Tag Archives: City of West Bend
West Bend Mayor Weighs in on Dark Store
WEST BEND, WI—Kraig Sadownikow doesn’t look like an anti-corporate crusader. The mayor of West Bend, Wisconsin, stickers his pickup with a “Don’t Tread on Me” snake on the back window, a GOP elephant on the hitch, and the stars-and-stripes logo of his construction company across the bumper.
His fiscal conservatism is equally well billboarded: In the two hours we spent at City Hall and cruising West Bend in his plush truck, Sadownikow twice mentioned the 6 percent he has shaved off the Wisconsin city’s operating budget since becoming mayor in 2011, and stressed its efforts to bring more business to town.
So you might be surprised to learn that Sadownikow (he instructed me to pronounce his name like sat-on-a-cow) is personally boycotting two of the biggest big-box retailers in his town, Walmart and Menards, the Midwestern home improvement chain. He’s avoiding shopping at these companies’ stores until they cease what he sees as a flagrant exploitation of West Bend’s property tax system: repeat tax appeals that, added up, could undermine the town’s hard-won fiscal health.
Sadownikow is one of many unlikely combatants who have lined up against “dark store theory.” That’s the ominous-sounding term that administrators have given to a head-spinning legal argument taking cities across the U.S. by storm. Big-box retailers such as Walmart, Target, Meijer, Menards, and others are trimming their expenses in a forum where few residents are looking: the property tax assessment process. With one property tax appeal after another, they are compelling small-town assessors and high-court judges to accept the novel argument that their bustling big boxes should be valued like vacant “dark” stores—i.e., the near-worthless properties now peppering America’s shopping plazas.
Posted by Owen at 0924 hours
What the Heck is a “Negative Savings”?
WEST BEND — After 12 months of collecting data from employees and their families regarding the onsite health clinic, officials have received information they hope to use to mitigate rising health care costs for their workforce.
Sara Stiefvater, the client operations manager, along with Regional Medical Director Dennis Schultz, both from Quad Medical, presented results of the operations for the onsite health clinic Monday to members of the Common Council.
[…]
She also provided information regarding the clinic’s profitability when combined with Washington County since the clinic is shared between their employees.
In the aggregate, officials experienced a negative savings for the first year by slightly more than $22,000. The total estimated savings was about $332,000 while the expenses, which includes staff as well as the payment to the vendor for operating the clinic, was about $355,000.
That’s the oddest way to say that… “experienced a negative savings” of $22,000. In the real world, we would day that it “costs” $22,000. This is significant because the whole point of the county and city providing a clinic is to bring down the overall costs. Otherwise, it’s just an additional benefit to government employees.
The impact the clinic will have for the city and county, at least in terms of savings and cost, is significant because that is the primary reason that administrators and leaders established one.
The clinic opened during the summer, marking the completion of a project that required about two years inthe hopes of slowing the increasing rate associated with health care costs.
“Over the course of three years, the projection is about $1 million (saved),” Human Resources Director Todd Scott said during a July 2017 interview. “It is really going to be based on participation. How many people use the clinic and what type of services. That is where the savings is going to come from.”
If the goal is to save $1 million in three years, then the clinic needs to save $511,000 each of the next two years. I don’t see that happening.
That being said, I would consider the clinic a success if it saves some decent amount each year. For example, if it saves the taxpayers $50,000 per year and provides a better healthcare alternative to employees, then it’s a net benefit worth keeping. If it is just going to be another perk for employees that costs taxpayers even more, then it fails to meet its stated justification and should be shut down.
Let’s give it another year and see how it goes.
Posted by Owen at 1452 hours
Conservative Fiscal Management in West Bend Bears Fruit
Here is a portion of a column from the Mayor of West Bend that ran in the Washington County Insider:
Two weeks ago the Council was presented with our annual Financial Audit prepared and presented by Baker Tilly. Recent Councils have taken action to improve the financial stability of West Bend.
In 2011, reserves stood 30% below the minimum recommended level for communities our size. At the end of 2017, we are 53% above the minimum and nearing our goal level.
From a debt standpoint, we owed over $83,000,000 in 2010 and have reduced that number by 31% down to $57,000,000. Our advisors and bonding agents recommend continued debt reduction but applaud our recent efforts.
