Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Without doubt, the most important issue is affordability. The county must determine how to continue to provide the current volume and quality of services when state statute does not permit any increase in county property tax. As the cost of services increase, services must decrease to keep the cost steady. One example is with the Highway Department. Assume Highway commits to repaving X miles of road. However, the cost of asphalt doubled, due to unforeseen increases in the cost of petroleum. With no extra funding, fewer roads can be repaved. We have seen increases in the cost of goods and services, including the cost of one-night’s stay in a state mental health institution, the cost of food for Meals on Wheels, and greater acuity in mental health and child protection cases.
The second most important issue is the challenge in attracting and maintaining qualified staff. After several wage studies, Eau Claire County appears to be low in salary ranges. Maintaining reasonable health insurance benefits, along with merit and cost of living increases contribute to the challenges. Currently the county has excellent staff, and a goal is to maintain the current staff. However, given the revenue crunch, we will need to balance staff benefits with service delivery.
This one would be a tie between increased/improved economic growth and the challenge of affordable housing. Increased economic development potentially increases employment and stability, as well as increased property and sales taxes. Affordable housing, mitigating the unhoused population, decreases pressure on services delivered by the county and by the non-profit organizations. Hopefully there will be a correlation between a living wage and the cost of housing.
As chair of Finance and Budget Committee this is an issue I think about all year long. As noted, the county must balance between staff wages and benefits with delivery of services. This year, assuming I am reelected and remain on Finance Committee, the plan is to review every non-mandated program for effectiveness and the ability to reduce pressure on mandated programs, for example do alternatives to incarceration and treatment court actually work. Do we see a reduction in recidivism. There are several non-mandated programs, but there has not been a retrospective analysis of the data. Assuming I am reelected, the analysis will definitely happen during the run up to the 2027 budget year.
