Mark A. Coplien (incumbent)
Age: 42
Address: 1729 Lake Drive
Family: Married for 20 years to Jennifer. Four children, Chris, 19; Katie, 17; Allie, 14; Matt, 13; and until July 2010, our AFS daughter from Austria, Angelika, 17.
Occupation: Owner and President of Coplien Painting Inc. since 1996
Community involvement: Ward 3 alderman 2006-present; chairman of the St. Victor's Pastoral Council 2006-present; board of directors for Cennex (Southern Wisconsin Co-op) 2008-present; vice president of the Lakeside Heights Corporation 1997-present; 14-year member of the Knights of Columbus holding a Third Degree; past member of the Green County EMS (EMT/driver); past member of the Monroe Jaycees.
Education: Degree in Criminal Justice, including attending the Beloit Police Academy; certified Drug and Alcohol Awareness coordinator; Vertus certified; courses in child psychology, Drug and Alcohol Awareness, accounting, human resources and administration; and at the end of March 2010, Federally certified by the EPA in Lead Containment.
Personal description: Born and raised in the City of Monroe (third generation), 1986 Monroe High School graduate, interned with the Town of Madison and the City of Monroe Police Departments. Hobbies include my family's activities (soccer, swimming, football, baseball and tennis), anything with a motor, helping to maintain our family's properties, the various boards that I am a part of, and working out, which includes walking with my wife and our dogs Mollie and Mia.
Previous experience and achievements:
Four years as Ward 3 alderman (2006 to present), Salary and Personnel Committee chairman, Claims Committee chairman, Board of Public Works vice chairman, Finance and Taxation vice chairman, member of Ethics, Insurance, Building and Grounds, and various other committees, all with the City of Monroe since 2006. I have been actively involved for the past three years with the management of the Monroe City Hall and all of its departments, including hiring and union labor negotiations.
What two issues are the City of Monroe now facing, and which do you consider most important? How would you recommend the city handle them?:
Property tax and fee controls without losing services. My wife and I are multiple property taxpayers. I would recommend that we continue as we have to obtain and maintain (no budget increases) for departments, as well as keeping a very close eye on the uncontrollable expenses, mainly health insurance and worker compensation. We need to continue to actively seek better interest rates for our investments and refinancing of old debts. We have saved over $1.3 million by retiring older debt, refinancing, and managing the cities retirement programs since 2006. All of this together adds up to the bottom line, property tax savings.
Continued growth in the business and job markets. We have always had open arms to new business, and have actively sought out any opportunity to bring better paying jobs to Monroe. Together, we as a council have been a part of over $120 million in new construction in the City of Monroe since 2006. We have developed new programs for our Industrial Park and have seven new buildings, with another on its way this year. We have teamed up with the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and the Green County Development Corporation to help with recruiting new business. I would recommend that we continue this approach, as well as look for new ways and opportunities. But, in my opinion, we are on the right path.
What vision of Monroe would you bring to the Common Council regarding its short-term future (three to five years)?:
Continued managed growth of the city as a business, as well as maintaining the quality of life we have grown to know and love in the City of Monroe. By having this vision, we would continue to actively control our budgets and run this city with a business mindset, trying not to once again become stagnant in growth. And yet, still be able to provide the wonderful quality of life, services and security that we all have grown to expect and know.
Michael A. Boyce
Age: 45
Address: 2132 20th Ave.
Family: Married to Chrissy. Two sons, ages 5 and 6.
Occupation: Property and casualty insurance agent
Community Involvement: Monroe Public Library Trustee; Monroe Country Club Board member; Monroe Theater Guild, actor; St. Victor's Parish member; Sunlight Foundation, volunteer.
Education: BA English; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Personal description: Born and raised in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Hobbies include, lifelong learning, biking, running, golfing and boating.
Previous experience and achievements:
I have 20 years of experience working with a diverse assortment of public, private and not-for-profit entities across the State of Wisconsin. Providing counsel on issues such as, insurance, finance, employee benefits, human resources, legal contracts, public relations, marketing, construction and technology.
What two issues is the City of Monroe now facing, and which do you consider most important? How would you recommend the city handle them?:
Economic development and effective governance.
The city must partner with existing businesses to create a climate allowing for economic development and expansion. The city then must promote and market this climate to out-of-state businesses and actively encourage them to relocate.
Effective governance is the active encouragement of democratic practices. It is the cultivation of the skills and habits of civic politics; relationship building, tolerance for ambiguity, the capacity to act in open environments with no pre-determined outcomes, and the ability to deal with conflict constructively. The city must act to leverage technology to provide the citizens of Monroe the information necessary to name, frame, deliberate, act upon and evaluate all issues before the city.
What vision of Monroe would you bring to the Common Council regarding its short-term future (three to five years)?:
The vision I will bring to the Common Council is one of transparency and open government. Specifically, the crafting of policies requiring the release of data from city government in a form that is accessible anytime, anywhere, allowing anyone to give the data context. With context the data can then be used by citizens, journalists, government officials and advocacy groups to identify issues, build public awareness, craft policy, and ultimately enact policy in a manner representing a true democratic process.