As a community, we should be proud of the progress made the past 8 years and the stronger financial position we are currently in.
I would add to that story by pointing out that the City of West Bend has managed to lower its debt, increase its reserves, remodeled City Hall and the Police Department, met the city’s needs, and did so without raising taxes in YEARS. I think we are up to 9 years now without a tax increase in the city. They have been able to do all of this thanks to conservative leadership and taking advantage of Act 10.
This is what solid conservative fiscal leadership looks like. The Republicans over in Madison and Washington should take note.
Posted by Owen at 0737 hours
Major Upgrade Planned for Regner Ball Park
What a great boon to West Bend!
May 21, 2018 – West Bend, WI – The West Bend Common Council emerged from closed session Monday to confirm a plan is in place to provide funds in a matching grant for improvements to Carl M. Kuss Field at Regner Park.
The deal includes a healthy grant from the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation.
“The schools district went out to get a $500,000 grant from the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation and that’s a game changer for the project,” said West Bend Mayor Kraig Sadownikow.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) approved by the Common Council will be official once the other organizations approve it. According to Sadownikow, the decision was “easy” from a financial perspective.
“What it entails is $100,000 in cash from the city and there will be at least $75,000 in work we can do with demolition to the existing field and knocking down the grandstand,” said Sadownikow. “We spend somewhere between $60,000 and $75,000 a year to maintain the field so by eliminating that we’re paying for our investment in two to three years.”
Sadownikow praised the West Bend Baseball Association for donating “tons of time and energy” with money and scoreboards and field work. “I’ve been involved in five years of discussion, but getting the $500,000 grant is very important and what the MOU recognizes is $175,000 from the City of West Bend, $100,000 from the West Bend School District and $35,000 directly from the WBBA.”
The remaining balance of the first $500,000 will be privately raised.
Posted by Owen at 2338 hours
Couple Thoughts on Local Election Results in West Bend
Now that I’m back in town and have had a few minutes to look at the election results, I have a few thoughts on the local races. Here are the Washington County Results.
First, turnout in Washington County was impressive for an April election. Some races on the ballot pulled in 42% turnout and the county average was about almost 37%. Not bad.
Second, congratulations to Chris Zwygart and Kurt Rebholz who won convincing victories for seats on the West Bend School Board with 38.45% turnout. And thank you to Monte Schmiege for his service to the community. As I said in my column, I think that the four candidates are pretty conservative and would find agreement on probably 90%+ of issues. I have a high degree of confidence that they will be solid stewards of the school district. It is curious how different the results were with the same four candidates in the primary election. Clearly, a lot of work happened between the primary and the general election.
Third, I am flabbergasted that the City of West Bend voters voted FOR a tax increase to fund spending increases for transportation. Granted, it was for the cheapest option and it only won by 110 votes, but that’s shocking in this community. They also voted to encourage the county to share sales tax revenues with local communities. That makes more sense.
I’m going to admit that I didn’t really have any time to figure out the the aldermanic or county supervisor races. I did find it curious that the two incumbents for the Kewaskum School Board won reelection. That district just passed a big school referendum, so it appears that the voters up there are still pretty satisfied with that.
Overall, the Blue Wave we saw at the state level clearly had an impact locally too. Given the results, I would expect every local unit of government that wants more money to get a referendum on the November ballot to capitalize on the wave.
Posted by Owen at 1712 hours
Go Vote!
It’s election day in Wisconsin. Most importantly, get out and vote for Judge Michael Screnock. Also, vote YES to get rid of the State Treasurer. Then look down the ballot and make choices in your local races.
In my neck of the woods, I encourage you to vote for Monte Schmiegie and Mary Weigand for the West Bend School Board, and vote NO on all four of the referenda for roads in the City of West Bend.
Like many folks, I took advantage of in-person early voting and exercised my franchise last week. If you didn’t, there’s a snow storm schmucking Wisconsin today. It looks like it’s going to roll into the southern third of Wisconsin this afternoon, so get out there and vote this morning. We’re Wisconsinites… we don’t let a little snow keep us away from choosing our government.
