Village Board Races...

The trustee positions that are up for election in the spring (Tuesday, April 7th) and the people who are candidates are as follow:

District 1:  Incumbent Michael Bech not running.

Bill Steitz vs. Terry Kaminski

District 2:  

Jim Langer (Inc.) vs. Dan Wing

District 3: 

Al Vanderheiden (Inc.) vs. Dennis Meiers

District 4:  Incumbent Art Zabel is unopposed.

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School Board Races...

The board positions that are up in the spring and those who are declared candidates include:

At-large Seat 1:

Jayson Stemo, Shad Young and Kim Fischer

At-large Seat 7:

Tom Bowe (Inc.), Robert Banner III, Brian Palzkill and Erin Jex

A primary election will be held on Tuesday, February 17th with the top two vote getters in each race moving on to the spring election to be held on Tuesday, April 7th.

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We will see new faces on both the Germantown Village Board as well as on the Germantown School Board.  It is good to see that only a single seat is uncontested.  Obviously Art Zabel must be seen as unbeatable and that is fine, but it is good to see fresh blood in the game every so often.  That tends to keep everyone a bit more on their toes than might otherwise be the case.

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Finally, if you've not visited the Village of Germantown website recently, take a look at the newly refreshed site.

I read an article over the time off following Christmas that puzzled me...not that many don't have that same effect...but this one said that we, Germantown, "thirst for comprehensive water plan".

As I went a bit further, I noted that the vaunted Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission was behind this 'movement' that would result in at least $352 million in construction expense and 53 miles of new water pipe.

Germantown, and other communities would be forced to shut down their water facilities and would buy the Lake Michigan water from the Milwaukee Water Works.  The costs are estimated to be as much as $8.5 million per year...BUT, we'd no longer need water softeners  and the attendant salt and we'd all SAVE at least $8.7 million.

Several things come to mind...

...will our water facilities be purchased from us or will we simply close the doors and the wells and the pumps and the towers and continue to eat those costs until everything is paid off?

...will this result in a fiasco on the order of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District with the high prices over which no elected board has control?

...why should we do this?  Are we starved for water?  Do we have radium issues that are not resolvable?

...would we be included simply to provide additional funding?

...who says we "thirst for comprehensive water plan"?

...what will happen when, twenty years from now, our former water facilities will be beyond re-use, and we have a Great Lakes problem that threatens to shut down the Milwaukee Water Works?  We'll obviously have no practical alternative at that point, and will be more victimized than I suspect we'll have been for the first twenty years.

How many of our trustees have been briefed on this and who are they and where do they stand on this issue? 

The only thing I've heard anything about are Menomonee Falls with its recent deal done, New Berlin with the radium issues and Waukesha with its radium issues.  Were we involved in these discussions?  Or are we simply being lumped in because, like the MATC, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) needed more money to even begin to make this boondoggle appear to be affordable?

I am growing very weary of being the flea on the tip of the tail of the doggy.  It is plain that we'll be unable to 'wag the dog' because we've no leverage; to my knowledge, we're not even represented on this Commission...but I guess that's okay since it works well for the technical college system.

Every time that tax eating dog wags its tail, we get whipsawed...if we don't end up being tossed to the ground and run over.

This report is found on the SEWRPC website by clicking here. 

Officer Bosco Fund Well-Supported...

A morning press release from Chief Pete Hoell brought good news.

Officer Bosco is back to work and doing well.  And, the fund raising effort has met with success.  The goal of $4,000 has been surpassed although the department will happily continue to accept your donations if you desire and add that to the K-9 Fund for future Bosco needs.

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Village Races Shaping Up...

District 1 - Michael Bech has indicated he will not seek re-election and former trustee Bill Steitz is planning to run for that seat according to reports.  Rumors indicate that he may have a challenger in that race.

District 2 - Incumbent Jim Langer will run again for a third term and will be opposed by Dan Wing, a Plan Commission member, who has run before.

District 3 - Incumbent Al Vanderheiden will run for a third term and will be opposed by Dennis Meyers, a member of the Police and Fire Commission.

District 4 - Incumbent Art Zabel is running for a seventh term and is, so far at least, unopposed.

Nomination papers must by filed by 5PM on Tuesday, January 6th.  Primary elections will be held on Tuesday, February 17th, with the general election set for Tuesday, April 7th.

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Meeting With Assembly-person Elect Dan Knodl...

I enjoyed a meeting and cup of coffee with Dan Knodl on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  He had indicated a willingness to meet since we hadn't yet had that opportunity.

We discussed his campaign 'issues' and he appeared to be very contrite, wishes that it hadn't happened and indicated that he was ready to face the penalty.  I felt that he was being honest and forthright during this discussion.  He recognizes that this will dog him for a good long time to come, but wants to do a good job for the district and hopes to eventually move beyond this chapter in his elected life.

His purpose in our meeting was to indicate that he wanted to "stay grounded" and open lines of communication with people throughout the district.  He indicated that he had already tendered his resignation from the Washington County Board; I'm not certain of the effective date of that resignation.  I believe that spot will be filled by appointment with the full Board's approval.

We joked about the 'broom closet' he was likely to be given as his Madison office since the 'newbies' who are also in the minority are not among the favored.  He said that he would qualify to have a single staff person and that he was already involved in the interview process and hoped to have made his decision by December 15th.  His choice will likely be made from among seasoned staff people who were working for a member that lost his or her re-election bid and were seeking a new position.