Age: 42
Address: 1729 Lake Drive
Family: Married for 20 years to Jennifer. Four children, Chris, 19; Katie, 17; Allie, 14; Matt, 13; and until July 2010, our AFS daughter from Austria, Angelika, 17.
Occupation: Owner and President of Coplien Painting Inc. since 1996
Community involvement: Ward 3 alderman 2006-present; chairman of the St. Victor's Pastoral Council 2006-present; board of directors for Cennex (Southern Wisconsin Co-op) 2008-present; vice president of the Lakeside Heights Corporation 1997-present; 14-year member of the Knights of Columbus holding a Third Degree; past member of the Green County EMS (EMT/driver); past member of the Monroe Jaycees.
Education: Degree in Criminal Justice, including attending the Beloit Police Academy; certified Drug and Alcohol Awareness coordinator; Vertus certified; courses in child psychology, Drug and Alcohol Awareness, accounting, human resources and administration; and at the end of March 2010, Federally certified by the EPA in Lead Containment.
Personal description: Born and raised in the City of Monroe (third generation), 1986 Monroe High School graduate, interned with the Town of Madison and the City of Monroe Police Departments. Hobbies include my family's activities (soccer, swimming, football, baseball and tennis), anything with a motor, helping to maintain our family's properties, the various boards that I am a part of, and working out, which includes walking with my wife and our dogs Mollie and Mia.
Previous experience and achievements:
Four years as Ward 3 alderman (2006 to present), Salary and Personnel Committee chairman, Claims Committee chairman, Board of Public Works vice chairman, Finance and Taxation vice chairman, member of Ethics, Insurance, Building and Grounds, and various other committees, all with the City of Monroe since 2006. I have been actively involved for the past three years with the management of the Monroe City Hall and all of its departments, including hiring and union labor negotiations.
What two issues are the City of Monroe now facing, and which do you consider most important? How would you recommend the city handle them?:
Property tax and fee controls without losing services. My wife and I are multiple property taxpayers. I would recommend that we continue as we have to obtain and maintain (no budget increases) for departments, as well as keeping a very close eye on the uncontrollable expenses, mainly health insurance and worker compensation. We need to continue to actively seek better interest rates for our investments and refinancing of old debts. We have saved over $1.3 million by retiring older debt, refinancing, and managing the cities retirement programs since 2006. All of this together adds up to the bottom line, property tax savings.
Continued growth in the business and job markets. We have always had open arms to new business, and have actively sought out any opportunity to bring better paying jobs to Monroe. Together, we as a council have been a part of over $120 million in new construction in the City of Monroe since 2006. We have developed new programs for our Industrial Park and have seven new buildings, with another on its way this year. We have teamed up with the Monroe Chamber of Commerce and the Green County Development Corporation to help with recruiting new business. I would recommend that we continue this approach, as well as look for new ways and opportunities. But, in my opinion, we are on the right path.
What vision of Monroe would you bring to the Common Council regarding its short-term future (three to five years)?:
Continued managed growth of the city as a business, as well as maintaining the quality of life we have grown to know and love in the City of Monroe. By having this vision, we would continue to actively control our budgets and run this city with a business mindset, trying not to once again become stagnant in growth. And yet, still be able to provide the wonderful quality of life, services and security that we all have grown to expect and know.
Michael A. Boyce
Age: 45
Address: 2132 20th Ave.
Family: Married to Chrissy. Two sons, ages 5 and 6.
Occupation: Property and casualty insurance agent
Community Involvement: Monroe Public Library Trustee; Monroe Country Club Board member; Monroe Theater Guild, actor; St. Victor's Parish member; Sunlight Foundation, volunteer.
Education: BA English; University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Personal description: Born and raised in Milwaukee and Wisconsin. Hobbies include, lifelong learning, biking, running, golfing and boating.
Previous experience and achievements:
I have 20 years of experience working with a diverse assortment of public, private and not-for-profit entities across the State of Wisconsin. Providing counsel on issues such as, insurance, finance, employee benefits, human resources, legal contracts, public relations, marketing, construction and technology.
What two issues is the City of Monroe now facing, and which do you consider most important? How would you recommend the city handle them?:
Economic development and effective governance.
The city must partner with existing businesses to create a climate allowing for economic development and expansion. The city then must promote and market this climate to out-of-state businesses and actively encourage them to relocate.
Effective governance is the active encouragement of democratic practices. It is the cultivation of the skills and habits of civic politics; relationship building, tolerance for ambiguity, the capacity to act in open environments with no pre-determined outcomes, and the ability to deal with conflict constructively. The city must act to leverage technology to provide the citizens of Monroe the information necessary to name, frame, deliberate, act upon and evaluate all issues before the city.
What vision of Monroe would you bring to the Common Council regarding its short-term future (three to five years)?:
The vision I will bring to the Common Council is one of transparency and open government. Specifically, the crafting of policies requiring the release of data from city government in a form that is accessible anytime, anywhere, allowing anyone to give the data context. With context the data can then be used by citizens, journalists, government officials and advocacy groups to identify issues, build public awareness, craft policy, and ultimately enact policy in a manner representing a true democratic process.