Posted by Owen at 0736 hours
West Bend asks if it’s time for a tax increase to pay for streets
My column for the Washington County Daily News is online. Here you go:
The West Bend Common Council has reached a crossroads and is turning to the public for advice. After almost a decade without a tax increase, the city’s streets are in good condition, but they could be better. Are the taxpayers willing to stomach a tax increase to pay for better streets? That is the subject of four advisory referendums on the April 3 ballot.
Maintaining the city’s streets is a core function of city government. Quality streets are critical to the city’s economy and quality of life. Measuring the quality of streets is also inherently subjective. West Bend has about 134 miles of streets, but nobody drives on all of them. Any citizen’s perception of the quality of the city’s streets is limited to their experiences on the subset of streets they use. If the street I live on is crumbling, then I am more likely to think that the city’s streets are poor.
Many Wisconsin municipalities use the PASER rating system to try to measure the overall quality of the streets. The PASER rating ranges from 1 to 10, with a 10 being a new street. The city evaluates all of the streets every two years. The PASER rating is based on a subjective visual observation of the streets, but it gives us some benchmark against which to gauge the quality of the city’s streets.
West Bend’s average PASER rating was 5.89 in 2011 when the city began increasing spending on street maintenance by about 4 percent every year. In 2017, that rating rose to 6.04. That is considered “good” on the PASER scale and comparable with cities of a similar size. Keep in mind, however, that there is a lot of subjectivity inherent to the PASER rating, so changes of a few decimal points are not necessarily relevant. Also, no study has shown any correlation between a city’s PASER rating and citizen satisfaction — largely because of the perception issue mentioned earlier.
The equation for getting better streets is pretty simple at the local level: spend more, faster. While the city will likely be able to save some money on projects thanks to the repeal of the prevailing wage laws, those savings will have a marginal impact on overall spending at a municipal scale. The question then becomes, do the citizens of West Bend want better streets? If so, how do they want to pay for it? Those are the questions the four referendum questions seek to answer.
Referendum questions 1 and 2 ask if the taxpayers want to increase property taxes by $640,000 or $1.2 million, respectively, to be used for streets. Question 3 asks if the citizens would like to implement a $20 wheel tax to be used exclusively for road designated borrowing.Question 4 asks if the city’s citizens would support an agreement with Washington County to distribute up to 25 percent of the proceeds of the county sales tax to municipalities to pay for roads.
On these four questions, I will be voting, “no,” “heck, no,” “are you kidding me?” and “nope,” respectively.
The first three questions are straightforward. If you want to spend more on the city’s streets, they are asking the amount and method of payment. I do not support raising any taxes to spend more on the streets. Frankly, the city has been doing a good job in maintaining the city’s streets and slowly improving them over time within the confines of the funds available. It has been an impressive display of leadership and good stewardship of the taxpayers’ money for which the city’s leadership and staff deserve commendation. I have confidence in their continued leadership in this regard.
The fourth question is interesting in that a vote on an advisory referendum regarding something the County Board might consider is almost completely meaningless. In fact, the County Board and county administrator have already shot down the idea. In theory, if the county has a sales tax that is collected from all of the citizens in the county, it is not unreasonable for the county to remit some of those proceeds back to the municipalities.
The sales tax in Washington County was originally passed as a temporary tax to fund a few major capital projects. I still cling with childlike belief to the hope that a conservative County Board will one day honor their predecessors’ word to the taxpayers and end the sales tax. The addition of more municipal fingers into the sales tax pie makes the possibility of ending the county sales tax even less likely.
West Bend has been a case study is solid conservative city management for several years. They have kept taxes flat while meeting the city’s priorities and maintaining or improving services. These referendum questions are a sincere query of the citizens to ask if the time has come to raise taxes to improve the city’s streets faster. No, that time has not yet come, but the city’s leaders earned the right to ask. Keep up the good work, West Bend.
Posted by Owen at 0701 hours
Explaining the Upcoming Road Referendum in West Bend
There is a referendum coming up on the April ballot asking the citizens of West Bend what they want to do about their roads. Alderman Rich Kasten took the time to explain it the other night and the Washington County Insider was there to record it for us. Here you go:
Posted by Owen at 1716 hours
West Bend’s New Development Manager
West Bend has a new Development Manager. And he blogs…
I hear a lot as I reach out to local businesses with the number one concern being workforce. The City of West Bend is creating a blog to address certain topics related to Economic Development and the City. This is intended to facilitate a discussion and you can find our blog on the City of West Bend website under “The WB-log”, along with various social media sites. So follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn, the City of West Bend has some fun new and exciting things going on. You don’t want to miss out.
