2021 County Budget

 

At last night's Executive Committee meeting, we discussed the 2021 budget.  A few things about our budget:

• Taxes go down, again.  This year they go down 5.5 cents per thousand dollar in home value, which equates to $11 for a home assessed at $200,000.  Add this to the 30 cents we have reduced taxes over the previous four years I have been in office, and the net is about 35 cents per thousand, or $70 per year on a home valued at $200,000.
  
• The rebuilding of Samaritan will likely hit the 2022 or 2023 budget.
   
  
  
  
• The levy increases $700,000 based on new construction within the community.
• 90% of the new spending will go towards public safety and the Sheriff's department.  At a time when our country is seeing many local governments cave in to a loud but small group by reducing funding to law enforcement, this is a refreshing re-affirmation of our commitment to a safe and secure community.

 

• Our County Park will, for the first time ever, need no tax levy money.  Our parks are now fully self-sustaining.  Best of all, park usage is at an all time high. We added high-demand amenities to our park system, along with an entrance fee.  Those amenities include dog parks, disc gold courses, wedding barns, rental cabins, beer gardens, and more.  We have proven that people are willing to pay to use the parks, if we offer parks that are exciting and engaging.

 

Public Safety Reports

As Chairman of the Public Safety Committee, one of the things I do is submit reports to the full County Board on the activities of the Public Safety Committee.  Below are the reports I have submitted for the past two months:

October

Mutual Aid Requests---Sheriff’s Department 

The key item that was discussed at this month’s County Board meeting involved the Sheriff’s department providing aid to other municipalities within our County, as well as outside of our County, to assist with civil disturbances.  

Within our County, there have been several mostly peaceful protests, marches, and demonstrations in Municipalities including Germantown, Hartford, West Bend, and Slinger. Sheriff’s deputies assisted in providing a law enforcement presence in these communities to ensure that these protests, marches, and demonstrations remained peaceful. The sheriff’s department also provided substantial assistance to one municipality, Germantown, to prevent disorderly protesting. Sheriff Schulteis is committed to providing aid to any Municipality in Washington County to prevent mostly-peaceful protesting from evolving into violent or unlawful activities. 

Washington County Sheriff’s deputies were also utilized to help with civil disturbances in Kenosha and Milwaukee. Both cities are part of our emergency response region. As such, counties and municipalities in this region are committed to aiding each other when necessary. The aid we rendered helps to ensure that, should it ever be needed, those communities would render aid to us. 

There was some discussion about rendering aid when the community restricts the response of law enforcement in a way that prevents the use of proper crowd control measures, such as using tear gas. Sheriff Schulteis did not send any deputies to assist with crowd control during the Democratic National Convention because the the prohibition on the use of tear gas. The consensus of the committee confirmed the Sheriff’s decision that we should not engage in mutual aid requests if law enforcement is not able to use tear gas if needed. This is an effective and appropriate measure to deal with individuals unruly crowds. 

If Washington County would see significant protest or civil disobedience, it would be critically important for all municipalities within our County to very quickly mobilize and join the Washington County Sheriff’s Department in rendering mutual aid. Our municipal police departments have typically worked well together.

Grant---Sheriff’s Department 

After the Public Safety meeting, the Sheriff sent this information:  

“I did not know this yesterday, but I wanted to let you know we were awarded a 49K non-matching grant that we applied for from the state. Preference was given to multi-jurisdictional drug units that were attempting to foster collaboration between agencies. 

I had been working with the new Hartford Police chief to get a Hartford officer into our drug unit as they have not had representation in decades. The strategy worked. We are going to be able to purchase a new vehicle, radio and work station for the Hartford officer here at the SO without affecting our budget.”

August

Civil Service Commission 

The committee voted unanimously to forward an ordinance change to the full county board that would dissolve the civil service commission. We believe this would reduce dead time in the hiring process, and enable us to proceed through all the same steps while reducing the hiring timeline. Currently it takes between 16 and 24 weeks to hire someone, while removing the civil service commission would reduce the hiring time down to 8-11 weeks, saving anywhere from 5-16 weeks in time to hire a new deputy. The streamlined process would be faster and more flexible, and it would enable us to add in additional screening options, such as an assessment center, without lengthening the time. We are looking to add an assessment center (with an additional interview conducted by an external agency) to the hiring process. We are really “late to the party” on this, as a lot of other counties and municipalities have already made this change. We are in the minority of Counties that still have a civil service commission.

