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.
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