He said that he intended to spend a lot of time in the district so that he could keep himself abreast of its needs, and so that he didn't fall into the "trap" of being caught up in the position where people are all trying to make you feel good so that you'll support their position on this and that.  He is working now to identify issues that he can begin to work on hoping that this will help him establish his credibility even as a minority freshman assembly-person.

He professes to be a conservative.  He mentions his business experience and indicates that he is a 'property rights' believer.  He mentioned that he will remain a member of the Wisconsin Tavern League but will not be involved in leadership roles as he had been.  He understands that it will be very difficult for him to establish his credibility especially since the Republicans are in the minority in both the Assembly and the Senate.

He has developed a list of issues that he hopes to become involved with, and indicated that he was open to people's suggestions for additions to this list.  Among the items already on the list are spending reductions through things such as the sale of some state-owned property that could benefit both the state treasury and the communities that would acquire newly taxable property within their borders.

I would invite readers to offer their thoughts for Mr. Knodl as to issues that are important in this coming two-year period.  I'd also like to encourage his periodic contributions to this Blog as a guest writer if his schedule permits.  He was stung by some of the comments (relating to his family) that were posted to my earlier Blogs.  I indicated that I am not permitted to edit comments, but that, had I that opportunity again, I'd probably have decided to pull the offensive comment in its entirety, which I am permitted to do.

All in all, we had a good first visit.

Police dog Bosco undergoing surgery

The health of a beloved canine contributor to the community could be at risk.

Germantown Police Department police dog Bosco is having surgery this afternoon to remove a mass that may be cancerous.

Officer Bosco, used by the department for the last four years to detect a variety of drugs and search for suspects and endangered people, has been experiencing health problems, and doctors discovered the mass during an examination Nov. 26.

Germantown Police Chief Peter Hoell said the surgery, at an estimated cost of $2,000 to $3,000, could be the first step in saving the 6-year-old dog.

"We are going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Hoell said.

It is unknown whether additional treatment will be necessary, so the department is seeking any help the public is willing to offer to offset the cost of Bosco's medical bills. Checks made payable to the Germantown Police Department K-9 Fund can be mailed to the department, N112 W16877 Mequon Road, Germantown, WI 53022, or dropped off in person.

"At this point we'll take things day by day," Hoell said, adding that the department is committed to doing everything it can to cure Bosco.

For information, call the department at (262) 253-7788.

(Article courtesy of Ty Finke)

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Winter Wonderland...

Germantown has taken on the look of Christmas with the eight or so inches of snow that fell on us overnight.

Our snow plowers and salters appear to have been on the ball given the state of our roadways this morning.  I've heard the sirens that always seem to announce the first major snowfall of each season.  We can hope that the only injuries suffered were by fenders and bumpers.

Isn't global warming an amazing phenomenon?

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Village Board Reconsiders Hotel Tax...

The Village Board meets tonight and among the agenda items is the possible reconsideration of the 2% bump (a 33% increase from 6% to 8%) in the hotel room tax in Germantown.

Public comments had indicated that all the hotels in Germantown were in support when this was originally passed, however a storm of criticism erupted following the vote.  Apparently there wasn't the support thought at the time.

Surprise, Surprise...

I'm sure this must come as a great shock to us all.

The Wisconsin Technical College System Board voted 12-0 in favor of denying the petition request made by the Germantown School District to be permitted to leave the MATC district and move into the Moraine Park Technical College district.

We'll just have to shut up, pay our exorbitant MATC tax load and wait for another twenty years and try again.

In a very selfish way, I can at least look forward to many more opportunities to ridicule the MATC decision-making apparatus as well as the silly ways this group finds to divest themselves of our money.

When will we have a state government that wakes up to the folly of none-elected (appointed) boards that have taxing powers.  This is truly taxation without representation...and there seems not a thing we can do about it.

Maybe current MATC President Darnell Cole will eventually find another school that is willing to take him off our hands; I feel confident that he'll continue to look for more money and more people to tax.  After all, the goose that is called the MATC district is just about finished laying larger eggs.  I wonder if technical colleges also have powers of annexation?  That wouldn't come as too great a surprise, either.

I also wonder if we'll see more "free" laptops being donated to the library; and if we'll see that "splendid" cooperation between our industry and the MATC get even better.  We'd probably be wise to not hold our breath until that occurs.

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Knodl Konundrum - Chapter Two...

Dan Knodl has entered a plea of not guilty in Ozaukee County to the charges lodged against him over names published without the permission of those named.

I suspect that, at worst, he'll be fined a modest amount and life will go on.

I have to say, though, that I'd be very embarrassed if that were my campaign and I let that happen when I would've known I had a comfortable lead in such a dominant Republican stronghold.

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Mequon Road/Pilgrim Road Intersection Construction...

It seems that the construction in this main intersection in Germantown has gone on longer than had been expected.  I certainly hope this ends very soon so the roadway and traffic patterns can be restored prior to the Winter weather descending upon us.

Sheriff's Department Gathers Kempinski Records... 

JSOnline and the print edition of the Journal Sentinel have an article by Don Behm discussing a search warrant that was used to pick up records that included campaign finance reports and receipts.  According to that article, some 30 documents were removed from the Village Hall on Friday, November 7th.