 I met 3 of the 4 current members of the civil service commission. They are all great, dedicated people who care about our community and want to make sure we hire quality deputies. I ask the board to join me in thanking them for their service to the commission. We can keep them involved in the hiring process without the civil service commission. This change is really more of a procedural change that moves our hiring process into the 21st century and positions us to more proactively and efficiently recruit and hire the talent we need. 

Swat Team

Our committee approved spending $15,000 on swat team equipment. We will invite 3 police officers from municipal agencies to join the county’s swat team. This will expand the capabilities of our swat team, and improve inter-agency cooperation & coordination. The county will not incur any personnel cost related to this, just the $15,000 equipment cost.

Trump's White House Surprised Me

As many of you may know, I was very relunctant to cast my ballot for Trump in 2016. His style was abrasive and clumsy, and there were questions about how genuine he was. Now, in 2020, I am a very enthusiastic support of Trump, for a variety of reasons.

One of the things that has particularly impressed me about Trump is the outreach and coordination from the White House. Back in February, I wrote this about the Trump White House: "In talking with other County Board Supervisors, the level of communication from the Trump White House is a significant increase, as previous administrations have traditionally not communicated with local governments very much. Since governments can generally work more effectively when they communicate and coordinate with each other, this increased level of communication from the White House is very welcome." The communication from the White House was especially strong during the outbreak of COVID-19. In late March, I participated in a flurry of White House conference calls, many of which had jammed phone lines, to learn more about the threat that COVID posed.

Another thing that has particularly impressed me about the Trump Administration is its foreign policy endeavors. Trump is now being nominated for 3 nobel peace prizes. For my entire life, and for most of my father's life, the Korean pennisula has had a declared state of war between North and SOuth Korea. Trump changed that, and has gotten a strong start towards the peace process. He has also brokered peace agreements in the middle east between arab states and Israel, something no previous President has accomplished.

Trump has kept his promise to renegotiate NAFTA. The USMCA is a better deal for America, and we have Trump to thank for it. Trump has also toughened up our stance with Cina, who has been ignoring our copyright and patent laws and heavily taxing American exports to Cina, creating a trade imbalance between our nations.

Trump has kept another promise, to reduce needless regulations and red tape. The Trump Administration has cut nearly eight regulations for every new, significant regulation - more than fulfilling his promise.

Most importantly, Trump has taken a strong stand against socialism, an economic system that always destroys prosperity and leads to economis ruin. The only oil rich nations on the globe that sees rampant poverty are Iran (due to sanctions) and Venezuela, a country that was prosperous 20 years ago but made the mistake of turning to socialism. By cutting taxes, Trump has brought jobs back to America and produced 3 years of prosperity. I believe he will also get our economy back on track after COVID.

On COVID, Trump had a quick response. He shut down flights to China, and was derided by Democrats as a Xenophobe for doing it. He quickly ramped up our response, and as a result our country did not see 2 million deaths, which was forecasted. He reduced deaths by 90%, to 200 thousand, and a vast majority of those deaths had underlying health conditions that contributed to their death.

Is Trump abrassive? Yes. Do his tweets sometimes bother me? Yes. Ultimately, results matter far more than tweets and stray comments, and Trump is getting fantastic results for the American people. We need 4 more years of Trump. Please join me in supporting him.

County Updates

Statement from County Executive Josh Schoemann

There was some confusion regarding the health department website, and an e-mail address for managing inquiries and complaints related to the mask mandate.  Our County Executive put out a statement about it.  In short, “Washington County is not enforcing the mandatory mask mandate.”

Washington County is not enforcing the mandatory mask mandate. Sheriff Schulteis has made this clear from his law enforcement perspective, District Attorney Bensen has said it is extremely difficult to prove and Public Health Officer Johnson has made clear that the health department does not have the time or the resources to pursue any complaints. The health department will not be investigating reported mask mandate violations.

Complainers have inundated the health department with calls and emails. The health department's job is to assist the public to get tested and assist businesses and organizations in mitigating outbreaks or hotspots. Please stop complaining to them and wasting their time, so that they can do their important work of contact tracing, test monitoring and helping businesses and schools to stay open.

Separating these email inboxes ensures the unhelpful complaints do not clutter the real work of the department.

