Curmudgeon's Corner

Obama's Magic...

2008-10-10T11:33:52Z

Kimberley Strassel of the Wall Street Journal has done a good job with her Obama's Magic opinion piece in today's Journal.

There will be a lot of "magic" required to accomplish all that he has promised us, but we're accustomed to 'rude awakenings' following Presidential campaigns.

Village Buzz - October 9th...

2008-10-09T13:19:00Z

SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS...

JSOnline today carries an article by Tom Kertscher that begins, at least, to answer some questions that have been swirling in my mind for several weeks. Rumors have been 'on the streets' since early-September to the effect that there had been turmoil within Village Hall. This article points to a memorandum, written by Village Administrator Dave Schornack, that points to allegations by a village employee concerning sexual harassment supposedly involving Village President Tom Kempinski.

It seems there was sufficient impact in the allegations to warrant a special meeting of the Village Board on September 22nd, although that is supposition based on timing and the purpose declared for the 'closed meeting' being matters involving personnel.

The memo apparently indicates that the employee alleges her being tasked with personal work for Mr. Kempinski that included helping him apply for jobs. All this supposedly happened on village time using village assets.

Forget, for the moment, that there were also supposedly sexual harassment elements included in the complaints made by the employee. The simple accusation of the use of village employees for personal services on village time is sufficiently serious so as to warrant an open investigation.

There have been other suggestions of personal and/or non-village activities performed by staff on behalf of Mr. Kempinski. One of these allegations centered on the Leadership Germantown project of Kempinski's that saw the Farmer's Market moved to The Livery in Rockfield. That supposedly consumed some village employee time and materials. The metal signage created to point people to The Livery was supposedly made by village employees using village equipment.

Individual allegations can usually be dismissed but the appearance of more than one or two such instances begs a public review.

Among the questions that arise is this: If there was sufficient apparent substance to warrant the memo from Mr. Schornack, and he apparently felt that to be the case, and if there are other supposed situations where village resources were deployed on behalf of an individual, what else is there to be found in a detailed public audit?

If, as I suspect, some seek the resignation of Mr. Kempinski, the audit should be made anyway. Citizens have a right to know about these allegations in light of this article and the disclosure of the memorandum that prompted it.

Village Buzz - October 7th...

2008-10-07T18:32:00Z

Becca Murray Proclamation...

Germantown's own Gold Medal Olympian, Becca Murray was honored by the Village Board last evening with a Proclamation lauding her accomplishments. Unfortunately, she was back on campus at Whitewater to get re-oriented and back in that swing after her globe-trotting, but she will cherish this I'm sure.

Super Job, Becca!!

~~~~~~~~~~

Robin Norton Commendation...

Robin Norton was awarded a Commendation recognizing her ten years of contributions to our community in her EMT role with the Germantown Fire Department.

We have many unsung heroes and it is nice when one or more can be given a bit of the spotlight.

Thanks Robin!!

~~~~~~~~~~

IDL Solutions Lands Huge Contract...

The Small Business Times reported today that Germantown-based IDL Solutions Inc. has been informed that it won a $2.5 billion contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. IDL is the lead partner in a joint venture with another firm, Pragmatics Inc.

The contract involves a 10-year effort in Information & Computing Technologies for the 21st Century. The team will provide a broad range of IT infrastructure management and support services. IDL has fewer than 50 employees in its Germantown headquarters and will be hiring although the exact location of those new hires is unknown at this time. IDL also has offices in Vienna, VA.

The IDL-Pragmatics team has numerous sub-contractors in the joint venture company called IDL-Pragmatics Innovation Partners JV.

Let's hope that a large number of the new hires come to Germantown!

Mortgage-Based Investments...Local Impact

2008-10-07T14:39:51Z

The story of five school districts that invested borrowed money in an attempt to earn larger returns is back in the news as the result of their court case against the two organizations that sold them the deal.

This is an up close and personal portrayal of the rather esoteric things referred to as CDOs...Collateralized Debt Obligations. The CDOs that were purchased contained some of the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac garbage that blew up a short time ago. So, bad mortgage deals that some politicians wanted made so that their constituency would continue to vote for them have come home to roost in five school districts in Wisconsin.

Up until recently, we've listened to news and watched hearings on television and been somewhat removed from the whole discussion. Now we watch the stock market lose something on the order of thirty percent of its value even after the "bailout" plan was enacted. Those who have investments see their hopes being delayed, if not dashed. People thinking of retiring within the next year to five years are probably re-thinking if they counted on their investments as part of the money they'd live on in their 'golden years'.

All that is bad enough, but now we learn that these school districts were owners of some of the 'crap' mortgages. The districts have tried to portray themselves as 'innocents' but news articles today appear to destroy that position. They were apparently told about the 'risk' but chose to ignore it for a greater return than otherwise available.

They seem to have known that they could lose their entire investment if the default rate rose above 4.95% but would remain whole if the default rate stayed beneath 3.95%. They were also told, apparently, that the "highest historical default rate in the past 23 years" was 1.85%, so where was the risk?

The risk was in the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac garbage loans that were a part of these 'great deals', and the default rate did exceed the 23 year high. And some of our (the nation's) elected officials were pushing for even more. 100% mortgage loans to questionable credit risks is simply stupid. These politicians wouldn't have lent their money in that manner, but they were really anxious to get our money into those deals!

