Friday, March 28, 2014

TUESDAY, APRIL 1 - ELECTION DAY

Tuesday, April 1 is a critical day for Kewaunee County as it is the day you have a chance to elect a new county board that will represent you.  A county board that will rein in the spending and will hold our county management accountable.  

IT IS ELECTION TIME and you are now hearing some of the incumbent board members stories about how they have been prudent in their spending decisions and how hard they have worked for the taxpayer.  I would suggest all you have to do is look at what has occurred in the county here over the past 10 years or so while this board has been in control.  

There are two committees that wield a lot of power and have a great deal to do with the county spending, the personnel and finance committees.  Although I am not on these committees I made it a point to attend their meetings so I could try to understand their decision making process.

The personnel committee has the following incumbent members who are running again; Robert Weidner, James Barlow, Kay Schillin, Chuck Hutter, Bruce Heidmann, David Mayer, Charles Wagner and Linda Sinkula.  From my observations, Ms. Sinkula and Ms. Shillan have consistently supported a position arguing for fiscal constraint and more accountability.  

The finance committee is comprised of the following incumbent board members who are on the April 1 ballot; Charles Wagner, James Barlow, Chuck Hutter, James Abrahamson.  Notice several of the same names on both committees?  

NOW LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHERE OUR COUNTY HAS GONE 
UNDER THIS LEADERSHIP
  • Kewaunee County has the 5th highest tax rate of 72 counties in the state at $7.77
  • We have $17.3 M debt, add the debt service and it amounts to $24M
  • County employee health insurance cost represents 23% of our $11M tax levy
  • County employees pay 10% of their insurance cost
  • Cost to Kewaunee County per family plan member - $20,098 (total cost $22,233)
  • In the year 2000, county taxes per resident were $285, today they have swelled to $536, a $250 per resident increase, more than 2.5 times the rate of inflation
  • Personnel committee justifies Schedule II employee increases utilizing Carlson Dettman information that is based upon counties that are not remotely comparable to Kew. Co.
  • Personnel committee awards sheriff department lieutenants raises for managing the Algoma police department contract, then passes on a second raise within weeks amounting to $10,500 of salary increases for 3 staff members


DO YOU WANT MORE OF THE SAME?  GET OUT AND VOTE!  GET YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS OUT TO VOTE ON TUESDAY, APRIL 1ST

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Elections have consequences



In the year 2,000 our county taxes per resident were $285.  Today that number has increased to $536 per resident, a $250 per resident increase.  More than 2.5 times the rate of inflation!  In addition to collecting nearly twice the taxes of the year 2000, during those same years, our county has amassed $24 of debt (17 million debt plus debt service).  At the same time we have been losing money in our operations of the highway department and health and human services. 

I would challenge you to tell me what you have received for this accelerated spending.  Were there new services?  New buildings for our county employees, yes, but new services?  Better roads?  Not really, but for sure higher taxes.  There has been a minority of the county board that hasn’t agreed with this spending rate, but because of their minority status, they couldn’t do much about it.  We sorely need to change some of the members of this board to ensure the financial future of this county.

As taxpayers of this county, we should expect, and demand our board members and managers to whom we entrust the operations of our county government to be accountable for their actions.  What does that mean?  Operate within the budget guidelines, be innovative, creative and provide leadership commensurate with the salaries and benefits provided to you by the taxpayer.  After all, it is their money. 

The elections on April 1 is your chance to speak out.  Elections do have consequences!  



Monday, March 10, 2014

IT'S UP TO YOU NOW!

GET OUT THE VOTE - IT'S UP TO YOU NOW!

We had planned on having a "meet the candidates" meeting prior to the April 1 county board election, but it seems we have run out of time - too many things going on at once.  The good news is that we have, for the first time in years, a good number of candidates running for office and we should end up with a new board that will be more focused on the business of government and the taxpayers pocketbook!

Some of you have been following the Kewaunee County Board of Supervisors activities, or lack thereof, over the past two years as I have reported on activities of the Board.  I was elected in April of 2012 and began serving on the board at that time.  Once I started serving on the board, it became apparent very quickly that, as long as this board was in place, some of the reforms that should be instituted in the county would never be instituted with the existing board.  So we went out and appealed for folks to run for the board, and find them we did!  In the following three weeks leading up to the election there will be a number of articles appearing in "The County Times" and "The Kewaunee Star News" about these candidates.

