The public health impact, loss of employment, economy, and local government budget issues caused by the closure of HSHS and Prevea, which could be accelerated by refugee resettlement. This requires all hands on deck to come together with collaborative plans to ensure quality health care remains in the Chippewa Valley, and the economy continues to provide citizens a safe place to work and play. That begins with the first step of assessing the impact. I was on the Board when Uniroyal closed, and that was devastating. With the Uniroyal closure, we put aside our biases and stripes and found solutions focusing on our people's fundamental needs and fiscal impact. Yes, this is even worse with the threat of losing or rationing vital healthcare services and the budgetary implications for the county

Welcoming refugees from awful circumstances is a worthwhile endeavor with rich historical protection embedded in America. The City Manager wasn't transparent about a request for refugee resettlement, disregarding the government's mandated responsibilities and community concerns. Elected representatives choose not to support, requesting a pause in the resettlement, allowing for a transparent assessment of the potential impact. With out-of-county agencies playing a part in how things rolled out in other areas, it doesn't sound like there was adequate commitment and responsibility. County government and the public should be involved so profoundly and transparently that questions surrounding costs, process, and vetting are addressed. With the closure, reconsideration for a pause is warranted.

The county board standing committees have been undergoing an erosion of their influence and authority. There has been a shift from the elected county board supervisors on standing committees to the unelected administrator. This can and should be corrected at the April reorganization meeting when the Rules of the Board are changed and adopted.

For years, county management lacked transparency with the DHS's dysfunctional mess. It shouldn't have required an investigation to get transparency and accountability, but it did. Some management and leadership changes are restoring transparency and competent fiscal management. The two areas of concern in the current and upcoming budget are the closure of HSHS and Prevea and refugee resettlement, which will pressure DHS and law enforcement budgets. This needs to be addressed by doing a budgetary analysis of the fiscal impact and providing realistic funding to address the need and avoid massive budget overages again. Discretionary spending may need to be cut, pending the determined impact of these two priorities. At the same time, we must continue addressing our unsustainable debt.