Village Buzz (Corrected)- October 6th...

2008-10-06T19:12:00Z

Lilac Lane Closed Again...

I had mentioned that the new bridge was open and looked great last week. Soon after, Trustee Wolter e-mailed to advise that this was only temporary since there was some road re-construction happening very soon ~~on Maple Road west of the bridge over Hwy 41.~~ on Lilac Lane from the new bridge to Maple Road.

That time has arrived. The "Road Closed" signs are out.

It was nice while it lasted, but this will be over before too long.

Germantown Fire Safety Fair...

The annual Fire Safety Fair was held at Station #2 in Germantown last Saturday. Several very interesting demonstrations were conducted.

A convincing demonstration of fire in a room without sprinklers versus in a room with sprinklers made me a believer that water damage is far preferable to the total damage and potential injury or loss of life where sprinklers aren't present! The in-home equipment is quite pleasing to the eye, as well.

I had my first opportunity to see Officer Bosco work his magic seeking out marijuana that had been secreted in an old vehicle's door panel. He is a marvel to watch as he works. This four-legged officer really rounds out the department's offering at no added cost to the taxpayers of the community. Bosco is fully supported by contributions/grants as discussed a few days ago.

There was equipment present from the Mequon and Thiensville departments in addition to the rolling stock from Germantown. Interestingly enough, a "live" call was received late in the morning that took a couple of units with it.

People were enjoying lunchtime treats that included a delicious smelling recipe of 'Firehouse Chili'. It may've only been me, but it didn't seem there was enough advertising about this event. It didn't find its way onto the Village Hall signage along Mequon Road and I didn't recall seeing any print mention.

Attendance seemed quite good; lots of youngsters that seemed to be enjoying themselves while learning valuable lessons.

Do We Need Nude Dancing In Germantown?

I had lost track of this issue after Boro Buzzdum's 'Diamonds Pub & Grille' on Maple Road near Hwy 41 was closed and recast as 'The Starting Gate Sports Bar & Grill'.

The first suit claiming the then existing ordinance was unconstitutional was filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee dating back to February, 2006 was scheduled for mediation when Boro Buzzdum brought a second action claiming the Germantown amended ordinance is also unconstitutional. I certainly hope that Germantown prevails.

Our community does not need a nude dancing venue.

Carbon Footprint? All The Buzz!

2008-10-06T14:13:22Z

The Wall Street Journal published a special section on the environment today and the primary effort was to help us understand the concept of a carbon footprint.

I need the help! I had no ability to visualize what a pound of carbon dioxide would look like. I am a bit of a skeptic about carbon footprints since we're still here and the natural forms of introducing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere have been going on forever. I am a bit of a skeptic because this wasn't talked about until Al Gore began his 'environmental religion'. I am a bit of a skeptic because what started as a 'global warming' crisis has been altered to a 'climate change' crisis. I am a bit of a skeptic since I've yet to be convinced that science supports the broad contentions made by the proponents of 'climate change'.

What have I learned so far? Well, supposedly each of us in the United States releases 118 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day. That is an awfully precise number considering that science is not in sync as to precisely how carbon footprints ought to be determined.

I learned that an average refrigerator would hold about 2 pounds of carbon dioxide gas. A pound of carbon dioxide has the volume of 8.2 cubic feet. I was reminded that carbon dioxide in its solid form is what we call 'dry ice' and that bubbles in our soda are made from this gas. I learned that if I were to buy a Toyota Prius, to be as good as I could be, that purchase would equate to putting 97,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. That number is derived from the following and assumes that I'd drive the car 127,000 miles and get 42 miles per gallon:

making the materials for the car (steel, plastic, etc.) [12.9%]
assembling the car [5.7%]
producing the fuel and transporting it to the gas station [15.8%]
fuel use in the car [52.7%]
maintenance of the car [4.7%]
disposing of the car [8.3%]

Then, I read of Car Free Days (CFDs) in Seattle. This seems to me another fad in the array of fads associated with Eco activism. Seattle closes city streets, posts signs explaining that to drivers, and provides notices to city residents. All this takes labor, and fuel and other energy forms...all for something that no one has yet tried to measure...maybe fearing that the theory would be disproved.

I confess. I continue to be the skeptic. Maybe I will be proved correct, or maybe I'll be proved incorrect. I don't know. I suspect that I probably won't know that answer yet if I live to my normal life expectancy.

All this reminds me of the seeming importance of symbolism. If we can be seen as doing good, it really makes no difference if what we're doing is good, or not good. It is the appearance about which we're concerned.

Then there are the louts of the planet such as me who aren't yet convinced that we ought to be concerned.

Police Department Budget Issues...

