Bipartisanship: Evers, Gundrum, Stroebel Allocate 1.6 FTE in New Prosecutors for Washington County

While I believe that most of my neighbors know that I lean Republican, I won't shy away from giving credit when a Democrat does something good.  Governor Evers increased the allocation for funding additional Assistant District Attorneys for Washington County from the 1.0 FTE (full-time equivalent) the legislature had allocated to 1.6 FTE. 


I also commend our legislature including Representative Gundrum and Senator Stroebel for reviewing this issue and originally increasing the funding for County Prosecutors and allocating 1 FTE for Washington County. 


While there wasn't total agreement on this, there was in general bipartisan support for increasing funding, and bipartisanship worked.


A few nuts and bolts about this:

• The State of Wisconsin mandates that the County have prosecutors, specifically including a District Attorney.
• The State of Wisconsin provides funding for the District Attorney as well as Assistant District Attorneys.
• The State of Wisconsin has traditionally under-funded this department, leaving counties to either fund additional needed positions or overwork existing staff.
• The State of Wisconsin had not added any funding for any additional positions for more than 10 years.
• County case loads are growing.
• Washington County felt like we needed funding for 2 additional prosecutors (who are already on staff and currently funding by the County).
• Washington County currently gets funding for 5 positions but has 7 on staff.  Those 2 additional positions are paid for by our County.
• The Legislator reviewed staffing levels and proposed funding 1 additional position for us.
• Governor Evers had the Department of Administration study the issue further, and is giving our County 1.6 FTE, on the presumption that we could share 1 person with Ozaukee County.  I am guessing we will still fund the additional .4 FTE to keep that 7th position fully in Washington County.

This is undeniably a win for Washington County.  Now, if we can get a 5th circuit court (we currently have 4) we'll really be making progress.

Investment in County Administrative Staffing Pays Off Big

Last year, we made the decision to add a position to the administrative staff.  This cost the county $100,000 in pay & benefits per year.  If all you look at is the expense, this looks like a bad deal for Washington County.  This wasn't just an expense, this was an investment in our county, and one that has paid off big.

The promise we were given at that time was that, during the first two years, this position would pay for itself two-fold.  While the cost would be $200,000, the funding recouped from that cost would be at least $400,000.  Spending $2 to save $4 always makes sense, so I supported it, along with the majority of the board.

Ethan Hollenberger was hired into this position, and at this week's County Board meeting, we got our update on the first year's results.  Surprisingly, Ethan has far exceeded the promise we were given.  In addition to additional funding for new positions and programs, Ethan has brought in $500,000 in funding for County operations.  We made back $5 for every dollar we invested in Ethan. 

How has he done this.  Some of it comes from a deal her put together to rent county space for a field of solar panels.  The County bears no risk, while getting revenue based on the energy that is being produced.  he has also been working with various federal officials to find federal grant opportunities, including additional funding for TAD programs we currently pay for, for our drug court which Judge Mertens is implementing, and various other programs.  he also worked to get some of our roads projects funded only by state dollars, which help us avoid very expensive federal road-building requirements.

Having the right positions, and hiring the right people into those positions, is critical for any organization.  Successful organizations are not afraid to spend money on new positions when those positions make fiscal sense.

I would encourage the City of West Bend to consider this approach, and explore what opportunities a professional lobbyist could bring to help resolve their budget challenges.

Spending $1 to make $5 is always smart.  We can't just look at the expense, we have to look at the return on that investment.

Another Major Reform Accomplished for Washington County Government

Another major reform of Washington County Government was accomplished tonight.  The executive branch of our county's government will no longer be an unelected bureaucracy, accountable only to the County Board Chairman and subservient to the County Board.  Instead, we will have 3 equal branches of government, with the head of the executive branch of our government elected by "We The People," the voters of Washington County.

Tonight, I am proud to proclaim that we voted to install the position of County Executive.  No longer will County Board Supervisors quietly meet to choose a County Administrator.  No longer will discussions about the future of our county be limited to a few contested county board races, while the majority of County Board Supervisors run unopposed.  Instead, we will now have a county-wide discussion about the future vision for our county, backed by an election.

"We the People" now get to pick our leader.  While I am a County Board Supervisor, I am also one of the voters that comprise "We the People."  I am proud of our County Board and the vision we displayed tonight, along with the trust we put in "We the People."  Less power is in the hands of County Board Supervisors, and more power is back in the hands of all the voters in our County.  Despite an argument that we should listen to members of the Milwaukee County Board and "keep a good thing going," we moved our County forward.

While a few members of our community remain apprehensive about this transition, I am confident that in 20 years, we will all look back at this moment and decide that it was one of the best decisions our County Board made. 

I have seen how contested elections can create a great discussion about our government.  In December 2017 we had several local candidates running in the special election for the 58th assembly district.  In spring of 2018 we had two experienced candidates, former Supervisor Ralph Hensel and myself, running to be the County Board Supervisor for District 3.  Both of those races featured a lot of good discussions about the future direction of our county.  In the District 3 race, both Ralph and I presented ideas and accomplishments for our County.  In contrast, there are some parts of our County that have not seen a contested County Board race in more than 10 years.

The next major reform we need to look at is reducing the size of the County Board.

Too Many Supervisors, Let’s Make the County Board Smaller

Our County Board currently has 26 supervisors.  One of my campaign commitments from 2018 was that I would support reducing the size of the board, and I remain unwavering in that commitment.

During my recent trip to Washington D.C. for the White House conference, I met with several County Board Supervisors and County Commissioners from other counties and states.  One of them had a unique perspective.  She was a Commissioner in Minnesota, and her county had only 5 Commissioners (Supervisors) on its board.  She was also serving on several board within the County, including the library board and the agricultural board, and those boards all had 20-25 members.  She was frustrated with how little those boards got accomplished, and how much the smaller County Board could get accomplished.

This unique perspective confirms, at least in my view, that I am right in my belief that we need to reduce the size of the board.  The strong support I have received from many of my neighbors in district 3 also confirms my belief.

So the next questions are, how much smaller should the board be, and how quickly should it be reduced?

County Board Size
For a County our size, I could see the board being as small as 13-14 supervisors.  I think a smaller board like that could be very effective, while still ensuring adequate representation of the constituents.

Speed for Reducing the County Board
In May of 2018, the idea I proposed to my neighbors in District 3 was to do a series of incremental reductions, starting after the 2020 census.  My idea was to reduce to around 21-22 after the 2020 census, reduce again around 2026, and make a final reduction after the 2030 census.  I know, from previous instances in which this topic came up, that some supervisors favor reducing the board on a more drastic timeframe.  I also know that some supervisors opposing reducing the board.

Ultimately, some compromise is going to need to happen, but I plan to vote for reducing the board.  We simply don't need to have so many supervisors, 26 is far too many.


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