I know what you are thinking and it can be fun, interesting, and engaging. I could add a joke or two if you would like but I am under the impression everyone would prefer a list. So here is my top 7 list of what needs to be mentioned to keep you engaged.
- Roads
- Target and Olive Garden coming to town
- Aaron Rodgers
- Foxconn (it’s an economic development blog) – And by the way… we can talk about this if you would like but talking about Foxconn is like trying to have a serious conversation with Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the end you are just going to be thinking to yourself, “Can you believe this giant man is talking to me and is he doing a fake accent of himself?” It is just hard to take too seriously because of the magnitude of everything surrounding it. (I’m counting this as a mini blog within an blog)
- The Brewery
- The Bucks (That one is for me)
- Fleet Farm
Why am I taking the time to write this? Well, I am your new Economic Development Manager for the City of West Bend. The way I see this going and the way this will probably go are two totally different things most likely. I want to take topics in the City of West Bend and Economic Development in an effort to have a conversation about them. This is not going to be just me rambling, the City of West Bend wants to hear from you. To prove it, here is my contact information.
Adam Gitter, Economic Development Manager
(262) 306-3108
gittera@ci.west-bend.wi.us
Please feel free to ask the City of West Bend questions. Whether it be on social media or you contact me directly. In the future, writings can be short and sweet or long and bitter. No special format, just discussing a topic. If a conversation starts, then a goal for the blog has been met. Please be respectful to one another, and know that my sarcasm and sense of humor is not for everyone. I just want to write about topics that I find interesting and I hear a lot about in my daily life on the job.
Posted by Owen at 0613 hours
City of West Bend Puts Transportation Advisory Referendum on April Ballot
We knew this was coming, but last night the West Bend Common Council voted to ask the voters through referendum how we want to address our transportation funding moving forward. Here are the four options upon which they settled:
According to the notice of advisory referendum, West Bend officials have planned four questions for the public to consider during the spring election. The first question is:
■ “Currently, the city of West Bend invests over $1 million (increasing 4 percent annually) on road and sidewalk maintenance,” the first question reads. “In addition to this annual investment, would you support the Common Council increasing property taxes by approximately $640,000, approximately by 23 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, to apply to borrowing that can be used for roads?”
The second question is a variant of the first but doubles the amount of the tax that officials will impose on residents.
■ “Currently, the city of West Bend invests over $1 million (increasing 4 percent annually) on road and sidewalk maintenance. In addition to this annual investment, would you support the Common Council increasing property taxes by approximately $1.2 million, approximately by 46 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, to apply to borrowing that can be used for road.
The third question also asks if residents are willing to pay more, but alters the manner in which it is imposed.
■ “Currently, the city of West Bend invests over $1 million (increasing 4 percent annually) on road and sidewalk maintenance,” the third question reads. “In addition to this annual investment, would you support the Common Council implementing a $20 vehicle registration fee (wheel tax) to apply exclusively to road designated borrowing?”
[…]
The final question is meant to address a collaborative initiative with the county.
■ “Washington County currently imposes a 0.5 percent sales tax throughout the county and none of these dollars are shared with the local municipalities (e.g. the city of West Bend). Municipalities have recently put forth a proposal to the County for sharing sales tax revenues,” the fourth question states. “Would you support an agreement where the County would distribute up to 25 percent of the revenues with the municipalities (approximately $600,000 for West Bend) to apply to road designated borrowing?”
Based on my conversations with some of the folks involved, I do believe that this is an honest, straight-forward question for the voters and the council intends to follow the public’s lead. There has been increasing frustration and tension on the council regarding transportation. Projects never get done as quickly as anyone would like. There are some who think the time has come to raise taxes and spend more on the roads. There are some who want to stay the course. There are some who are looking for an alternative way – like collaborating with the county for funding. There is an honest impasse and they are using the referendum process to get guidance on how to proceed from the public.