2008-10-03T16:01:08Z

This Blog promises to be too long...and I apologize up front. BUT, this topic is critical, in my estimation, to the safety of our citizens and our property. While we're getting everything on the table, you should know by now that "I am in the tank" for our Police Department; I make no bones about it and I am unapologetic for that!

~~~~~~~~~~

I have had several exchanges with Chief Pete Hoell about the budget of his department and about the requests that have been made of him to further reduce his budget by something north of $300,000 for 2009. I have to tell you that he is anguished over this; he wants to remain a loyal servant of the community, he doesn't want to appear to be carping over the political situation, and he had some qualms about some of the information I'll make known in this Blog. In the final analysis, he came down on the side of letting the citizens of the community know what is going to happen if his budget is cut any further than has been the case over the past several years.

The budget numbers to date (as of yesterday) for the department were expected to approximate $4,501,000 for 2009 versus the $4,497,000 approved for 2008. That is virtually a 0% increase even though fuel prices have soared and even though personnel costs are what they are. The majority of the department budget is committed to wages and benefits since it is made up of people.

The actual discretionary operating budget, when the numbers represented above are stripped away is something on the order of $520,000. From that, we remove the base costs such as insurance, heat, water and sewer and have some $300,000 remaining for discretionary costs. As the chief pointed out, he has been reducing annual budget requests on a regular basis and is simply at the point where there is not much else, if anything, that can be cut.

The department is already relying on donations from the community as well as grants that are available to cover its needs. The DARE program is funded by the school district. Citizen's Police Academy (CPA) graduates are donating volunteer hours and are engaged in fund raising activities on behalf of the department. The CPA program actually pays back more than its cost to the department over and above the PR value gained. Officer Bosco's costs are funded by grants and donations. Contributions a couple of years ago raised by CPA graduates were used to replace many of the side arms carried by officers, for example. The motorcycle patrol is funded by contributions. Officers are already working extra hours without overtime pay; they get compensatory time off if and when that doesn't stretch the force too much. The department's gas costs went out of sight just as yours and mine did.

If you've toured the department's facilities, you will recall seeing a lot of "hand-me-down" equipment and furnishings. I don't think I've seen a desk that is any newer than circa 1960. Most of what I see has been donated by someone or other in the community. "New" equipment, if there is to be any, is often found on the 'for sale' sites of other police departments as they replace old items with new items. An old aquarium found its way to the evidence room for use as a finger print development tool. The buildings are on a "bare bones" basis; this is not a department that has an excess of funding nor is it a department that wastes taxpayer dollars. It scratches to make ends meet and continue to do its job.

Against that backdrop, permit me to get right to the point. I don't see any other areas where costs can be reduced but the area of personnel. That is going to impact you and me adversely. Period! The hoped for 0% increase budget of about $4.5M would become $4.2M if the $300K is stripped out.

One of the areas that Chief Hoell had some misgivings about disclosing is the number of officers on patrol during each shift. He discussed this with members of his command group and finally decided that, in the interest of full disclosure to the citizens, I could include this information:

We have a total of THREE officers on patrol each shift to cover the thirty-six square miles that comprise Germantown.

It is entirely possible that overlapping calls could mean that there is no one available to respond. One heavy-duty call could easily make that happen. The recent burglary of a Germantown construction site consumed all the patrol officers that were available. Situations requiring all three officers and the shift commander are not that unusual. During my ride-along, a pretty simple auto accident saw two officers and the shift commander on scene and also saw the vast majority of our fire department's on duty staff engaged along with vehicles of both departments. This was essentially a fender-bender. No one needed to be cut out of a vehicle; traffic control pretty much took care of itself since we were at a light-controlled intersection, etc.

The $300,000 cut being requested of this department could, and probably would, since there isn't anything further left to chop, cause staff cutbacks that would result in two officers available for patrol duties on each shift. That is an insufficient number considering the back-up required in many situations that are encountered. Bar fights are difficult if not impossible to control with two officers. Certain domestic abuse situations can easily require all three officers. Bank robberies obviously could pull all three into that scene. Our officers will be put in harm's way just as you and me will be adversely affected.

I used the phrase "cutting muscle instead of fat", or something to that effect, in an earlier Blog. I hope you now have a much better idea of what that meant.

What, you might ask, do I think we need at this point?

We need political leadership to go along with the excellent department leadership now in place. We need people to stand up and let their political leaders know that they do not want a weak Germantown Police Department even if taxes have to go up a bit to support it at the 0% growth number. We need to understand as a community that there comes a time when we have to pay for critical services.

Final Vote Cost Tally - Assembly District 24 Primary...

2008-10-03T10:20:03Z

My Blog on September 10th portrayed the amounts of money raised and spent as reported through that date for each candidate. The additional reports have been made to the state and we can now show the final tallies for each candidate.

This is certainly among the most expensive races, and may go down as the most expensive primary race, for the 24th Assembly seat ever; the total amount reported as being spent was $74,250 by the six candidates in the race. A total of 8,178 votes were cast with each vote carrying a price tag of $9.10.

With the winner in each party shown first, following are the final numbers by candidate:

Charlene Brady (D) spent $274.04, and won her race with 564 votes that cost her $0.49 each.

Torrey Lauer (D) spent $5,602.59, and lost his race with 386 votes that cost him $14.51 each.

~~~~~~

Dan Knodl (R) spent $17,072.32, and won his race with 2,706 votes that cost him $6.31 each.

Jason LaSage (R) spent $16,830.56, and lost his race with 2,312 votes that cost him $7.28 each.

Randy Melchert (R) spent $33,754.76, and lost his race with 1,995 votes that cost him $16.92 each.

Michael Moscicke (R) spent $715.80, and lost his race with 215 votes that cost him $3.33 each.

The two biggest spenders were Melchert and LaSage. Melchert contributed $30,000 to his own campaign, and LaSage contributed $20,000 to his own campaign. They each were certainly willing to "put their money where their mouthes were".

Obviously, the complaint against Dan Knodl over campaign issues has yet to be decided. So, that shoe is still to fall and until then it is silly to make any predictions. The charges lodged are serious in terms of the penalties that could be levied.