These frivolous complaints, and all mask mandate complaints, are not going to be responded to by the health department. Please do not call the health department to complain or spam the dedicated COVID 19 questions email. Do not waste law enforcement time and resources with these pointless calls or emails. Do not pester the District Attorney's office, they have real criminal cases to prosecute. Complaining about your neighbors or businesses slows the COVID-19 response and is not helpful.

Wearing a mask is the polite and responsible thing to do; the citizens of Washington County are capable of making their own decisions to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

https://www.co.washington.wi.us/inner.iml?mdl=news.mdl&ID=302&fbclid=IwAR06HeRNTcJmmzl02xUK3ZMdf4l_I2CsOjqCHx1MqqWVKYCKleFqk39zIYk

Government over-reach from the Governor

Let’s be honest, this virus seems scary, and the news media has certainly done its share to increase that sense of fear.  I lost a former coworker two weeks ago due to suicide, and in the last month I have had 2 constituents and 1 coworker mention that a person they knew had committed suicide within the last month.  In the entire rest of my life, I have never know of this many suicides.  In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan said “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.”   Of course, he was not speaking of covid-19, but his words seem fitting.

Our Governor has, in violation of the law, declared a state of emergency for the second time, for the same emergency.  To do this, he ramped up testing, creating record levels of negative and positive tests, and then claimed the increase in positive tests warrants the second declaration.  Besides mask mandates, this declaration if left unchallenged might permit the governor to close all schools and even locking down our state again.  Our economy cannot handle another lockdown, and quite frankly it seems completely unnecessary given the small surge, if any surge, that Wisconsin has seen in actual infection rates.  Keep in mind, each of these actions will be temporary, maybe 30 days, and then each will be extended, and extended again, and then yet again.  In May, we found out that our Governor wanted to keep our state closed through February of 2021.

Washington County will be challenging the Governor’s illegal and unconstitutional actions, which constitute a clear over-reach of the authority of the executive branch.

Regarding the mask mandate, I don’t like government mandating solutions.  Many people, including me, have issues that make wearing masks challenging.  If I had to go into an environment where I knew there were lots of vulnerable people, I would find a way to tough it out and wear a mask for that time period, that’s the caring thing to do.  I also make a point to actively avoid being in those situations, which is also the caring thing to do.  And, when I am out and about in the community, I make a point to social distance, which is also the caring thing to do.  On the other hand, I reject the idea that, simply because there is a 1 in 750 chance that any one of us might have covid, we all have to wear masks everywhere we go and all day at work.  Social distancing has done a lot to slow the spread of this virus, and in most public settings that will usually be enough.

I am proud to report that last month, our County Board unanimously approved resolution 17, which upheld our oath of office and our commitment to upholding the constitution.  Challenging the governor’s overreach will be part of that commitment.

I also question the one-size-fits-all nature of a mask mandate.  Florence County still has only 7 cases, and a population of only 4,295 people.  That population is largely rural.  In contrast, Milwaukee County now has 20,637 cases, in part due to high population and population density.  Why do these two counties need Madison-issued decrees that treat them exactly identical?  The one-size-fits-all approach shows a lack of common sense.  These issues should be handled locally, as each County has its own unique situation.

Quick facts about COVID-19

Per the state DHS website, as of yesterday (8/7/2020):

Children

·         Nobody under the age of 20 in Wisconsin has died of COVID.  Not one child.

·         Only 135 of confirmed cases are people under the age of 20.

·         For people under the age of 20 who test positive, less than 2% ever need hospitalization.

Active cases

·         Active cases 9,534 (in a state of roughly 6 million people).

Deaths

·         96% of people who died from covid were over the age of 50.

·         88% of people who died from covid were over the age of 60.

·         At least 44% of those who have died lived in a long-term care facility or group home.  It is possibly that this percentage is as high as 72%.

·         Lastly, a MacIver Instute review found that, of 383 covid deaths in Milwaukee County, 372 (97%) had other contributing health conditions.  In some cases, the death certificates listed 6 other serious health conditions that contributed to the death. https://www.maciverinstitute.com/2020/08/its-always-a-covid-19-death-in-milwaukee-county/

Tonight's Constitutional Resolution

Tonight our County Board will vote on Resolution 17, supporting the Constitution.  Some have called it a "sanctuary" resolution, and I think that is a matter that is up for interpretation.  I will be voting in favor of this resolution.