I do wish that they had an option for “stay the course.” I think they figured that no such option was necessary because it is the obvious option for people who vote, but don’t select any of the four options. But it would have been nice to have an affirmative option for “stay the course.” Or an option for “spend less,” but I suppose that was too much to consider.
What do you think?
Posted by Owen at 0702 hours
Only Five Qualify to Hunt in West Bend’s Parks
When the city announced their plan for hunting in the parks, I said, “only government could come up with something so convoluted.” Well, the result of their process is that they needed nine hunters, they had nine applicants, and only five qualified.
There were nine bow hunters who participated in the proficiency test and bow hunter exam. The step was part of the process to take part in the public deer hunt set for Jan. 10-14, 2018.
Five hunters passed with a perfect score including Steven Kraker, Brad Zuba, Jeffrey G. Bach and Brad Beck. Following a background check the hunters will be issued nuisance tags.
The city is working with people in the community to try to trim the local deer herd by about 40 bucks and does.
[…]
City clerk Stephanie Justman said the committee will determine how to move forward with fewer hunters. “There were four districts/zones outlined for the hunt at Lac Lawrann Conservancy and five districts/zones at Ridge Run Park,” she said.
Posted by Owen at 1013 hours
West Bend Moves Forward With Hunting in City Parks
I support this measure, but sheesh… only government could come up with something so convoluted.
West Bend officials have finalized the details of a measure to allow bow hunting in two of the city’s parks beginning in January.
Common Council members voted to approve the recommendations outlined in the Deer Management Plan during Monday’s meeting, creating a path for the process to begin bow hunting at Lac Lawrann Conservancy and Ridge Run Park.
[…]
During their discussions, they eventually agreed to recommend closing the two parks for the duration of the hunt in January. They also wanted to establish several hurdles for applicants to traverse to earn the privilege of killing game on public lands.
One was a proficiency test to assess the accuracy of their shot. Standing on a platform at the archery range, applicants will shoot their bows at a 6-inch target 20 yards away.
To pass the examination, the hunters must place five of the six shots within the circular target.
[…]
Applicants must also obtain a perfect score on a written exam to determine if they understand the rules for hunting once they ae issued a permit from West Bend officials. Potential hunters must submit the results of both of their exams, the application, and pay a fee to be eligible for the lottery that will yield the nine individuals eligible to hunt the grounds.
The zones assigned to the hunter have been determined and applicant will be allotted one based on a random draw.
“We are going to make them jump through all these hoops, go online, fill out an application, go online, fill out the test, show up at the archery range, pay $10 cash, pass that, bring it all here, give the city another $20 after I fill out my application on line,” committee member Michael Jentsch said during the meeting. “I just did that. About 50 us did that for $1,500 total, and only six people get permits? I am just saying that we make sure everyone who is applying understands how many people are going to get involved.
This should be pretty simple… the purpose is to kill some of the deer because there are too many of them. They are a danger to motorists and destructive to crops. So we need to kill them, but do it safely. Right?
Close the parks for a few days and issue a limited number of licences to bow hunters.
Done.
Hopefully we’ll get to that kind of simplicity after trying to overthink it for a few years.
For the record, accidents with bows are extremely rare. In fact, there were no reported incidents in 2017. And I can’t remember the last time I heard of a report of an accidental death by a bow hunter despite tens of thousands of bow hunters in the woods for weeks on end. The reason is simple. Bows are a short range weapon that are exceedingly difficult to accidentally discharge.
The hoops that West Bend are imposing aren’t really about safety. They are about the appearance of safety. It’s like the TSA.
But… it’s a step in the right direction.
Posted by Owen at 0829 hours
Two People Attend Public Input Session about West Bend Transportation
I’m going to suggest that the people of West Bend are not so outraged by the road conditions in the city that they are clamoring for a tax increase.
Nov. 28, 2017 – West Bend, WI – There were two people in attendance at Monday night’s public session to discuss an upcoming advisory referendum on road repair in West Bend.
“We had only two people show up – a married couple and they were not in favor of a wheel tax,” said Dist. 5 alderman Rich Kasten. “They had concerns about their own street; he wanted to have it repaired, she wanted to wait.”
There will be two more public sessions for neighbors in West Bend to provide input on the roads as well as the advisory referendum.