An Oldie But Goodie...

2008-10-02T19:22:00Z

Computers...Male or Female?

An English teacher was explaining to his students the concept of gender association in the English language. He stated how hurricanes at one time were given feminine names and how ships and planes were usually referred to as "she".

One of the students raised his hand and asked, "What gender is a computer?" The teacher wasn't certain which it was, so he divided the class into two groups, males in one, females in the other. He asked them to decide if a computer should be masculine or feminine. Both groups were asked to give four reasons for their recommendation.

The group of women concluded that computers should be referred to in the masculine gender because:

In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.
They have a lot of data but are still clueless.
They are supposed to help you solve your problems, but half the time they ARE the problem.
As soon as you commit to one, you realize that, if you had waited a little longer, you could have had a better model.

The men, on the other hand, decided that computers should definitely be referred to in the feminine gender because:

No one but their creator understands their logic.
The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
Even your smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.
As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry. I couldn't help myself!

Shocking Experience...

2008-10-02T13:25:18Z

I had a shocking experience last evening courtesy of the Germantown Police Department. I have been, along with several other citizens, participating in the current Citizen's Police Academy offered by the department as a means of informing more people about the department, its duties, its tools and so on.

One of the tools available to our officers is that 'gadget' called a Taser. I'm not certain what the verb form of that word ought to be, but it will be "tazed" with a long "a" for my purposes this morning.

My classmates and I were "offered the opportunity" to experience being tazed. We knew this was part of the Academy curriculum and we knew that it was optional.

That having been said, I couldn't very well admit that I'd prefer to avoid this experience, so I stepped up along with my peers. We were exposed simultaneously having gotten onto mats side-by-side. I was on one end and had the pleasure of a probe being attached to my lower leg. (Officer Borden had previously told us we'd remember where the probe was attached after the experience.) The person at the other end of this 'daisy chain' had the same honor. Then, we all joined hands in what might have seemed like the start of a group sing-along.

Having grown up in a farming community in western Wisconsin, I can still remember my first experience of being 'suckered' into touching an electric fence. I now have a memory that will replace that by several fold. This time, it was Corporal Delmore and not an electric fence that I was about to remember along with the Taser.

If you've ever had the electric fence experience, I'd suggest that being tazed felt to me like about 25 times the experience. I knew what was happening around me, but I was helpless to do anything other than let my leg jump a bit while being zapped. Our jolt was about a second or two long...and it seemed much, much longer quite frankly. The sound of the Taser adds to the experience as it crackles away while you're writhing...or trying to writhe. I heard some of my classmates verbalizing their experiences while others seemed to have a more physical response. We all survived as do virtually all the people who have been or will be 'given this opportunity' as the result of their actions.

It is amazing to me that the amperage involved is only .004 Amps. But, the nervous system is apparently disrupted to the point that nearly everyone who is tazed is rendered unable to control their physical movement; their muscles are simply beyond control.

We were told of a few people who have been tazed for real and who were able to withstand the experience for upwards of thirty seconds or more. I cannot imagine that, but I suspect that, if one were drugged up or drunk enough, he or she might be able to ignore the pain involved. I hope never to encounter one of those folks who can withstand that jolt.

My advice to you if you should ever find yourself in the position of deciding to obey or disobey a police officer doing his or her duty is this: Don't be a fool...you're going to lose in the end...and the trip won't be particularly pleasant if you make it that way.

Who Is Gwen Ifill & Is She Biased?

2008-10-01T16:44:00Z

The debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin on Thursday evening is scheduled to be hosted by Public Television's Gwen Ifill.

It has just been disclosed that Ms. Ifill is a supporter of Barack Obama and has a new book titled "The Breakthrough" scheduled to be released in January, 2009 at about the time our new President will be sworn in to his position. The book promotes Barack Obama and other black politicians who have benefited from the civil rights movement. It contends that the civil rights movement, and the black political structure that resulted, has cleared the way to permit an Obama to ascend to the presidency.

Does it seem to you, as it does to me, that her selection as moderator of the debate between the two candidates for Vice President provides us with a biased moderator?

This is yet another example of how the media is stacked against conservatives, and I find it a telling indictment of that very media for allowing something this obvious to be permitted.

The classic question we conservatives have learned to ask is this: If this were a news person who had written a book lauding John McCain, would he or she be selected to moderate this debate?

The answer which simply doesn't vary no matter the question is: No way!

Will there be some disclosure in the public interest prior to the debate? Not likely unless provoked by one or the other of the candidates. I have read elsewhere that some are encouraging Sarah Palin to point this out at the beginning of the debate in a gentle manner at least to have it on the record.

Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Exposed?

2008-10-01T10:19:52Z

This video collage is most informative as to the sub-prime problems we are dealing with today.

It seems that there were attempts to rein these two quasi public/private entities in over the years but one party seemed to stand in the way.

You can watch it for yourself and form your own conclusions.

Equal Treatment?

2008-09-30T18:56:00Z

I’ve been waiting to see the press and the media begin to pay attention to the other candidate for Vice President with the level of scrutiny displayed in their coverage of Sarah Palin. I’ve been seeing Joe Biden goof up regularly, but I must’ve missed the ridiculing stories in the press and the guffaws in the rest of the media.

Is it just me, or is there an unequal playing field?