A search of the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access site shows that Case Number 2008GF000978 was filed against Thomas Kempinski on November 7th in Branch 3 of the Washington County Circuit Court with Judge David Resheske named as the Responsible Official.

The affidavit requesting the search warrant alleged that some of the campaign documents had been altered.

I had looked at the campaign finance file of President Kempinski some time ago, following the resignation of Trustee James Langer from his position on the Kempinski campaign, and noted that pages had been altered using correction fluid and questioned whether or not this was permissible given that the original documents didn't appear in the file at that time.

It is unfortunate that innocent parties will likely be involved as this is unraveled, but that appears to have been felt to be necessary by officials in order to get to the truth.

I suspect that involved parties may be unable to comment, but, if that is not the case, we would welcome any 'guest blogs' on this subject so long as the individual(s) is/are willing to identify themselves.

Sendik's Food Market 60 Days Later...

I have yet to encounter a Sendik's associate who wasn't happy to be there and who wasn't happy to help me.

I have noted that the facility remains bright and cheery with a very clean floor, which I thought might be problematic given carpeting.  Winter will be a bigger challenge.  Shelves are always fully stocked; delicious samples are scattered throughout the store.

I don't know about you, but I am happy Sendik's selected Germantown as the site for one of their beautiful grocery facilities.

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Veterans Day 2008...

Remember that the 2008 Veterans Day ceremony will be held at the Veterans Memorial at the corner of Freistadt Road and Park Avenue on Sunday, November 9th at 10:30AM.  If you've not seen the memorial, it is worth your time.

A little history...

Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day when proclaimed by President Woodrow Wilson for November 11, 1919 to celebrate all veterans of World War I.  It finally became known as Veterans Day on November 8, 1954 when Congress amended the act to change the name and to have the day honor all veterans who have served their country.  The President was Dwight D. Eisenhower.

The American Legion will also conduct a flag disposal ceremony following the program so that you can properly dispose of any torn, tattered and/or faded American Flag you may have.

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County Supervisors Cut Property Tax Levy...

The supervisors agreed to take half of the county's sales tax revenue into the operating budget for 2009.

Unfortunately, this budget cuts the $35,000 for the County Convention and Visitors Bureau and cuts $15,000 from the Fair Park.  The Village of Germantown is working to assist the Convention and Visitors Bureau since it receives significant promotion from that organization and felt that the funding cut by the county would have consequences for the community and its merchants.

The county set a 2009 tax rate of $2.71 per $1,000 which is down about $0.10 per $1,000 from this year.

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SRO Officer In Schools...

I had the pleasure of meeting SRO Tim Miller during the Citizen Police Academy session this past Wednesday evening.  He gave us an overview of his duties in the schools and discussed the changes that have been brought about since this program was initiated.  "SRO" means School Resource Officer.  The SRO is a sworn officer and funding for this position is paid jointly by the school district and the police department on a 75%-25% ratio, respectively.

Our high school is a much quieter place of learning than before the initiation of this program several years ago.  Student fights seldom occur now; the SRO has formed relationships that help both students and administration.  And, students develop, I suspect, a much different view of police officers having had this experience.  The SRO is available for class instruction whenever the subject matter entails.  SRO Miller, in this case, can 'tell it like it is' during driver education and health classes, for example.

This strikes me as a very good use of taxpayer dollars that provides both a current payback as well as future benefits.

GEA Members Protesting...

I have learned that teachers in Germantown, members of the Germantown Education Association, are apparently protesting by wearing black clothing, or black armbands and pins over their lack of a contract that expired a few months earlier.

The offer from the Board/Administration was in accordance with the QEO (qualified economic offer) rules still in effect in Wisconsin that cite a maximum of 3.8% compensation increase including benefits according to my information.

I Blogged yesterday about the QEO going away in Wisconsin given Democrat control and WEAC support.

Could this be the first salvo in that battle?  Is it just coincidence that this occurs the day after the election, or is it part of well-planned scenario to force that issue sooner rather than later.

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GOP Voter Turn-Out Down In Washington County...

I learned from an benefits industry newsletter this morning that voter turn-out on the GOP side of the race for president were off from the most recent similar race.

Washington County showed 50,641 votes for Bush in 2004 while there were a total of 47,725 votes cast for McCain.  Waukesha County showed 9,837 fewer votes for McCain versus Bush in 2004, and Ozaukee County reported 2,744 fewer votes for McCain versus Bush.

Given the intensity of the campaigning and other races that were involved, this would seem to suggest that conservatives were really 'put out' over being forced to cast votes for the least desirable of the Republican candidates that started the race.

These three counties are solid conservative counties typically.  Maybe this was a backlash or maybe there were more casual Republican voters who were swayed to cast their ballots for Obama because they liked him rather than as a protest of their selection.

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MATC Response Opposing The Germantown School District Petition Filed...

A 54 page response is available for your review on the MATC website if you like.  I've gleaned some of that information as follows:

• "MATC offers the highest quality and greatest variety of programs and learning opportunities in the most diverse college in Wisconsin.  Germantown has benefited enormously from MATC's resources."
• "As discussed below, reorganization would certainly not be in the best interests of the hundreds of Germantown residents who attend MATC, utilizing programming and coursework that is unavailable at Moraine Park."
• "...Germantown has not presented any compelling reason to sever its productive, long-standing relationship with MATC and realign Germantown with Moraine Park.  To do so would-in effect-place an unfunded mandate upon MATC by reducing its revenues without any corresponding reduction in costs.  Programming and enrollment data strongly suggest that Germantown residents will continue to attend MATC and utilize its resources, even if reorganization occurs."