* Thursday, Nov. 30 – Coffee in the Police Department classroom, 8:30 a.m. – 10 a.m. featuring a condition of West Bend city streets round table discussion with Dist. 5 alderman and Long Range Planning committee chair Rich Kasten, City Engineer Max Marechal, and City Administrator Jay Shambeau. The Police Department classroom is the first door on the right after entering West Bend City Hall, 1115 S. Main Street.
* Dec. 18, 2017 – City Council listening session before a regular council meeting 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.
“I am hoping these listening sessions will provide information with regard to both road conditions and the options we can consider – from staying the course to increased borrowing scenarios,” said Kasten.
Posted by Owen at 0648 hours
City of West Bend Considers Transportation Advisory Referendum Tonight
The Washington County Insider has more details.
Oct. 4, 2017 – West Bend, WI – The Long Range Transportation Planning Committee (LRTPC) will make a recommendation to the Common Council tonight for an advisory referendum to gauge whether neighbors want city leaders to spend more on road repair.
In 2015 the city put together the LRTC to specifically look at issues dealing with road maintenance and repair. Aldermen said roads were the No. 1 complaint of taxpayers.
In September 2015 the city posted a Transportation Survey
Dist. 5 alderman Rich Kasten, who heads up the LRTPC, said the survey was “not to advocate for any potential solution but garner true and valuable feedback on the appetite of the citizens when it comes to road maintenance.”
Some of the options to fund road repair are below:
- Continue to spend 4 percent more per year on road maintenance
- Enact a wheel tax of $20 per registered passenger vehicle / car or light truck. That could generate about $600,000 annually to be spent on roads.
- Increase property taxes specifically for road projects.
[…]
Tonight’s Common Council meeting gets underway at 6:30 p.m. at West Bend City Hall, 1115 S. Main Street.
Posted by Owen at 0646 hours
West Bend Considers Tax Increase for Roads
Survey results showed taxpayers wanted to city to stay the course on road maintenance with a 4 percent bump in spending each year. The second plan would be to carry out a referendum to raise taxes and the least favorite option was the wheel tax
City Administrator Jay Shambeau said the conversation on road repair started again a couple months ago and at the last meeting the LRTC looked at three options:
-
Continue to spend 4 percent more per year on road maintenance
-
Enact a wheel tax of $20 per registered passenger vehicle / car or light truck. That could generate about $600,000 annually to be spent on roads.
-
Increase property taxes specifically for road projects.
Here’s the thing… for the last 6 or 7 years, the City of West Bend has controlled spending while they maintained or decreased property taxes. We have seen the city attract some great new businesses and unemployment drop to one of the lowest levels in history. The city has earned the right to ask the taxpayers for more money and for the taxpayers to seriously consider it.
In the coming months we’ll be able to take a closer look at the issue once we know what the specific ask is. My gut reaction is that a wheel tax is a non-starter. Nobody wants a new tax and watching Milwaukee pass one and double it within a year to ($60) should give anyone pause.
The other option is to stop the increase in spending on road repairs. That, of course, has consequences and the city leaders will have to demonstrate how that money is being spent wisely – particularly after the state repealed the prevailing wage laws and gave the City the power of Act 10.
A property tax increase is never popular, but may be an option. “How much” is always a question.
Also, it should be noted that the city does not operate in a vacuum. The odds are better than 60/40 that the West Bend School District will also be asking the voters for more money next year – possibly on the same ballot. While all of the school district’s voters don’t live in the City of West Bend, all of the voters of West Bend live in the school district. If both governments ask for tax increases on the same ballot, it is more likely that voters in the city will say “a pox on all of you.”
Posted by Owen at 0720 hours
Deer in West Bend
There has been a push in West Bend in recent years to allow some sort of hunting in the city parks. The reason for this is that there are a LOT of deer. But the data has been hard to come by. Most of the commentary has been anecdotal by residents saying that they see a lot more deer. Earlier this week, the West Bend Common Council wisely tabled a proposal to allow some hunting and wanted to study the issue and come up with a more thoughtful plan.
Part of the reason was that the Mayor and Council were waiting for some data about deer/car collision trends in the city. That data is in. Mayor Kraig Sadownikow shared it:
In ’09 & ’10 we averaged 13.5 collisions per year
2011-2016 we AVERAGED 41 per year with a high mark in 2013 of 69.
