Q&A With Peachtree Corners City Council Candidate Jeanne Aulbach

Peachtree Corners Patch asked the 20 candidates for the six council seats on the new Peachtree Corners City Council a series of questions relating to city government for the upcoming Municipal Election on March 6, 2012.

Each of the candidates were asked the same set of questions. The last question we posed was to ask each candidate to compose his or her own question and provide the answer.

Here Patch introduces Jeanne Aulbach, one of three candidates seeking to fill the council seat for Post 4.

Name: Jeanne Aulbach, age 61

Lived in Peachtree Corners: I lived here originally in an apartment along Peachtree Corners Circle from 1983 to 1985 until I purchased my first home in Lawrenceville. When I had the opportunity to move back, I did so in 1999 and have lived here ever since.

Educational background: BS – Psychology – 1974 - York College of Pennsylvania, York, PA; MPA – Professional Accountancy – 1982 - Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA; MS – Computer Information Systems – 1992 - Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA

Family: Single

Military background: N/A

Occupation: I am currently a SQL Server Business Intelligence Developer for Acuity Brands Lighting in Conyers. Prior to that I spent 13 years as an independent consultant developing software applications for corporate cients. I worked in banking for 13 years before that.

What experience in your background do you think has best prepared you for serving on the Peachtree Corners City Council?

I have a number of skills that I bring to  a city council position. I have a strong business background in banking prior to moving into the IT field. I was Group Controller and Compliance Officer in the Capital Markets Group of the former C&S Bank, now Bank of America. In that position I was a Registered Municipal Securities Principal responsible for ensuring compliance with Federal, State and internal regulations. I also was responsible for assisting with the planning, budgeting and accounting of the Banks’ Trading, Money Market and Investment portfolios.

I then started my own business. I developed end to end systems for clients that automated and improved existing processes . I was instrumental, in many cases, in defining the new, more streamlined processes, generating savings for my clients.

Personally, I have been involved in my HOA since 2004. I have served on the Board many years in all positions , including my current position of Treasurer. I also served on the Finance Committee when we had a Board that had no knowledge of our budget. Currently I serve on our Architectural Control and COPS Committees as well. Process improvement, even as a volunteer, has been a goal of mine. As BOD President, I implemented a policy requiring competitive bids on all projects over $1,000 with a requirement to check all references. I worked with our management company to standardize our inspection and lettering process. We created a process that was fair and non-threatening. It was extremely successful in a) ensuring our homes were properly maintained and b) allowing us to directly address homeowner concerns. Because of this, we were able to build homeowner consensus  for the process.

Tell Peachtree Corners readers about your vision for the new city and how you would accomplish it?

I have a vision of an incredible place to live, much as it is today, but with more certainty that we will be prepared for the future. I can see where Code Compliance issues will be addressed more quickly and thoroughly than they are today. The “battles” over zoning will now be our own without having to rely on four strangers on the County Commission.

I envision a community where we are small enough to all come together and work on issues as a true community, but large enough to have some influence on county and state issues that impact us, like the Highway 141 widening project. I can see a real sense of community bringing us together in time of celebration, like a city tree lighting, a spring 10K run, and also coming together in times of difficulty to help those in our community who need it. What I see more than anything IS a united community !

 How do we achieve that? We do it by sticking with the intent of the charter, a limited service city providing only those services authorized and using only the minimum powers required to do so. We do it with a vision of what the city should be. We do it with the least amount of taxes needed to get us through the initial period when we begin to provide services and when franchise fees begin to add to our funding. We do it by revoking the property tax once the city is on firm financial footing if it can be done once we build sufficient reserves. We do it by setting reasonable standards for code compliance. We do it by building a long term land use plan. And we do it all with citizen input

What do you think is the greatest challenge facing Peachtree Corners, and how would you approach it?

The most immediate challenge is pulling everyone back together again after a difficult campaign. There are bruised feelings on both sides and we need to respect those feelings. I noticed that someone posted that they would never be able to speak to a person on the opposite side of the city issue ever again. We need to move beyond that. The city passed.

It is a fact, no matter which side we each supported. I am committed to meet and talk with everyone from both sides to find common ground to move forward to make this a city where all feel welcome, no matter how they voted. If elected, I will represent all of the people living in Peachtree Corners .

How can we make a difference for those areas of Peachtree Corners that have higher crime rates and are less well maintained, particularly the Mechanichsville area?

One of the issues that came up during the campaign was the extent of our borders, in particular, Mechanicsville and other areas not in the traditional footprint of Peachtree Corners. The Peachtree Corners Overlay District encompassed these areas because they have an impact on the remainder of Peachtree Corners. As an at-large councilor, I would represent these areas as well.

There is a lot that can be done to pull these areas up to a common standard. Code compliance can be used initially to improve the appearance. A reasonable long term use plan can give us direction in those areas. We can work with our new business association to help direct new business to that area. And we could look at implementing a city CID to work with existing businesses there to make improvements.

 There is no short term solution for this. But if we work together, we can find a long term solution that benefits all of our citizens.

Jeanne Aulbach's campaign website: http://jeanne4peachtreecorners.com/