We (myself and seven other conservative board members) have made some progress in controlling costs and holding county employees accountable, but not enough.  We have pressing issues facing the county, here are just a few (not in order of priority):

  • Develop a strategy to solve the revenue loss we will experience as a result of the Kewaunee Power Plant closure.
  • Work with our farmers, our Legislative Body, DNR, Land and Water and Health Department to deal with the water quality issues we have in our county.
  • Revamp our county employee health insurance program.
  • Restructuring the Highway Department for more efficient and cost controlled operation.
  • Working to develop a budget process that truly delves into the numbers so the board not only understands where, and how your money is being spent but participates in the process.
  • Develop a county-wide coordinated tourism marketing effort utilizing our existing resources at private, county and city levels.
  • Put in place a Schedule II  employee rating system that works and provides justifications for salary increases and recognizes those employees who consistently perform.
  • Create policy that provides better accountability for the money being spent by board members who find it necessary to attend numerous out of county meetings.

IT'S UP TO YOU!  YOU HAVE TO GET OUT AND VOTE AND ELECT BOARD MEMBERS WHO WILL DO THE JOB FOR THE TAXPAYER!

Since I have been on the board, I have been maintaining a spreadsheet that tracks the cost of the board members who serve the taxpayers.  Why do I do this?  I find it extremely interesting that a few board members feel compelled to make it to many out of town meetings and there is virtually no reporting back to the board as to what they learned while at these meetings.

Now mind you, it's not a ton of money, but what I have found through my years of managing budgets is you save a thousand here and there and pretty soon it adds up to real money.

What I think is reasonable is, if any board member elects to attend an out of county meeting(s) and charges the county for those expenses, that person or persons should be required to make a 5 minute or so, report to the entire board on that meeting.  That way we all (entire board) get something out of the expenditure.  It goes without saying, if we have a county vehicle available they should be using that vehicle rather than taking their own vehicle and charging the county mileage.

Just so you understand these numbers.  For every board meeting each board member is paid $100.  For most committee meetings, the board member is paid $40 or $60 on average.  So if a board member went to 10 board meetings they would have earned $1,000 plus mileage to those board meetings.  If they had attended 10 committee meetings locally they would receive (depending on how long the meeting lasted) about $600 plus mileage to those meetings.  You can see from these numbers, there are a few board members who attend a lot of meetings.

     Kewaunee County Board Members Per Diem and Expenses
                        Apr 2012 - February 2014
Board MemberMileage & Exp                    Wages          Total 
 Abrahamson/James  $               212.74  $               8,830.00 $       9,042.74
 Barlow/James  $            2,263.28  $               7,980.00 $     10,243.28
 Cravillion/Dennis  $               506.94  $               3,180.00 $       3,686.94
 Dax/Brian  $               650.13  $               6,570.00 $       7,220.13
 Delebreau/Don  $               781.89  $               5,430.00 $       6,211.89
 Garfinkel/Bob  $            1,214.57  $               7,650.00 $       8,864.57
 Heidman/Bruce  $            1,953.74  $               8,040.00 $       9,993.74
 Heuer/Ronald  $               307.80  $               3,430.00 $       3,737.80
 Hutter/Charles  $            1,833.94  $               7,590.00 $       9,423.94
 Kirchman/Larry  $            1,431.83  $               7,080.00 $       8,511.83
 Koenig/LeVerle  $            1,120.33  $               3,970.00 $       5,090.33
 Mayer/David  $            1,346.92  $               6,456.00 $       7,802.92
 Paider/Ron  $            1,412.62  $               6,820.00 $       8,232.62
 Paplham/Brian  $               743.10  $               7,470.00 $       8,213.10
 Reckelberg/Gordy  $               521.95  $               3,590.00 $       4,111.95
 Shillin/Kaye  $               206.67  $               9,150.00 $       9,356.67
 Sinkula/Linda  $            1,424.40  $              11,610.00  $     13,034.40
 Swoboda/Jan  $            3,136.46  $               7,170.00 $     10,306.46
 Wagner/Chuck  $            4,483.00  $              11,320.00  $     15,803.00
 Weidner/Robert*  $            1,502.60  $               7,810.00 $       9,312.60
                             
                               Totals       $27,055                   $141,146        $168,200

Notice Mr. Weidner's name is starred - As chairman of the board, Mr. Weidner is paid, in additional to the wages and per diem here of $9,312, a salary of $5,867 per year and 1/2 of the county sponsored health insurance family plan of $11,166 per year.  So over the 23 months represented the chairman wages, per diem and insurance totaled $41,958.

GET OUT THE VOTE - IT'S UP TO YOU NOW!