WOW! Sadownikow offers this comment:
“I don’t think it is a coincidence the vehicle/deer collision numbers grew exponentially at the same time complaints from residents grew to the point they are today. We simply have more deer causing more damage to more vehicles and property today than we did 10 years ago. I don’t believe it is a matter of if we should do something, rather a matter of what to do. The Council, staff and I are committed to researching and then putting forth a reasonable, effective, safe program to help get this growing problem under control while maintaining a healthy wildlife population in West Bend.”
Board Member Mike Chevalier weighed in:
I second Kraig’s comments. My original request was for the counts that were 10, 15, and 20 years ago. The police department only had information going back to 2009. They are working with DOT to see if they have more information going back farther per my request.
All I can say is when I moved into my house over 16-years ago it was a wow factor to see 1 deer in one year. Today, the wow factor occurs when we do not see 1 deer in 1 day.
I’m looking forward to a deliberative process to find the best solution to this growing safety issue.
Posted by Owen at 1441 hours
City of West Bend Delays Decision on Hunting in Parks
While I support a limited hunt in the parks, I applaud the Common Council’s diligence in researching the issue and allowing public input before making a decision.
West Bend officials will begin researching the logistics associated with hunting deer on the grounds of Lac Lawrann Conservancy.
Common Council members voted to approve a motion made by Alderman Steve Hutchins during Monday’s meeting to table the issue and return several weeks later, allowing staff to develop a plan to allow hunting at the conservancy and address what he claimed was a deer problem within city limits.
“I still don’t have a problem going with Lac Lawrann, I think it is a great idea,” Hutchins said. “The problem is that if you want to manage deer like that, taking it in one spot just to see if the system works, that is OK but it is not going to solve the problems in the other areas.”
Council members referenced a memo that Parks, Recreation and Forestry Director Craig Hoeppner wrote with recommendations of Parks and Recreation Commission members.
According to the memo, they suggested that no action be taken because of public safety concerns, associated program costs to West Bend, an insufficient deer population in the area to warrant action, and cited evidence they were not effective in communities that established deer management programs.
Posted by Owen at 0809 hours
Family of Drowned Girl Sues West Bend
The inevitable lawsuits that follow in the wake of tragedy.
A Milwaukee family is suing an assortment of West Bend officials over a drowning death at Regner Park.
According to a lawsuit filed on July 21st, 6-year-old Swannie Her was swimming at Regner Park on June 11th, 2016, when she was found unresponsive in “four to five feet of water in the south west area of the pond.”
The family says three lifeguards were at their stations, while more than 200 people swam in the pond.
State law requires 5 lifeguards to be stationed for swimming areas larger than 10,000 square feet. The square footage of the swimming area is not posted, but a to-scale map posted on the city website shows it to be between 30,000-60,000 square feet.
According to the lawsuit, “three lifeguards actively monitoring the water were insufficient to meet the requirements of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.”
The family also says Her was swimming in an area of the pond that requires a swim test and wristband to access. They say she had not taken a test, and was not wearing a wristband.
Posted by Owen at 0954 hours
City Wants Access to County Sales Tax
Heh. This is another stark reminder of the lies of politicians.
Washington County officials implemented a sales tax a few years ago to fund different initiatives — now municipalities want to access those dollars to fund projects of their own.
Officials from West Bend are collaborating with other municipalities in the area to draft a resolution petitioning county officials for a revenue-sharing agreement to access almost $3 million of the county’s $11.4 million sales tax revenue.
City Administrator Jay Shambeau announced the measure during the June 5 meeting as part of an update to the city’s 10-year financial plan when he alluded to possible alternative revenue streams.
“There are some other options that are potentially out there for the council to consider,” he said. “One is a portion or a tax sharing with the county sales tax. I have begun to have some conversations with the county about that.”
The reporter glosses over it, but one must remember the history here. Washington County implemented a county sales tax several years ago to pay for some specific “critical” capital projects like the new radio system that the Sheriff needed for public safety. The tax was supposed to pay for those capital projects and then go away. As almost always happens, after those projects were long since paid off, the tax is still here. County officials simply kept the tax going and used it to pay for other stuff. It once again proved the maxim that “there’s no such thing as a temporary tax.”
