I had a journalism career for more than 30 years that ended in March 2019. I covered countless meetings of town, village and school boards and city councils, but the last three years of my career I covered the La Crosse County Board, the only governmental body I covered that I would consider joining. After covering my last meeting, I told the county board chair I wanted to run for the board in 2020, and I did. It’s been an incredible experience to go from being an observer and watchdog of government to a decisionmaker. We’ve accomplished much in the past four years, but there’s a lot more to do and I want to be part of doing it. I want to be an active part of a governing body working for the common good. I want to be able to bring concerns from constituents and work with fellow board members to solve them. I want to be able to look at issues facing our community and help my constituents understand how those issues affect individuals in my district and the community as a whole.

I’m happy to say that the county board has allocated substantial financial resources to revamp Hillview Health Care Center, which is in my district, and I would hope that would continue. Last year, the board approved using $12 million of the $23 million in the federal American Rescue Plan funding the county received to renovate Hillview, expanding services offered to cover a greater spectrum of community needs, including an innovative intergenerational care center and conversion of one wing of the building into a community-based residential facility. A CBRF, which is in high demand, is ideal for people who need assistance with aspects of daily living but don’t need the intensive skilled nursing care that Hillview has traditionally provided. The board expects to borrow $8 million for the project, but repayment will not come from the county tax levy. The nursing home operations, which also includes Lakeview, are self-sustaining and fill a vital community need beyond my district.

Chronic homelessness and the need to improve our county road system, which mostly serves areas of the county outside of cities and village.

La Crosse County, the city of La Crosse, and numerous nonprofit agencies recently unveiled a plan called Pathways Home that aims to reduce homelessness in the county to “functional zero” in the next five years. Collaboration has been the key to success in other communities that have reduced their homeless population, and Pathways Home is a large-scale collaborative effort that bodes well for achieving the plan’s goals. Although my district contains no county roads, I believe we need to continue to increase our investment in maintaining and improving county roads. In my time on the board, county levy devoted to highway spending has increased 250 percent, from $2.6 million to $9 million. I voted for this year’s budget, which included record road spending, but I am deeply concerned about continued growth in road spending that relies on drawing down the county’s fund balance, which could jeopardize the county’s stellar AA1 bond rating and make it more expensive to borrow money when needed.

I am very disturbed by recent events that have been either perpetuated or brought about by this County Board. The City fed this issue by in a round about way, inviting more homeless here to La Crosse County. The County has been eager to help spending about $8 million to feed and house this group but without a future plan. The Civilian Review Board (CRB) is another source of my angst. This board/committee believes it will oversee any investigation of complaints against law enforcement in the county. The members appointed by the Board Chair. No training or experience necessary. State statutes do not authorize this kind of group, but do lay out the process of discipline with Police & Fire Commissions. Then there's taxes and neglect of the County roads. All while the County is paying off debts of the past. See any problems? This nonsense has to stop. And I must say that I am not excited at the prospect of holding this position, but feel I must bring more common sense.

Revenues must be spent wisely and with scrutiny. That will result in basic responsibilities of the County being addressed with priority. Those are 1. public safety, 2. human services and 3. roads and bridges. I understand there are other necessary things the County does, but they come under one of the above priorities. This will result in lower taxes for all in the County and we all will enjoy driving on those roads. And of course we will continue to be safe.

Ideology of the Board and spending on the homeless issue. Lets face it, this Board leans very supportive of what some may call 'feel good' actions and spending. It's fine to be supportive of others especially when they're down, but that is not the function of a local government made up of people who are not qualified. These two local governments are trying to re-invent the wheel.

When a taxpayer is unhappy with the performance of their local governments, they are obligated to vote them out. That is my intention, and I will not be be too shy to speak my mind. The County and the City are aware of offers by local organizations who have success with the homeless. The offer was ignored. Additionally, the CRB must be dissolved to save us taxpayers the costs of operation AND the costs of disastrous lawsuits. Do you see the possible outcome of law enforcement officers being afraid of doing their job under threat of this group? What are they thinking?