A lot of controversy has been stirred up, based on the issue of whether or not our County would use this resolution as the basis to resist a state or federal mandate that everyone wear masks.  While we are not directly voting on the issue of mask mandates, we are voting on a commitment to protecting our rights, which could include opposing a mask mandate.


I very strongly believe that the wearing of masks is a personal choice.  If someone feels vulnerable, and wants to wear a mask to protect themselves, that is their choice and I will support it.  If someone does not want to wear a mask, or has health conditions that make it less viable to wear a mask, I support them choosing to refrain from wearing a mask.  I view that as being the freedom and responsibility that comes with being an American.


A government's role right now should be to provide advice while supporting the rights of everyone to make their own personal decisions.  A government should not be imposing mandates that infringe upon personal our personal liberties.


I have seen some concerning things from our state government over the last 4 months, some of which seem to rise to the level of constitutional overreaches.  Times of crisis are when we need to be the most vigilant about protecting our constitutional rights, because that is when it is easiest for government to rationalize and justify infringements on our rights.  Once we give up a right, it is difficult to get back.

UPDATE---The resolution passed unanimously.

Article on Samaritan from West Bend Daily News

About 4 weeks ago I had a good conversation with Brianna from the Daily News about Samaritan Campus.  Last Saturday she wrote up an article about our conversation for the Newspaper.


I have highlighted in yellow a correct, where the newspaper accidentally misquoted me.  The newspaper article stated that I wanted to maximize costs, which is absurd.  Ironically, in the next sentence I talk about being cost effective.  I have corrected that phrase to what I think I must have said (based on my memory 4 weeks later of the conversation).




WEST BEND - The coronavirus may be the top issue on people’s minds now, but there are other challenges facing the county. Senior care is one of these challenges, including the government’s role in helping aged residents who cannot afford to pay out of pocket but require medical assistance.

As the former human resources director for a few assisted living facilities, Washington County Board District 3 Supervisor Chris Bossert has some knowledge of the industry and understands the challenges.

At the core is funding, with Samaritan Health Center and others accepting Medicaid exemplifying the tough decision. Medicare does not cover longterm care services, and in Wisconsin, the Medicaid waiver model covers some services but not room and board. Many senior care businesses have to decide between helping those in greatest need at a financial loss or turning those away to stay profitable.

For now, Samaritan’s current cost model is able to afford Medicaid residents, although the government reimbursement is low. By accepting Medicare, the facility, in this case Samaritan, receives a fraction of the payment from the state and has to look elsewhere to recoup the rest.

“It partly involves using the independent and assisted living projects’ proceeds that are beyond operating costs to help supplement the skilled nursing facility operations,” Bossert said. “We need to look at ways to maximize reimbursements and be able to get more reimbursement from Medicare to help out, maybe looking at staffing ratios and making sure we have correct proportions that are cost-effective.”

More of a bubble

Long-term funding will be difficult if the present health care shortage continues without any increase in financial assistance from the state or federal government. And neither are committing to greater contributions, Bossert said.

“We’re in a period of peak employment, so competing for skilled, quality staff is challenging, and the cost of staffing is going up at a far quicker pace than the Medicare reimbursements are,” he said.

Many look at the baby boomers and see a fast approaching influx of seniors needing care. This group will be larger than in the recent past and will require adjustments. But Bossert sees it not as a sharp incline, but a wave.

“Looking at 30 years from now, after the baby boomer bubble passes, the need will decrease,” he said, “so if we build for the short term and don’t look at the long term, in 30 or 40 years we might have a half-empty facility.”

Working with consultants is key, Bossert said, to make sure both short and long term needs are considered.

Independent review of Samaritan

An independent review of Samaritan is underway to help the County Board determine if an expansion or reduction is needed, and until this information is presented, Bossert said he is keeping an open mind. He is encouraging residents to share their thoughts on the matter, and many have expressed an interest in supporting Samaritan.

“Being in county government, there is an expectation we will provide a little bit of a safety net for those who have exhausted their 401K, or didn’t work for an employer who provided a guaranteed pension,” he said. “For some people, when money runs out and their health starts to decline and they need a higher level of care, there is an expectation the government won’t just tell them they’re on their own.”

There is a limit to this, he said; it must be viable and able to fit within a balanced budget.