I must be wrong; I can’t imagine that Sarah Palin would be treated any more critically than Joe Biden is treated. Why, if that were the case, wouldn’t it suggest bias on the part of the press and the media? Certainly, that can’t be the case.

I’ve read and heard any number of explanations that decry the mere suggestion of any bias. The press itself has told me there isn’t any bias.

So there! Well, I guess I’m just over-reacting. After all, I am a conservative and I do favor the McCain/Palin ticket over the Obama/Biden ticket. That’s it. I’m just another conservative seeing conspiracy behind every tree. When, I wonder, will I come to my senses?

Is there some therapy with which I can become involved to cure this problem I have?

~~~~~~~~~~

Seriously, the inequities are huge.

Where are the thirty attorneys looking for anything even remotely problematic with Joe Biden? Where are the dumpster divers checking every piece of garbage? Where are the people going through the video tape libraries looking for anything even remotely embarrassing? Where are the stories about Biden's lobbyist son who was making $1 million a year until he resigned the position recently? Where are the trumped up issues with investigations being begun on Biden? Where is the review of all his prior positions? Since he is supposedly the 'pro' when it comes to foreign affairs, where are the querying stories looking into whether he is a 'pro' or a poser? Where is the Saturday Night Live team with the history of hundreds of gaffes to be made fun of on network television?

The terrible truth is this:

The playing field is not even, and will likely never be made even.

The conservatives are always going to be portrayed as the knuckle-draggers since that political position simply isn't correct as every Eastern elitist knows from birth forward. It will always be possible for the liberal elitists to make fun without ever being called with a foul. If a conservative doesn't look at his debate opponent, that is a huge story, while the liberal man is given a huge pass when he lies on camera about positions.

Ever since I realized I was a conservative, I have become accustomed to this tilted playing field. Conservatives always have to run up hill and there is no changing sides of the field at half-time.

It is possible to determine the level of threat a conservative candidate represents by the effort expended by the liberal establishment to kill his or her chances.

Sarah Palin must be really good...just as I thought.

Village Buzz - September 30th...

2008-09-30T13:27:34Z

Germantown Police Department Building Follow-Up...

Several readers requested a timeline concerning the Germantown Police Department building process. Chief Hoell had done just such a timeline for the Trustees and was kind enough to provide that for this piece:

~~~~~~~~~~

Germantown Police Department Building Project Time Line

1982: Both the original Police Building (N112 W16877 Mequon Rd.) and Library - now PD Annex - were built. The shell of the range was completed but funds have never been approved to date for completing the indoor range.

1994: The Public Safety Committee discussed an expansion project for the Police Dept. No action was taken.

1995: The Village retained the services of HNTB to conduct a Needs Assessment Study of all municipal facilities. The study recommended building a new library and that upon completion the police department should expand its building by connecting both existing structures. HNTB estimated the cost of the police department expansion at $750,000.

According to the Public Safety Committee notes, the police department building expansion, indoor range and communications center projects would be moved from 1995 to 1996.

1998: Garage addition proposal submitted.

1999: A request was made to budget $725,000 for the building expansion to be completed in 2003. The amount was reduced first to $450,000 and then $350,000 at the final budget meeting.

2000: Garage construction started with a $270,000 budget.

2001: Garage addition completed. January 16, 2001 the Public Safety Committee tours new garage.

Fischer, Fischer Theis, Inc. hired for $4,400 to design the police expansion.

2002: Fischer, Fischer Theis, Inc. worked with the $350,000 budget constraints, submitted and received final approval from the planning commission for the architectural design plans. The Village Board split the amount of which $167,500 was allocated for 2003 to remodel the interior of the old library, and $167,500 was set aside to connect the two buildings in 2006. The Village Board then decided at the final budget hearing to withdraw all funding since the limited money budgeted created a design that fell short of their expectations for the long-term use of the police department facilities.

2003: The Village Board approved $750,000 in the Capital Budget to connect the police department in 2004.

2004: Police staff, primarily support services, moves into the old library (PD Annex).

2004 – 2005: Public Safety gave direction to hire Plunkett Raysich for $9,200 to design a connection and remodel both buildings based on space needs to accommodate the PD until 2025. The total project, to include connection of both buildings and a total remodel, came in at $3,200,000 for a 2006 construction date.

2005-2006: Homeland Security grant received to install building security upgrades. Items chosen from a security study of the buildings and the ability to reuse the items with the building project. Items added: fob key system, lobby security drawer, fencing, cameras/monitor, and windows.

2006: Village Board tabled the PD building project till 2007.

2007-2008: Third conceptual design for PD connection and remodel of both buildings. Zimmerman Architectural Studios was hired for approximately $12,000. This project is ongoing. Cost estimate for a remodel of both buildings and connection was at approximately $6,000,000. Village Board sent the plan back to be reviewed with the possibility of doing this project in phases.

Notes on a couple important issues, but not inclusive: 90% to 95% of all the police department furniture is original (26 years old) and/or secondhand donated items. Most of the furniture was not designed for computer usage.

The completion of the indoor range has been discussed for 26 years but never completed.

The radio is too small to accommodate the county radio project coming in the fall of 2009. The current radio console is outdated and not equipped to handle the computers.

The radio and communications equipment should be removed from the basement.

Air quality due to electronics needs to be improved.

Men and Women’s lockers are over capacity.

The flooring is old, worn out and in poor shape. Also in need of repair are some of the ceilings and walls.

