District: 8
Age: 66
Address: 21690 Brush Road, Blanchardville
Family: Wife, Sally, and two adult children
Education: Bachelor of arts in geology, and a master of landscape architecture
Occupation: Semi-retired from career in mining and environmental consulting. I am currently working on continued improvements to the farm, completing several woodworking commissions a year, and both working on and managing the rehabilitation of our historic stone and brick buildings on Blanchardville's Main Street.
Previous elected positions held: Town of Blanchard, clerk
Community involvement: Lafayette County Farm Bureau (past president and board member); Lafayette County Development Corp. (past board member); Blanchardville Park Long Range Planning Committee (previous chair); Wisconsin Farm Bureau (Working Lands Committee member); Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (managed the Community Planning program and projects)
What are the top issues facing this board/council and how would you resolve them?
We need to continue the progress made over the last two years. We have reduced the tax increases from 6 to 7 percent a year to a 0-percent increase in 2012, restored the highway commission's winter maintenance fund and paid off one outstanding loan early. The union contracts will expire at the end of 2012 and the transition to new work rules will need to be handled in a way that is both fair to the county employees and the county taxpayers. Currently the county-owned hospital has operated at a deficit the last two years; this needs to be turned around. The county nursing home referendum expires at the end of 2012, and while significant financial progress has been made, continued focus is necessary. State funding has been and will likely continue to be reduced therefore we will need to focus on cost effective and efficient operations to continue providing the necessary services to our residents.
Age: 66
Address: 21690 Brush Road, Blanchardville
Family: Wife, Sally, and two adult children
Education: Bachelor of arts in geology, and a master of landscape architecture
Occupation: Semi-retired from career in mining and environmental consulting. I am currently working on continued improvements to the farm, completing several woodworking commissions a year, and both working on and managing the rehabilitation of our historic stone and brick buildings on Blanchardville's Main Street.
Previous elected positions held: Town of Blanchard, clerk
Community involvement: Lafayette County Farm Bureau (past president and board member); Lafayette County Development Corp. (past board member); Blanchardville Park Long Range Planning Committee (previous chair); Wisconsin Farm Bureau (Working Lands Committee member); Southwestern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (managed the Community Planning program and projects)
What are the top issues facing this board/council and how would you resolve them?
We need to continue the progress made over the last two years. We have reduced the tax increases from 6 to 7 percent a year to a 0-percent increase in 2012, restored the highway commission's winter maintenance fund and paid off one outstanding loan early. The union contracts will expire at the end of 2012 and the transition to new work rules will need to be handled in a way that is both fair to the county employees and the county taxpayers. Currently the county-owned hospital has operated at a deficit the last two years; this needs to be turned around. The county nursing home referendum expires at the end of 2012, and while significant financial progress has been made, continued focus is necessary. State funding has been and will likely continue to be reduced therefore we will need to focus on cost effective and efficient operations to continue providing the necessary services to our residents.