
Burnsville has added a significant amount of multi-unit housing in the past few years and now is time to step back and understand how the mix of multi-unit and single family is affecting our community. Then plan for adding additional units in the future – if feasible.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Ask for rigid enforcement from our police department. Provide the department with the tools it needs to do this and the unwavering support of this council member. This doesn’t stop there, if the judiciary is unwilling to support this then we need to find creative ways of addressing these significant threats to our peaceful existence in our community.
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?
Again, I need to understand where the money is going and why. City spending needs to be focused on basic services and those services need to be looked at from a hierarchical perspective.
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?
Supplying world class infrastructure, utilities and first responders – because that is the job of the city.
Controlling the expansion of strains upon the infrastructure, utilities and first responders.
Enforcing the ordinances we already have to maintain the quality of life.
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?
Stop the private meetings, all budgetary and levy meetings should be open to the public and should include specific notification for large scale projects that impact the cities portion of property taxes.