I'm a former Winnebago County Board Supervisor, from 2018-2024. During that time, I served on the National Association of Counties' Justice and Public Safety Committee, and on the Wisconsin Counties Association's Judicial and Public Safety Committee. I'm also on the Board of Directors for Reach Counseling, a non-profit organization that serves survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking, plus also provides prevention education in schools, both public and private. I'm also on the Board of Directors for the Conflict Resolution Center. Currently, I'm a community member of the Safe Streets Initiative for Winnebago County, which oversees all things public safety for the county.
It is partly due to a lack of affordable housing, but we are approaching it all wrong. The city just raised property taxes by over 6%, making housing less affordable for everyone. I think of my mother, who lives on a fixed income. 6% may not seem like much, but to someone like her, that's going to affect how she spends groceries for the week. We just endured a huge bout of inflation, and now the city is kicking us when we are down.
The city also claims to be providing loans to beautify homes for low-income candidates, but what they don't tell you is that what then follows is a reassessment of your property value, which ends up having the applicant pay higher property taxes in perpetuity - far more than what the city lent to the applicant. It's a dishonest program.
How we approach TIF districts is also facetious. The developer collects the profit, the city collects higher taxes, and the rent for the housing project is above the market average. We're being fleeced!
It is abundantly clear that the city wants to put a community building there, and I have not found a single resident who has been in favor of developing any further over Arrowhead Park. Not a single one wants a community building there, or any further development. And if I am going to represent the people, my votes, and my action, will reflect their input. Arrowhead Park was the site for toxic paper sludge from the paper industry for decades. Trying to put fill over the park, and develop on top of it, is a disaster waiting to happen. We have spent over $3 million over the course of 15 years with little to show for it. Why are we still pursuing this pet project? Don't do it! Plant some trees and native wildlife, we can even donate the land to the schools and non-profits, and deed-restrict it for native planting purposes. Neenah has many other places to build - Arrowhead Park is not one of them, and the city needs to accept that.
Neenah's top two assets are its people and the water. Its two biggest challenges are the city's excessively high spending and regulations. Did you know we have an ordinance on donation boxes? Yes, really. There is a permit process. The rules are making the city appear like we are in an HOA.
We are lucky to be on two bodies of water, and there are plenty of beautiful places to enjoy them. Accentuating the positive means allowing the people to thrive here and actually be good people, so we may enjoy this jewel between these two bodies of water. Eliminating the negative means eliminating excessive government roadblocks to do so. We have a wonderful city here, with lots of potential, and I genuinely feel the city is holding us back from meeting that potential.
Needing a city manager is a symptom of the government getting too big for its britches. We have fewer than 30,000 people, which is still considered a small city, last time I checked. A city manager is typically not elected and becomes another obstacle for residents to discuss matters directly with the council. Let's discuss how to make municipal government simpler, not more complex. Keep it simple.
I have been giving back to this beautiful community since 1995. My work with the United Way peer budget review panel was my first volunteer experience and was probably my most helpful in terms of learning how the budgeting process works. Working with the Literacy Council was gratifying because teaching someone to read and/or learn English will enable them to find a living wage job. My long term involvement on the Board of Doty Island Community Partners fueled an interest in helping the City with a hands-on approach. It's been an honor to serve as an alderman for Neenah's District 1 and I have learned the importance of mom and pop businesses in our community. Between them, our parks and Future Neenah, we have become a true destination. My favorite part of being an alderman is truly connecting with a resident. I am approachable and my number and email are readily available on my Facebook page, City website and even Google. My number is 920-850-2433 and my email is cclendrum@gmail.com
January 28th was my second time doing the Point in Time homeless/houseless count. This is required by HUD in order to receive funding for our excellent homeless services in the Fox Cities. It is an honor to provide services not only to the ones in need but for the organizations providing those services. In Neenah specifically I have been fighting for Affordable Housing which unfortunately failed on a Council rezoning vote for the old Shattuck school. Marathon Flats was also approved which provides lower income housing for seniors. Neenah has another opportunity for an affordable/workforce housing complex on South Commercial. Stay tuned for for more information coming up in May.
The City was deeded that parcel of land in 1951 from the State and the DNR requires the City to provide several services. One is methane mitigation, the other is the dyke stability, clay cap well monitoring and the like. I have heard from many residents that they would like a plumbed bathroom facility and some kind of shaded area for resting or picnicking. Anything more will have to be a public-private partnership as the City is not able to cover the costs of everything our residents want out there.
Our two top assets are; Our staff that has recruited and retained large businesses that add significantly to our tax base and provided hundreds of jobs. Another top asset is Future Neenah. There are so many free activities in Neenah for residents all year thanks to them. Our two biggest challenges are; The cost of all goods and services. We all know that everything has increased in price and labor and street materials are not exempt. One of the biggest cost challenges has been fire trucks and Public Works large vehicles. This is a problem that all municipalities are struggling with. The second challenge is future staff recruitment. All municipalities are competing for the highest qualified staff and our reach sometimes needs to be throughout the United States, not just Wisconsin. Our Department heads need to be extremely specialized to keep up with the demands of a growing city like Neenah. We have an approachable Council now who are happy to discuss any input from residents.
This is a great community discussion to have. There are many advantages of a City Manager form of government but Neenah is unique and I want to hear from everyone, staff, residents and other communities that have switched to that form of local governance before we move forward. The other issue with a City Manager is the Budget impact. Another community discussion that needs to happen is merging services like the police department. The fire merger worked out well and there is no reason not to discuss more cost saving relationships with our neighboring communities. We need to ask how will changing to a City Manager affect those possible mergers.
