Are they listening?

I’ve been rather quiet the last few weeks; I know. Mostly this has been driven by my job. With spring comes my busy time of year, sorry. I have not been quiet because I feel any less passionate about the issues in our town.

So, why do I ask, “Are they listening?” Well, on April 13th, at the meeting of the electors (commonly referred to as the “Annual Town Meeting”), I made several motions for the town board to consider. These motions all passed with an overwhelming majority of the electors present voting in favor. In essence I asked the current town board to consider the following:

- Reconsider their action of 12/17, and continue the intermunicipal agreement with Big Bend that governs our Fire Department.

- Reconsider the five member plan commission and reseat the seven member commission with more citizen members.

- Consider attempting to protect the community from annexation by being more accommodating to businesses that want to locate here.

In my commentary on the fire department, I asked them to reconsider the action, but then use the consultant to assist in negotiating a better deal with Big Bend. The consultant could suggest a more favorable funding formula, add the costs of the fire stations into the equation, consider mutual aid issues, etc. All those things I’ve been saying all along. Adjust the agreement, but let’s not completely divorce ourselves from Big Bend. We stand to gain a lot by partnering with our neighbors. Share costs, develop in a mutually beneficial manner, etc.

On the plan commission matter, my point is that complete control by a few is never a good thing. Open discussion, community involvement, and outside opinions ARE good things. I think this is self explanatory.

Can we stop annexation? Not really. I’m realistic enough to understand that we’re not going to completely stop businesses from annexing away from the town, because Big Bend (and Mukwonago for that matter) has services that we in the town don’t offer or even want. Services like sewer and water, financing capability, assessment power, etc. But in the town we can offer lower taxes, a friendly business environment, high quality building standards, and a master plan that keeps business and homes separated (to a certain degree).

Anyway, I want to know if the town board will act. I want them to listen. I want them to at least have a discussion in public on the how-and-why it’s a good idea to go-it-along with a fire department. If they need more information to have this discussion, then why didn’t they have this information before making this decision?

What’s my plan? Well, if I was in the driver’s seat on this, I would have agreed to an identical budget with Big Bend and reluctantly kept the agreement in place. But, I would have put Big Bend on notice that Vernon is going to explore other options and review the agreement. I would have then spent 2010 figuring out the least expensive, most efficient, and best way to provide fire service to the community. We all agree that some things need to change. I would have reminded Big Bend that Vernon could withdraw from the agreement any time. We don’t have to wait a year to have our own department, we can do this anytime. We’re the 800 pound gorilla in the room and we have the control! We could have negotiated a better deal without the risk of losing our partner. I would have worked to avoid the current turmoil and negative reaction from the electorate. I would have kept the electors in the loop on this discussion and used their ideas to create a better agreement. In short I would have taken a more methodical approach.

So, come to the town hall this Thursday, May 6th, and find out if they’re listening. I really hope they are and I really hope we can have a little less talk and a lot more action!