There is no central location to handle and store evidence. The evidence processing and storage is handled between two floors and the storage should be removed from the basement.

No room to function as an Emergency Operations Center.

Because staff has outgrown the buildings, interview rooms were taken over for office space. The police department is in need of both hard and soft interview rooms equipped with both audio and visual recording devices to be able to record interviews per State Statute. The rooms should also be equipped with emergency notification/alert call buttons.

A secure training and conference room that can be utilized by outside organizations and other law enforcement personnel is needed.

The PD Annex is an old library; it’s still an old library which is occupied by PD personnel. This building is in need of security updates.

Records are stored throughout the PD and Annex; there is no central records location.

There is a strong need to create a safe work environment for the PD employees and the public while in and around the PD building and Annex. PD staff should be able to move around without the constant exposure to the outside by having to walk through the courtyard. The entrance to the main PD building is hidden from the parking lot. We need the front door to be seen by those in distress because they may not have the time or ability to read a directional sign or follow arrows.

The overall buildings are aged and worn. They were built with the security needs of the early 1980’s in mind. The safety of the staff and public while at the police department are paramount, and creating a professional, efficient work environment is an important aspect of this project as well.

~~~~~~~~~~

This provides the rest of the story over and above the request that the department find $330,000 of "unnecessary" expense to be cut so the village can balance its 2009 budget without a tax increase.

I believe that the board has been neglecting the department and that we will ultimately pay the price. As is evident, the simple impact of inflation has caused the building connector proposals to escalate significantly over time.

My apologies for such a lengthy Blog but all this information seemed quite germane to the story needing to be told.

At The Root Of The Problem...

2008-09-29T19:32:16Z

Sub-prime mortgages that were caused by the adoption of subsequent revisions of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), first passed in 1977, and that were forced upon lenders if they wanted to attain a solid 'score' when graded by the Federal agencies lie at the base of the toppling house of cards we witness today.

Continual averting of the eyes in Congress caused the toppling house of cards we witness today. No one in their right mind would make many of the loans that were being made unless there were a ready guarantor and re-packager of those loans. Those were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A lot of money found its way to various lawmakers who had the habit of always producing legislation favorable to these two giant quasi public/private organizations. Tens of millions of dollars were paid out over the years. Community organizing entities (such as ACORN) were even singled out to earn part of the profits that might accrue before any other entity saw any profits. In the initial iteration of the bailout legislation, fully 20% of profits were to flow to ACORN and the organizations similar to ACORN around the country before any other profits were taken. Those same organizations made money by marketing the sub-prime loans to people and getting fees from the lenders for having done so.

We, of course, know of ACORN. It has been at the fore of illegal voter registration here in Wisconsin. Barack Obama was employed as a 'community organizer' for a subsidiary of ACORN in both New York and Chicago.

This whole chapter of our legislative history is a travesty. The people who enabled the sub-prime mortgage debacle, that had its roots in 1977 and really took flight in 1995, are in charge of resolving the crisis they created. And, they are skating through this with nearly no fingers of blame pointing to them. The Chris Dodds, and Barney Franks and Charlie Rangels should be so ashamed as to hide their heads in a hole in the ground...but we all know better, don't we? They stand proudly in front of the television cameras telling us how great they are to be willing to help us out of this dilemma, and just how hard they've worked in our behalf to get it done.

This whole situation should make us retch for its stink and vile manipulation of the country. It should cause us to elect new members to the house in November and to literally clean "house", but, of course, we won't. We will continue to march like zombies as the drumbeat of politics continues. We will continue to privately suspect which members of Congress are scoundrels but we'll not call them out. The Jeffersons and Stevens are among the very few to ever face the music of the courtroom. And yet, we each know that there are at least another 50 members of Congress who ought to be cuffed and walked out of the chambers in shame.

I try to remain certain that good does prevail, but my optimism is very seriously challenged on occasions such as this...because there is little good to be found.

Village Buzz - September 29th...

2008-09-29T13:23:50Z

Bridge work is done!

Wow; how nice to be able to cross the bridges on both Lilac Lane and Freistadt Road again without the detour.

Both are beautiful...if bridges can be talked of in those terms.

And, they came in ahead of schedule which is always a treat. Whether or not the village was wise and told us the scheduled date was later than it actually was, I don't know; but, in any case, it is always nice when things happen a bit sooner than we're told.

Teamster's settle with Waste Management...

The Teamsters appear to have over-estimated their clout with Waste Management. They have settled for the 401K plan and not the Central States Pension plan. They have taken cuts in the earlier proposals for both compensation and health benefits.

The final vote was supposedly about two to one in favor of the reduced benefit package when the two earlier votes were either unanimous or heavily lopsided against the richer proposal.

While the spin used in the Teamster's announcement isn't quite so blunt as I have been, this is the reality.

They didn't achieve the goal of causing Waste Management so much adverse publicity as to make them increase their initial offer. When Waste Management got their out-of-state people here and on the job as quickly as they did, they had effectively won the battle. I can't tell you how many people have told me that their service had been better during the strike. That's no way to defeat the company.

And, finally, even though he has steadfastly maintained no ulterior motive in his actions, Village President Kempinski has lost some face within the community due to his attempts to cause Waste Management to blink by threats of canceling the village's contract and moving its business to Veolia.

Counterintuitive Argument...

2008-09-28T16:16:00Z