This could, and does, go on and on through the course of the 15 page letter signed by the MATC President, Dr. Darnell E.Cole, and the MATC Board Chairperson, Lauren Baker.

It asserts that there is no real reason for the petition other than our desire to get out from under the $5.7 million annual tax burden (that MATC fails to acknowledge has climbed exponentially over time).  It complains that the sole reason for the petition is financial and it says that isn't permitted as a reason for consideration.

I was struck by the fact that MATC can decry the petition on the basis of the financial havoc that would be visited on MATC but the citizens of the school district are denied the same opportunity.

MATC brags about the unique courses available, and the commuting distance differences.

That rings hollow to me since there has been no indication that Germantown students, as few as they are in total number, are seeking out MATC for those "unique" courses.  The discussion of "distance" rings hollow for me since I can drive "more quickly and more easily" from Germantown to West Bend than to either the Mequon campus or the downtown campus.

MATC points out the $2.7 million investment made in the Mequon campus over the past ten years but fails to acknowledge the $40 to $50 million in taxes paid by us citizens over that same time span.  Again, the point of money is made by MATC but cannot be used to defend the petition.

MATC says it would have to engage in "substantial" program/job cuts" if the petition were to be approved.  What a novel idea for this organization contrasted with the endless tax increases that have been and will continue to be levied.  Once again, they can use the fiscal fact set they create to defend against our petition but we cannot use the fiscal fact set we create to auger in favor of our petition.

I  have long maintained that the likelihood of a ruling favorable to the Germantown School District in its petition to move to Moraine Park was a long shot, at best.

Reading the story put together to defend the poorly run MATC organization makes me ill, as it also helps me see that the likelihood of a favorable ruling is probably much more remote than I had ever supposed.

This is such a classic case of a non-elected governmental body with taxing authority being judged by its own parent to the detriment of us citizens.  This simply has to change...but that isn't going to happen for the time period during which the Democrats control state government.  I'd simply better come to understand that and forget trying to tip windmills.

Wow, voting day is finally here and my telephone will quit ringing so much, my mailbox will be less cluttered and I can either celebrate or cry in my proverbial beer.  This election 'season' has seemed to go on forever.  Several things are at top of mind this morning...

Milwaukee Police Unit Disbanded...

The special investigative unit of the Milwaukee Police Department that generated the 67 page election fraud report has apparently been disbanded some five days prior to today's election.  The detective who led that operation has, according to the Wall Street Journal, been relegated to the sidelines today.  John Fund of the Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Detective Michael Sandvick had predicted that Wisconsin could see as many as 55,000 illegal votes cast.  He cited the cross-border flow from Minnesota and Illinois since Wisconsin is one of only eight states that have 'same day' registration coupled with the weak verification of eligibility.  His estimate was that as many as 30,000 votes could be cast today in that manner. 

There are only two people of whom I'm aware who could've caused this 'stand down' and those are Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and/or Police Chief Flynn.  Neither has been available for interviews today to my knowledge.

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My Voting Site...

I drove past the site where I vote at about 7:20AM today and was astounded at the number of vehicles parked and at the length of the line of people waiting to move into the building to vote.  I plan to vote in the 9:00AM range and we'll see if this surge was simply caused by people on their way to work as I suspect.

At any rate, it certainly seems that our voter turn-out will be in the range predicted by the Village Clerk's staff which I recall was in the 73 percent range.

On top of this was an inordinately high number of absentee ballots being cast based on my casual observations of parking lot loads during the preceding couple of weeks and of anecdotal comments from people working in village hall.

UPDATE:  I voted at about 9:20AM and was number 580.  The people were still streaming in and there was about a ten minute wait at that time.

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Media Hype...

I am angered with what now seems to pass for the mainstream media so far as their seeming promotion of Obama's 'inevitable' victory.

We have been fed the 'facts' for many days that there is no way for McCain to win.  There are, unfortunately, too many voters who are swayed by this 'stuff' and who don't think for themselves.  If just 1% of potential voters were dissuaded from 'wasting' their time voting, the swing could become a 'self-fulfilling' prophecy.

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Direct Legislation...

Finally, we are witnessing direct legislation in Milwaukee concerning mandatory sick days from employers.  This would create a burden for many businesses that would force them to close or move thus negatively impacting the residents.  But, there are too many who can't or won't think these issues through and simply vote because they like the idea that they can have sick days. 

We are witnessing some 25 to 30 communities across the state that have ballot questions concerning 'mandatory health care plans similar to those afforded state employees'.  These types of issues are done at the state level but grass roots groups have begun to work at the local levels to bring some pressure to bear on state legislators.  The simple fact is that there isn't enough money in the state to provide that level of health care coverage for all the residents.  We would bankrupt ourselves.

Having family members in Colorado, I am reminded of the folly that those voters are subjected to in the form of ballot initiatives.  There are something on the order of fifty individual questions on ballots in Colorado today that require some real effort to understand.  The majority of voters do not take the time to do their own research and, instead, follow the direction of their associations or unions or professional affiliations.

This is a very dangerous thing, in my opinion, that lends some credence to the old saw about us voters getting the government we deserve.