“We have to do this in a way that’s fiscally prudent to the taxpayers,” Bossert said. “Ideally the amount of taxpayer money you want to waste is zero dollars; it should be a meaningful investment.”

But to keep Samaritan open, health and safety needs are pressing. There are problems with the air conditioning, requiring a temporary unit on site in summer to ensure safe climate control. The elderly are more sensitive to climate issues, Bossert said, and this can be potentially life-threatening. So if the 53-year-old facility is not rebuilt, it needs a new air system and the original generator must be replaced.

“In terms of construction, it needs to significantly improve quality of care, or I’d lean toward a different plan that sticks to the essential issues,” he said.

County Sales Tax---Thieves Fighting Over the Loot?

Right now, our County Executive race is focusing on a discussion about the Sales Tax.  Adam Gitter is proposing that the County share sales tax revenue with municipalities.  His hope is that it will provide extra revenue to fund road repairs.  Josh Schoemann wants to maintain the status quo, and raises legitimate concerns about how Gitter's proposal would impact County Finances.

To be blunt, if you believe that excessive taxation is theft (a belief I have) then the whole issue can be compared to two thieves arguing over how they will share the loot (The COunty and Municipalities begin the thieves in this analogy).

Long before I was elected to the County Board, and long before Josh Schoemann was appointed as County Administrator, the County Board made the decision to implement a "temporary" sales tax.  A few years later, still long before Schoemann came to the county and still long before my election, the decision was made to start using the sales tax to fund routine operations.

In January of 2017, after being on the board for only 9 months, I was confronted with a vote about renewing the sales tax.  There was no plan on how we could get rid of it, just a default assumption that we had to renew it.  In short, County financing was dependent upon continuing the sales tax.  To be blunt, it seemed like we were trapped in a situation of renewing the tax or destroying county operations.

While I would love to end the County sales tax, it doesn't seem realistic.  In my 2018 reelection campaign, I promised to push for plans for how we might end the sales tax.  This is the one promise I have made that I have made no progress on.  In a private discussion with one county official, the picture looked bleak.  Massive cuts to the sheriff's department, massive delays in repairing county highways, and massive cuts to County Administration.

What does seem realistic is to fight any effort to implement new taxes.  There was talk in 2017 about a wheel tax, and I made my opposition to that idea known.  I voted no on the POWTS fee (tax) every time it came up for a vote.

Regarding the sales tax, the lawsuit against Brown County may settle the issue.  The Wisconsin Institute of law and Liberty is suing.  The basis of their suit---Wisconsin law states that sales taxes cannot as an additional revenue source to fund new spending, but instead must be used entirely for property tax relief.  If the suit is successful, the sales tax sharing scheme can't fund more road repairs.

In the end though, the whole sales tax discussion really does look like a bunch of thieves fighting over the loot.

Bossert: Yet Another Promise Being Kept

When I ran for re-election in 2018, one of my promises was to support reducing the size of the County Board.  My hope was for a graduated plan, starting with a reduction to around 21 for the 2022 election.  That promise looks like it will be kept, and earlier than anticipated, as the County Board formed a structure advisory committee that has now recommended a reduction to 21.  Over the next month or two, the proposal should come before the full board for consideration, and I will support it.

To see that promise, review my original statement from march of 2018 here:  Promise to Reduce County Board Size

Some members of the community, primarily from the towns, are worried that the redistributing will be done in a way that will diminish the influence of Supervisors from the town.  I don’t think that will happen.  There are rules on how districts get set up, and those rules in general favor structuring districts with similar groups together.  With that in mind, it is likely that districts that encompass the City of West Bend would not have large chunks of township lumped in with them.  Instead, the City of West Bend would likely go from 6 Supervisors to 5 (or possibly even 4).


To be frank, I will be very skeptical of any redistributing plan that would retaining 6 Supervisors for West Bend.  For those who live in the towns, that should be the yardstick by which you measure the fairness of the 2022 redistricting proposals.  If the County Board goes down to 21, but West Bend keeps 6 Supervisory districts, then it is time to be skeptical.  If instead West Bend goes to 4 or 5 Supervisory districts, then the plan is probably pretty fair.

While we can vote to reduce the number of Supervisors to 21 in the next few months, it cannot take effect until after the 2020 census is complete.  Likewise, the redistricting cannot occur until after the 2020 census.  Redistricting will happen in 2021, and be effective for the 2022 elections.