MONROE - The budget and taxes wins hands-down among the three Ward 5 aldermanic candidates as the most pressing issue the city is facing.
Ward 5 Alderman incumbent Charles Koch; Tyler Schultz, currently Ward 10 Alderman running in Ward 5 under new redistricting boundaries; and Scott Golackson, a local businessman and newcomer to politics, say the city is facing a lot of challenges this year, but balancing the budget, without raising taxes, stands out as the top issue needing a solution.
"Staying within the state mandate is going to be tough," Koch said. "We pretty much trimmed the budget as much as we could and cut out some services, like Spring Clean-up (Days) and a lot of others. Best we can do now is to prioritize."
Making the tough decisions on what is the most advantageous for the city; balancing money spent with services received; and keeping the budget from growing and taxes down are where prioritizing comes in, Koch said.
"Saving money, but not get any services, is not good either," he added.
Schultz said "making the government run more efficiently" and being responsible with spending the taxpayers' money will keep the budget in check and help lower taxes.
While the budget is "always going to be big," Golackson said, not raising taxes is going to come with "getting more bang for their buck."
He said the city needs to "find a way to do more with less" and needs to be run "like a business."
"Sometimes it's not easy, and you have to make tough choices, and not everybody is going to be happy. It's like having 10,000 employees; you do what's best for all of them," he added.
Koch said voters want council members, first and foremost, to keep taxes down.
Schultz said people want more jobs created. "(But) Government doesn't create jobs; it creates an atmosphere for others to create jobs," he said.
There are ways the government can be of service in that respect, he added.
"Lately, all the Common Council wants to do is let GCDC and the Chamber cruise on by - we cut them a check, and they think that's enough," Schultz said.
Schultz wants the council members to help the Chamber of Commerce, through which the city purchases economic development services, by helping to create a marketing plan for the city. "And give them more tools to follow through on," he said.
The plan, he said, should include an expansion of the North Industrial Park.
"We need more manufacturing jobs - more than (in the) cheese (industry). For that, larger parcels of land are going to be needed," he said.
Golackson said the voters are looking for "honesty, truth ... less bickering."
"I know that's what I want. It seems nobody gets along. That's why I believe taxpayers aren't getting what they're asking for - clear decisions that make an impact on Monroe and the county," he said.
"People tell me, 'We don't have to all agree, but we have to get along.' It's not about your own personal agenda or vendetta; it's not about what someone voted in council, but what the people in the ward and city want. I want to do what the people of Monroe and the people of my ward want done," he added.
Schultz agreed that voters want council member to show "respect for each other."
"Politicians get too comfortable in office, until campaign time - and then there's no follow through," he said. "There's a responsibility when campaigning, that you're going to do it."
Schultz said elected officials already in office need to get motivated. "We first-year learners (aldermen) are getting push-back from the old guard. New alders are not getting as much respect as they should," he added.
Schultz said "more work was needed" on the 2012 budget, but that "new alders were not allowed to push" during the budget process.
"(Chris) Beer and I wanted to get the budget started early, but our backs were up against the wall by the time we got the budget - with nearly a million dollars to cut and the timing to get the tax bills out," he said. "It was disappointing to the taxpayers."
Is there anything in the candidates' backgrounds that could discredit them? With the potential to be called out on any transgression, personal or public, during this contentious election year, the candidates were quick to answer.
"Well, nothing that I am aware of," Koch said. "The biggest thing is my mannerism; I'm low-key. You could use that I suppose."
"Not that I am aware of," Schultz said.
Golackson admits he was charged with a DUI at age 21; but he believes his biggest fault now is not having participated in the democratic process until recently.
"I never thought it mattered, because they (elected officials) were just going to do what they wanted," he said.
That outlook changed about a year ago, he said, with the birth of his first child. "I'm running because of my daughter," he said. "I want changes made in the city to benefit her by the time she grows up and lives in the city. Some of these things take time."
Ward 5 Alderman incumbent Charles Koch; Tyler Schultz, currently Ward 10 Alderman running in Ward 5 under new redistricting boundaries; and Scott Golackson, a local businessman and newcomer to politics, say the city is facing a lot of challenges this year, but balancing the budget, without raising taxes, stands out as the top issue needing a solution.
"Staying within the state mandate is going to be tough," Koch said. "We pretty much trimmed the budget as much as we could and cut out some services, like Spring Clean-up (Days) and a lot of others. Best we can do now is to prioritize."
Making the tough decisions on what is the most advantageous for the city; balancing money spent with services received; and keeping the budget from growing and taxes down are where prioritizing comes in, Koch said.
"Saving money, but not get any services, is not good either," he added.
Schultz said "making the government run more efficiently" and being responsible with spending the taxpayers' money will keep the budget in check and help lower taxes.
While the budget is "always going to be big," Golackson said, not raising taxes is going to come with "getting more bang for their buck."
He said the city needs to "find a way to do more with less" and needs to be run "like a business."
"Sometimes it's not easy, and you have to make tough choices, and not everybody is going to be happy. It's like having 10,000 employees; you do what's best for all of them," he added.
Koch said voters want council members, first and foremost, to keep taxes down.
Schultz said people want more jobs created. "(But) Government doesn't create jobs; it creates an atmosphere for others to create jobs," he said.
There are ways the government can be of service in that respect, he added.
"Lately, all the Common Council wants to do is let GCDC and the Chamber cruise on by - we cut them a check, and they think that's enough," Schultz said.
Schultz wants the council members to help the Chamber of Commerce, through which the city purchases economic development services, by helping to create a marketing plan for the city. "And give them more tools to follow through on," he said.
The plan, he said, should include an expansion of the North Industrial Park.
"We need more manufacturing jobs - more than (in the) cheese (industry). For that, larger parcels of land are going to be needed," he said.
Golackson said the voters are looking for "honesty, truth ... less bickering."
"I know that's what I want. It seems nobody gets along. That's why I believe taxpayers aren't getting what they're asking for - clear decisions that make an impact on Monroe and the county," he said.
"People tell me, 'We don't have to all agree, but we have to get along.' It's not about your own personal agenda or vendetta; it's not about what someone voted in council, but what the people in the ward and city want. I want to do what the people of Monroe and the people of my ward want done," he added.
Schultz agreed that voters want council member to show "respect for each other."
"Politicians get too comfortable in office, until campaign time - and then there's no follow through," he said. "There's a responsibility when campaigning, that you're going to do it."
Schultz said elected officials already in office need to get motivated. "We first-year learners (aldermen) are getting push-back from the old guard. New alders are not getting as much respect as they should," he added.
Schultz said "more work was needed" on the 2012 budget, but that "new alders were not allowed to push" during the budget process.
"(Chris) Beer and I wanted to get the budget started early, but our backs were up against the wall by the time we got the budget - with nearly a million dollars to cut and the timing to get the tax bills out," he said. "It was disappointing to the taxpayers."
Is there anything in the candidates' backgrounds that could discredit them? With the potential to be called out on any transgression, personal or public, during this contentious election year, the candidates were quick to answer.
"Well, nothing that I am aware of," Koch said. "The biggest thing is my mannerism; I'm low-key. You could use that I suppose."
"Not that I am aware of," Schultz said.
Golackson admits he was charged with a DUI at age 21; but he believes his biggest fault now is not having participated in the democratic process until recently.
"I never thought it mattered, because they (elected officials) were just going to do what they wanted," he said.
That outlook changed about a year ago, he said, with the birth of his first child. "I'm running because of my daughter," he said. "I want changes made in the city to benefit her by the time she grows up and lives in the city. Some of these things take time."