Trick or Treat from 5:30PM to 7:30PM...

Please remember that the little witches, ghosts and goblins will be out and about throughout the village tonight and that they cannot always see well through their masks or costumes.

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MATC Secession Public Hearings Set...

The Wisconsin Technical College Board has two meetings set for the near future at which citizens can testify for or against the petition filed earlier by the Germantown School District to be permitted to move from the MATC district into the Moraine Park district.

Those meetings are to be held on Tuesday, November 11th at two different times in two different Menomonee Falls locations.  The first is from 2PM to 5PM and is to be convened at the Menomonee Falls Public Library; the second is from 6PM to 8PM and will be held at the Menomonee Falls Community Center.

The chances for a favorable ruling are likely slim already given the history that prevails.  Public testimony on issues regarding access and class selection, for example, might help tip the balance.  Remember that tax rates are not something the Board will take into account in reaching its conclusion.

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Special Board Meeting Results Unknown...

The village trustees met behind closed doors last evening for the following stated purpose:

Adjourn into closed session under Wis. Stats. 19.85 (1)(c) considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility; (f) considering financial, medical, social or personal histories or disciplinary data of specific persons, preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems or the investigation of charges against specific persons except where para. (b) applies, which, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person referred to in such histories or data, or involved in such problems or investigations; or (g) conferring with legal counsel for the governmental body who is rendering oral or written advice concerning strategy to be adopted by the body with respect to litigation in which it is or is likely to become involved

A deductive process would reasonably suggest that this closed door meeting pertained to the issue of the alleged sexual harassment recently brought to light.  I know of nothing else that would seem to fit the descriptions provided in the Wis. Stats. section above.  There were allegations that could be damaging.  There is an employee involved.  The employee apparently had threatened legal action if she felt wronged by actions of the Board so far as her position was concerned.

Some three weeks have passed since the story broke, the citizens have no more information than at that time, and don't yet know what is going on.  It seems that there must be something happening, since the Village Board passed its unanimous statement of support for President Kempinski.  It looks as though the Village Attorney was likely in attendance, as one would expect. 

Village Administrator Schornack stated, according to a small piece by Tom Kertscher on the GermantownNOW site, that he would be informing trustees about a personnel issue and that the trustees would not be taking any action.

I certainly hope that we'll all be privy to what has been going on and what may be expected in the future before too much more time has passed.

Assembly Race Questions...

The Ozaukee County District Attorney, Sandy Williams, filed charges against Dan Knodl in Washington County for making false statements on campaign literature on Friday, October 24th.  This stems from his use of various names stating these people were "Friends and Supporters".  Some of those that were identified have indicated the they are not supporters of Knodl or didn't give him permission to use their names in that manner.  Knodl has offered up different reasons for this having happened although that hasn't satisfied critics.  One of those named on the Knodl list was Washington County DA, Todd Martens, who therefore named Sandy Williams to be the special prosecutor in the case.

Knodl faces misdemeanor charges that carry fines of up to $1,000 and imprisonment of up to six months.  He obviously hasn't been proved guilty; he has only been charged.  Charging, however, seems to suggest that the case was sufficiently strong so as to warrant the trial.  DAs aren't always victorious when they bring charges, so this can't be suggested to be a 'slam dunk' either.

We will likely go into the voting booth on November 4th without resolution to this issue.  Obviously many have already voted using absentee ballots and likely weren't aware of this charging when those votes were cast.

Knodl was the victor in his Republican primary and faces Charlene Brady who was the Democratic victor in her primary race.  The voter turn-out was heavily weighted to the Republican side as is not uncommon in this district.

My question is, "What will this charging do so far as your voting decision?"  Will you change your mind if you had intended to vote for Knodl and vote for Brady instead?  Will you vote for Knodl in spite of the charges?  Will you use the write-in approach or simply not vote in this race?  What will you do when the curtain closes behind you?

Without regard to the eventual outcome, one thing is certain; this casts yet another pebble of doubt and mistrust into the political pool for the skeptics among us.  There were already plenty of ripples on the surface of that pool.

Main Street & The World...

It wasn't all that long ago that I wrote about the St. Francis Bank being acquired by a northern Illinois banking company called Mid-America followed by the take-over of Mid-America by Cleveland-based National City Bank.

National City Bank has had its problems, as have many banks, with poorly performing mortgage loan portfolios and its stock has been in the dumps for some time.  It received a $6 billion infusion of cash not long ago from a private equity group by the name of Corsair Capital.

We'll have a new bank, at least a new bank name, in our world.  National City Bank agreed yesterday to be purchased by the PNC Corporation which is based in Pittsburgh.  National City "agreed" under duress since the government had told it to either get itself acquired or fail.  The PNC purchase is expected to close by year-end, and is being financed by a government infusion of $7.7 billion, some $5.8 billion of which will go for this deal.  The Corsair Capital group squeaks through this deal whole since it had the sense to build some protective language into the deal it did earlier this year.  That begs the question of why you and me are always at risk when the big capital organizations can do 'sweetheart' deals.

I went through this 'dry' explanation of the change for the simple reason of reminding us of just how global is our economy and of just how much each of us has at stake in the world-wide financial problems now on the front pages.  The people whom I see when I bank are about to get their fourth set of bank 'logo' clothing before the first set ever showed signs of wearing out.  They are about to be "treated" to the need to learn another banking system and another banking language.  I hope they all remain in place because they do an excellent job at customer service!