The Sunday Journal Sentinel contains a story by Tom Kertscher that discusses the school referenda with interviews of Bruce Warnimont, school board member, and others representing both sides of the debate over a new elementary school and the operating cap 'forgiveness' that would permit an additional $500,000 for operations of the new school.

Mr. Warnimont is quoted as pointing out the potential, based on presumed increases in full day kindergarten enrollment, for the increases in state aid to offset or exceed the cost of the referenda issues on the property tax bills in the district. He is very knowledgeable on such things and I do not presume to espouse a position, either pro or con, in this Blog.

I will say that this is a most counterintuitive argument. How does one approve a $22.5 MM bond issue and an additional $500M in annual operating costs and still see his or her property tax bill stay the same or decrease so far as the school district's portion of that bill? The assumption is that some 230 full time kindergarten students would be enrolled (76 more than now) and that the additional state funding would offset the tax increases necessary to pay off the building and to operate the school.

Those in favor point to this as justification while those opposed point to this skeptically given that there can be no assurances that the supposition will prove valid.

I have difficulty in thinking that anyone would be disingenuous and therefore presume that each side is speaking what it considers to be the truth. Perhaps I am terribly naive but I hope that isn't the case.

Given the lay of the land today so far as this project goes, I must say that I am happy to be an interested observer and not a direct participant on either side. As I stated above, this is one tough counterintuitive argument to mount. I do not know how I will vote but you can be sure I will vote. I trust that the vast majority of our school district citizens will vote, as well. We need to learn the true will of the people...and this election should point that out...unless the referenda pass by a handful or lose by a handful of votes.

Village Buzz - September 26th...

2008-09-26T13:52:49Z

"Your mission, should you decide to accept..."

That lead-in to the old Mission Impossible television show came to mind as I pondered today's Village Buzz topic possibilities.

I take some of our elected representatives to task now and then, and some of you readers do the same in your comments. Maybe it is time for us to "put up or shut up" as the old saying goes (not really but it gets the point across). If we have ideas as to how our governing entities could do things differently, lets put those on the table and see if any grow legs.

For example, we see privatized prisons popping up around the country. That happened because the private sector found a use for capital that took a burden from the shoulders of the taxpayer. I read of the latest Scott Walker budget proposals for Milwaukee County and thought that he has to be among the most creative politicians I've seen in some time (and, I hope he runs for Governor again).

What is there in our small world that could be done differently if we were to 'color outside the lines' for awhile? At the risk of angering entrenched interests, I'll throw out a few thoughts along those lines (remember that there may be some current impediments but that most impediments are man-made and could be altered if we demanded that):

Why not look to the private sector to build a school building that we can lease? The lessor could be obligated to handle all repairs, for example, over the term of the lease to assure that things that break get fixed on a timely basis instead of being delayed until they manifest as something worse. I see many former hospitals that have been turned into apartment buildings, for example. Just because a building is built to house students, doesn't have to mean that it would always be a school building. As population ebbs and flows, this would give the taxpayer some welcomed flexibility. Would this be workable? We won't know unless we ask the questions.

What about a charter school or an Internet school option to take student-count pressure off the buildings now available? Might that also reduce the personnel costs?

Many communities have hired assessor organizations and building inspector organizations to do their specialized work instead of retaining this talent on their own payrolls. Why not go through an extensive review of what we could do along those lines. That might reduce costs. It might eliminate our angst over rising benefit costs that have been negotiated and about which we can do nothing even as we watch the private sector deal with those same issues. Current employees with those skills might welcome the opportunity to become entrepreneurs and build new companies that other communities could employ.

Would it be possible to contract for road repair and shift some of the uncertainties off onto a private sector entity? Private business is accustomed to taking risk. Government tends to have to avoid risk and that adds expense. Road salting and snow plowing, for example, is a real problem given a hard winter and higher salt costs. If a private firm were contracted, it would bear that risk. I see many landscape firms that become snow plowers and salters in the winter. Is that worth exploring?

Would it make sense to lease computer servers for the village's use and have those housed in a private data center that does that as its primary business? The village wouldn't have need for the IT skills that it might today. Leasing of such systems might prove more economical and is an expense for which we could plan.

In most of these examples, the private sector would probably be more efficient, less susceptible to the political winds that blow hot and then cold, more intent on running very tightly controlled operations, etc. Where there is a true risk/reward relationship that is properly negotiated and vetted, I believe that the private sector is simply better at that than is a government body. And, as the "sidewalk" issue shows, I feel certain that the private sector can get things done in shorter time periods in most cases.

"Your mission, should you decide to accept" is to come up with your own ideas that might be capable of altering the way we look at the world of Germantown government and the Germantown school system today. I look forward to your comments...if you are brave enough/foolish enough to offer those. Most of you, at least, have anonymity on your side. I'm just hanging out there with my zipper down.

Village Buzz - September 25th...Chap. 2

2008-09-25T18:45:41Z

The "sidewalk" item in yesterday's Village Buzz referenced that I was seeking further information on the "as directed by elected officials" portion of the explanation from Daniel Naze, Village Engineer.

I really need to be sure that I want that for which I ask. Trustee Dean Wolter sent me a six page e-mail that details the evolution of the sidewalk that now appears on the east side of Pilgrim Road south of Mequon Road. I will gladly send that information to anyone who wishes to send me an e-mail requesting this information.

I want to provide a summary of this process for it really amazed me.