Now the city is looking over at that pile of money extracted from taxpayers and wants a slice. Never leave a pile of money around a politician…
Posted by Owen at 0755 hours
A Message From Our Mayor
It has been 6 years since this community first trusted then elected me to be its’ Mayor. Thank you for re-electing me to a 3rd term this past week. Even though I ran unopposed, I used the occasion to reflect on our recent accomplishments and to listen to the public regarding their questions about the future. Through those discussions, several common themes arose:
- City Staff – our leadership team has several new faces and new professionals dedicated to improving West Bend. We recently welcomed Michelle Hoey as our HR Director and Stephanie Justman as City Clerk. Jay Shambeau, hired last fall, is up-to-speed and well on his way to being the leader of our organization.
- New Development is strong.
- Soon to be opened Meijer and recently opened Delta Defense corporate headquarters will be joined by a 110,000 square foot home to Extra Space Storage on the City’s south side. Located in our Corporate Center, this state of the art, climate controlled facility continues the trend of high quality new development entering our market.
- Nationally and locally a strong point of new residential development is in the apartment and rental markets. While the City has not rezoned any new green field property for multi-family since I have been Mayor, we are seeing strong demand for new, urban, non-subsidized rental units. Generally geared toward both empty nesters and younger aged singles we expect properties already zoned appropriately and in-fill sites to be attractive. Staff, the Council and Plan Commission are focused on following our strategic plan(s) to ensure a positive mix of single and multi-family options are available.
- Partnerships are a key to ensuring efficiently run operations and help create a strong link between city hall and the public.
- After several years of planning, construction is underway on the shared Washington County/City of West Bend employee on-site health clinic. Housed at the County this partnership is a fantastic example of your governments breaking down barriers and working together for the benefit of our employees as well as the public.
- I recently had the honor of addressing the full team of West Bend Mutual employees. This organization was born here and I am proud they choose to continue to call West Bend home. They exemplify the very fabric of who West Bend is. Their entrepreneurial spirit and high quality work environment is only matched by their commitment to being the best corporate citizen we could hope for. Their nature and positive influence is felt in every corner of our community.
- Whenever I am at a community leader conference, without exception, our strong downtown environment is brought up. Other communities are begging to find out our ‘secret’. I let them know the formula is simple. A strong dose of gutsy entrepreneurs combined with great cultural attractions such as MOWA and an appropriate amount of public support equals a vibrant and exciting city center campus.
- After 4 years of planning we have reached the stage where revitalizing the east river bank is becoming a reality. Pending final community fundraising efforts, we expect the two phase project to begin in late 2017 and be completed in the spring of 2018. This combined with improvements unveiled in 2016 will continue the one-of-a-kind rebirth of downtown West Bend.
- Strong interest in several remaining properties east of the river have the potential of adding significant tax base, high quality development and an exciting mix of commercial and residential opportunities. Progress such as this ensures a consistent flow of users to our businesses and other amenities.
- Finances are the backbone of what we do and also direct our future.
- Since 2011, overall City Debt has been reduced by about 20%. Debt levels were uncomfortably high and significant efforts by staff and the Council are getting them to appropriate levels. We have work to do but we are trending in the right direction.
- Reserves, once dangerously low, are up about 40% since 2011 and are now within a range our advisors deem acceptable. This was a significant undertaking and will be a focus moving forward.
- We continue to invest heavily into road maintenance. Once a line item of $750,000 we now allocate almost 40% more annually, or $1,040,000. This increase combined with recently enacted Prevailing Wage Laws will help us continue to maintain more road miles each year.
- Overall, the true Cost of Doing Business, our real cost of operating West Bend was 8.8% less in 2016 than it was in 2011. This means we have reduced debt, increased reserves, allocated more toward road maintenance while costing the taxpayers significantly less. Thank you to all involved. To me, this is how government should be run.
As we continue through 2017 and already look toward 2018 we will be working hard to ensure we are investing each dollar wisely while also planning ahead guaranteeing a strong future for West Bend. Please stay tuned, stay involved and thank you once again for allowing me to serve.
Kraig K. Sadownikow
Mayor – City of West Bend
Posted by Owen at 1958 hours