Even though we live in Germantown, we can't hide from the world wide realities of economics.  We're subject to the ups and downs of the global stock exchange system as much as we are to the ups and downs of Wall Street because it is all inter-connected.  The 'futures' trading in Japan and China set the tone for the rest of the world as it awakens to another day.  OPEC makes our gasoline prices fluctuate when it decides to reduce production...except for yesterday when it dropped production 1.5 million barrels and saw the price go down by $4 per barrel instead of rising as it had expected.  Even the oil barons are flummoxed with the current 'goings-on'.  It isn't just hitting you and me, although admittedly we feel it more intensely since most of us don't have the luxury of big cash cushions.

Another thing this should remind us of is this:  our government makes decisions we don't know about until after the fact, and those decisions are often critical to our existence.  We are the ones who determine who leads that government as we will again in a week or so.  There are already discussions going on in Washington that would impact our individual 401Ks dramatically and that would see the money accumulated being used by our government as it sees fit with guarantees of interest made to those of us holding the account.

Those promises are only so good as our economy and are only so trustworthy as our government.  Let us not go down the pathway that Argentina is on where we permit nationalization of individual accounts.

I had intended to scan a copy of the sample ballot for Germantown however that wasn't sufficiently legible.  So, we'll list the offices for which there are candidate selections to be made by all of us who are registered to vote in the village.

You may elect to vote a straight ticket including, in the order found on the ballot:

• Democratic
• Republican
• Wisconsin Green
• Libertarian

The race for President and Vice President, in the order found on the ballot:

• Barack Obama/Joe Biden (Democratic)
• John McCain/Sarah Palin (Republican)
• Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente (Wisconsin Green)
• Bob Barr/Wayne A. Root (Libertarian)
• Brian Moore/Stewart A. Alexander (Socialist Party USA)
• Gloria LaRiva/Robert Moses (Party for Socialism, & Liberation)
• Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez (Independent)
• Chuck Baldwin/Darrell L. Castle (Constitution Party)
• Jeffrey J. Wamboldt/David J. Klimisch (We, the People)
• Write-in________________

Representative in Congress District 5, in the order found on the ballot:

• F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (Republican)
• Robert R. Raymond (Independent)
• Write-in________________

State Senator District 8, in the order found on the ballot:

• Sheldon A. Wasserman (Democratic)
• Alberta Darling (Republican)
• Write-in________________

Representative to the Assembly District 24, in the order found on the ballot:

• Charlene S. Brady (Democratic)
• Dan Knodl (Republican)
• Write-in________________

District Attorney:

• Todd K. Martens (Republican)
• Write-in________________

County Clerk:

• Brenda J. Jaszewski (Republican)
• Write-in_________________

Treasurer:

• Janice Gettelman (Republican)
• Write-in_________________

Register of Deeds:

• Sharon Martin (Republican)
• Write-in_________________

Referendum - Germantown School District

Question #1:

Shall the following Initial Resolution be approved?

INITIAL RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $22,500,000

BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the Germantown School District, Washington County, Wisconsin that there shall be issued pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $22,500,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of constructing a new elementary school on school district property next to Kinderberg Park; technology, safety and security initiatives District wide; and acquiring furnishings, fixtures and equipment.

Yes ____

No   ____

Question #2

Shall the following Resolution be approved?

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET TO EXCEED REVENUE LIMIT BY $500,000

FOR RECURRING PURPOSES

BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the Germantown School District, Washington County, Wisconsin that the revenues included in the School District budget for the 2010-2011 school year and thereafter be authorized to exceed the revenue limit specified in Section 121.91, Wisconsin Statutes, by $500,000 a year, for recurring purposes consisting of costs associated with the new elementary school.

Yes ____

No   ____

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The ballot is two-sided as you would expect from the many questions.

SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS...

JSOnline today carries an article by Tom Kertscher that begins, at least, to answer some questions that have been swirling in my mind for several weeks.  Rumors have been 'on the streets' since early-September to the effect that there had been turmoil within Village Hall.  This article points to a memorandum, written by Village Administrator Dave Schornack, that points to allegations by a village employee concerning sexual harassment supposedly involving Village President Tom Kempinski.

It seems there was sufficient impact in the allegations to warrant a special meeting of the Village Board on September 22nd, although that is supposition based on timing and the purpose declared for the 'closed meeting' being matters involving personnel.

The memo apparently indicates that the employee alleges her being tasked with personal work for Mr. Kempinski that included helping him apply for jobs.  All this supposedly happened on village time using village assets.

Forget, for the moment, that there were also supposedly sexual harassment elements included in the complaints made by the employee.  The simple accusation of the use of village employees for personal services on village time is sufficiently serious so as to warrant an open investigation.

There have been other suggestions of personal and/or non-village activities performed by staff on behalf of Mr. Kempinski.  One of these allegations centered on the Leadership Germantown project of Kempinski's that saw the Farmer's Market moved to The Livery in Rockfield.  That supposedly consumed some village employee time and materials.  The metal signage created to point people to The Livery was supposedly made by village employees using village equipment.

Individual allegations can usually be dismissed but the appearance of more than one or two such instances begs a public review.

Among the questions that arise is this:  If there was sufficient apparent substance to warrant the memo from Mr. Schornack, and he apparently felt that to be the case, and if there are other supposed situations where village resources were deployed on behalf of an individual, what else is there to be found in a detailed public audit?

If, as I suspect, some seek the resignation of Mr. Kempinski, the audit should be made anyway.  Citizens have a right to know about these allegations in light of this article and the disclosure of the memorandum that prompted it.

Germantown Police Department Building Follow-Up...

Several readers requested a timeline concerning the Germantown Police Department building process.  Chief Hoell had done just such a timeline for the Trustees and was kind enough to provide that for this piece:

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1982:  Both the original Police Building (N112 W16877 Mequon Rd.) and Library - now PD Annex - were built.   The shell of the range was completed but funds have never been approved to date for completing the indoor range.

1994:  The Public Safety Committee discussed an expansion project for the Police Dept.  No action was taken. 

1995:  The Village retained the services of HNTB to conduct a Needs Assessment Study of all municipal facilities.  The study recommended building a new library and that upon completion the police department should expand its building by connecting both existing structures.  HNTB estimated the cost of the police department expansion at $750,000.

According to the Public Safety Committee notes, the police department building expansion, indoor range and communications center projects would be moved from 1995 to 1996. 

1998:  Garage addition proposal submitted.

1999:  A request was made to budget $725,000 for the building expansion to be completed in 2003.  The amount was reduced first to $450,000 and then $350,000 at the final budget meeting. 

2000:  Garage construction started with a $270,000 budget. 

2001:  Garage addition completed.   January 16, 2001 the Public Safety Committee tours new garage.

Fischer, Fischer Theis, Inc. hired for $4,400 to design the police expansion.

2002:  Fischer, Fischer Theis, Inc. worked with the $350,000 budget constraints, submitted and received final approval from the planning commission for the architectural design plans.  The Village Board split the amount of which $167,500 was allocated for 2003 to remodel the interior of the old library, and $167,500 was set aside to connect the two buildings in 2006.  The Village Board then decided at the final budget hearing to withdraw all funding since the limited money budgeted created a design that fell short of their expectations for the long-term use of the police department facilities. 

2003: The Village Board approved $750,000 in the Capital Budget to connect the police department in 2004.

2004:  Police staff, primarily support services, moves into the old library (PD Annex). 

2004 – 2005:  Public Safety gave direction to hire Plunkett Raysich for $9,200 to design a connection and remodel both buildings based on space needs to accommodate the PD until 2025.  The total project, to include connection of both buildings and a total remodel, came in at $3,200,000 for a 2006 construction date.

2005-2006:  Homeland Security grant received to install building security upgrades.  Items chosen from a security study of the buildings and the ability to reuse the items with the building project.  Items added:  fob key system, lobby security drawer, fencing, cameras/monitor, and windows. 

2006:  Village Board tabled the PD building project till 2007.

2007-2008:  Third conceptual design for PD connection and remodel of both buildings.  Zimmerman Architectural Studios was hired for approximately $12,000.   This project is ongoing.  Cost estimate for a remodel of both buildings and connection was at approximately $6,000,000.  Village Board sent the plan back to be reviewed with the possibility of doing this project in phases. 

Notes on a couple important issues, but not inclusive:  90% to 95% of all the police department furniture is original (26 years old) and/or secondhand donated items.  Most of the furniture was not designed for computer usage.  

The completion of the indoor range has been discussed for 26 years but never completed.

The radio is too small to accommodate the county radio project coming in the fall of 2009.  The current radio console is outdated and not equipped to handle the computers. 

The radio and communications equipment should be removed from the basement.

Air quality due to electronics needs to be improved. 

Men and Women’s lockers are over capacity.

The flooring is old, worn out and in poor shape.  Also in need of repair are some of the ceilings and walls. 

There is no central location to handle and store evidence.  The evidence processing and storage is handled between two floors and the storage should be removed from the basement. 

No room to function as an Emergency Operations Center.

Because staff has outgrown the buildings, interview rooms were taken over for office space.   The police department is in need of both hard and soft interview rooms equipped with both audio and visual recording devices to be able to record interviews per State Statute.  The rooms should also be equipped with emergency notification/alert call buttons.  

A secure training and conference room that can be utilized by outside organizations and other law enforcement personnel is needed.

The PD Annex is an old library; it’s still an old library which is occupied by PD personnel.  This building is in need of security updates.

Records are stored throughout the PD and Annex; there is no central records location.

There is a strong need to create a safe work environment for the PD employees and the public while in and around the PD building and Annex.  PD staff should be able to move around without the constant exposure to the outside by having to walk through the courtyard.  The entrance to the main PD building is hidden from the parking lot.   We need the front door to be seen by those in distress because they may not have the time or ability to read a directional sign or follow arrows.  

The overall buildings are aged and worn.  They were built with the security needs of the early 1980’s in mind.   The safety of the staff and public while at the police department are paramount, and creating a professional, efficient work environment is an important aspect of this project as well.  

~~~~~~~~~~

This provides the rest of the story over and above the request that the department find $330,000 of "unnecessary" expense to be cut so the village can balance its 2009 budget without a tax increase.

I believe that the board has been neglecting the department and that we will ultimately pay the price.  As is evident, the simple impact of inflation has caused the building connector proposals to escalate significantly over time. 

My apologies for such a lengthy Blog but all this information seemed quite germane to the story needing to be told.  

"Your mission, should you decide to accept..."

That lead-in to the old Mission Impossible television show came to mind as I pondered today's Village Buzz topic possibilities.

I take some of our elected representatives to task now and then, and some of you readers do the same in your comments.  Maybe it is time for us to "put up or shut up" as the old saying goes (not really but it gets the point across).  If we have ideas as to how our governing entities could do things differently, lets put those on the table and see if any grow legs.

For example, we see privatized prisons popping up around the country.  That happened because the private sector found a use for capital that took a burden from the shoulders of the taxpayer.  I read of the latest Scott Walker budget proposals for Milwaukee County and thought that he has to be among the most creative politicians I've seen in some time (and, I hope he runs for Governor again).

What is there in our small world that could be done differently if we were to 'color outside the lines' for awhile?  At the risk of angering entrenched interests, I'll throw out a few thoughts along those lines (remember that there may be some current impediments but that most impediments are man-made and could be altered if we demanded that):

Why not look to the private sector to build a school building that we can lease?  The lessor could be obligated to handle all repairs, for example, over the term of the lease to assure that things that break get fixed on a timely basis instead of being delayed until they manifest as something worse.  I see many former hospitals that have been turned into apartment buildings, for example.  Just because a building is built to house students, doesn't have to mean that it would always be a school building.  As population ebbs and flows, this would give the taxpayer some welcomed flexibility.  Would this be workable?  We won't know unless we ask the questions.

What about a charter school or an Internet school option to take student-count pressure off the buildings now available?  Might that also reduce the personnel costs? 

Many communities have hired assessor organizations and building inspector organizations to do their specialized work instead of retaining this talent on their own payrolls.  Why not go through an extensive review of what we could do along those lines.  That might reduce costs.  It might eliminate our angst over rising benefit costs that have been negotiated and about which we can do nothing even as we watch the private sector deal with those same issues.  Current employees with those skills might welcome the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and build new companies that other communities could employ.

Would it be possible to contract for road repair and shift some of the uncertainties off onto a private sector entity?  Private business is accustomed to taking risk.  Government tends to have to avoid risk and that adds expense.  Road salting and snow plowing, for example, is a real problem given a hard winter and higher salt costs.  If a private firm were contracted, it would bear that risk.  I see many landscape firms that become snow plowers and salters in the winter.  Is that worth exploring?

Would it make sense to lease computer servers for the village's use and have those housed in a private data center that does that as its primary business?  The village wouldn't have need for the IT skills that it might today.  Leasing of such systems might prove more economical and is an expense for which we could plan.

In most of these examples, the private sector would probably be more efficient, less susceptible to the political winds that blow hot and then cold, more intent on running very tightly controlled operations, etc.  Where there is a true risk/reward relationship that is properly negotiated and vetted, I believe that the private sector is simply better at that than is a government body.  And, as the "sidewalk" issue shows, I feel certain that the private sector can get things done in shorter time periods in most cases.

"Your mission, should you decide to accept" is to come up with your own ideas that might be capable of altering the way we look at the world of Germantown government and the Germantown school system today.  I look forward to your comments...if you are brave enough/foolish enough to offer those.  Most of you, at least, have anonymity on your side.  I'm just hanging out there with my zipper down.

There will be two versions of the Village Buzz posted today given two relatively lengthy subjects each of which deserve a more detailed review.

~~~~~~~~~~

Germantown Police Department Budget...

I learned that our Police Department was being tasked by some members of the Village Board to reduce its 2009 budget request by some $330,000 as its share of the $900,000+ deficit solution.  I have followed the department closely enough to recognize that this request would very likely cut away muscle and not fat, and I asked Chief Hoell for information about what this level of reduction would bring in the way of policing in 2009 without sharing my position with him at that point.

Chief Hoell indicated that his proposed budget was already done on the basis that this was an austere year for the village and that he would have to make do without a lot of the things he'd like to see for the department and the citizens of Germantown.  He advised that he had been able to trim some operating costs but that other line items, such as fuel costs, were beyond his ability to control.  He said that, although there have been cost increases in other line items, the department had made do without similar budget increases.  If there were equipment breakdowns or if some large unforeseen event such as a major crime scene were to be confronted, there would be no surplus available with which to handle the occurrence.

He stated, simply, that "a $330,000 cut would cripple this department".  "We would become solely reactive at best and the safety of our officers would be at jeopardy."   He indicated that, if he took out insurance, bonds, heat and water expense line items, the $330,000 would be "pretty much our operating budget for 2009".

"If you take this money out of personnel, then as I stated above, we would become solely reactionary at best and no longer proactive.  We are already experiencing delays in our responses due to the volume of calls for service or simply cannot respond to a time sensitive incident.  The safety and security of our officers will be at stake and the safety of our community will slowly deteriorate."

He went on to discuss staffing studies:  "The Germantown Police Department is the least staffed municipal agency in Washington County per capita.  The same holds true for the metro area.  We continually update this study and attach it to our budget to keep our elected officials educated on where we stand for staffing.  The Depart. of Justice recommends approx. 2.2 officers per 1,000 people.  GPD has 1.58 officers per 1,000 people.  Granted the 2.2 is a bit high, however the national average is 2.0, the state average is 1.8".   (This is for communities having from 10,000 to 40,000 people). 

~~~~~~~~~

Now, I'll take the opportunity to "editorialize":

The thought that we would cut our police protection budget by such an amount simply to be "