~~~~~~~~~~

July 11, 2007 Public Safety Committee Meeting:

A citizen presents a petition to the committee concerning sidewalks from Bel Aire to Mequon Road on the east side of the road. The committee forwarded this request to the Public Works Committee for action.

August 7, 2007 Public Works and Highway Committee Meeting:

The Public Works Committee asked that the Public Safety Committee authorize a study for the intersection of Lyle Lane and Pilgrim Road and suggested that funding be placed in the budget for a sidewalk from Lyle Lane to Mequon Road.

Village Board Meeting September 17, 2007

This item was removed from the Consent Agenda and motion was made by Trustee Zabel with second by Trustee Vanderheiden to table until adoption of the 2008 budget and to have the project done in early spring. Motion lost.

Motion made by Trustee Langer with second by Trustee Sorce to approve installation of 166 lineal feet of asphalt pavement at a cost estimated to be $13,700.Motion was subsequently amended to permit use of asphalt or concrete with the cheaper of the two be used.

October 2, 2007 Public Works Committee Meeting

Request to contractors to bid on installation of an asphalt or concrete sidewalk from Lyle lane 166 feet to the south. bids were received ranging from $13,000 to $25,625 for asphalt and from $6,950 to $8,300 for concrete.

Motion was made by Trustee Zabel with second by Trustee Steitz to accept $6,950 bid from Zenith Tech with funds to be disbursed from the Capitol Budget.

October 15, 2007 Village Board Meeting

Consent agenda item G for sidewalk was part of motion by Trustee Langer with second by Trustee Sorce for approval. Motion passed.

October, 2007

Construction occurs.

December, 2007

Monies left from borrowing for roads in 2007 budget carried to 2008 budget (some $200,000+), additional $300,000 borrowed for road maintenance and construction for total of $500,000 with another $200,000 borrowed for sidewalk construction.

May 5, 2008 Special Meeting of Public Works Committee

River Lane project was approved

May 5, 2008 Village Board Meeting

Final Resolution - Issuance of General Obligation Promissory Notes: Motion made by Trustee Langer with second by Trustee Vanderheiden to approve total of $1,480,000 at 3.70% interest. (Trustee Wolter noted that this was for all approved 2008 budget items that required borrowing like equipment purchases, new buildings, DPW parking lot, roads and sidewalks.)

June 3, 2008 Public Works Committee Meeting

After considerable discussion, a motion was made by Trustee Langer with second by Trustee Wolter that a bid from Rennhack Construction be accepted not to exceed $52,402.10 for construction of the sidewalk from Lyle Lane north to Mequon Road.

August/September 2008

Construction commences on the sidewalk.

~~~~~~~~~~

As you can see, this passed through multiple committees and hands on its way from the original citizen's petition to completion over the course of some two years. Not having been heavily involved in the governance of our community, I have to confess that I was astounded by the time involved in something that seems quite simple for a business person.

Village Buzz - September 25th...Chap. 1

2008-09-25T14:59:48Z

There will be two versions of the Village Buzz posted today given two relatively lengthy subjects each of which deserve a more detailed review.

~~~~~~~~~~

Germantown Police Department Budget...

I learned that our Police Department was being tasked by some members of the Village Board to reduce its 2009 budget request by some $330,000 as its share of the $900,000+ deficit solution. I have followed the department closely enough to recognize that this request would very likely cut away muscle and not fat, and I asked Chief Hoell for information about what this level of reduction would bring in the way of policing in 2009 without sharing my position with him at that point.

Chief Hoell indicated that his proposed budget was already done on the basis that this was an austere year for the village and that he would have to make do without a lot of the things he'd like to see for the department and the citizens of Germantown. He advised that he had been able to trim some operating costs but that other line items, such as fuel costs, were beyond his ability to control. He said that, although there have been cost increases in other line items, the department had made do without similar budget increases. If there were equipment breakdowns or if some large unforeseen event such as a major crime scene were to be confronted, there would be no surplus available with which to handle the occurrence.

He stated, simply, that "a $330,000 cut would cripple this department". "We would become solely reactive at best and the safety of our officers would be at jeopardy." He indicated that, if he took out insurance, bonds, heat and water expense line items, the $330,000 would be "pretty much our operating budget for 2009".

"If you take this money out of personnel, then as I stated above, we would become solely reactionary at best and no longer proactive. We are already experiencing delays in our responses due to the volume of calls for service or simply cannot respond to a time sensitive incident. The safety and security of our officers will be at stake and the safety of our community will slowly deteriorate."

He went on to discuss staffing studies: "The Germantown Police Department is the least staffed municipal agency in Washington County per capita. The same holds true for the metro area. We continually update this study and attach it to our budget to keep our elected officials educated on where we stand for staffing. The Depart. of Justice recommends approx. 2.2 officers per 1,000 people. GPD has 1.58 officers per 1,000 people. Granted the 2.2 is a bit high, however the national average is 2.0, the state average is 1.8". (This is for communities having from 10,000 to 40,000 people).

~~~~~~~~~

Now, I'll take the opportunity to "editorialize":

The thought that we would cut our police protection budget by such an amount simply to be "fair" to the rest of the departments in this village is something I simply am unable to grasp. This would likely result in a reduction of one-third in the on-the-road shift staffing; and that staffing is already quite sparse for the community from my perspective. "Across the board cuts" are too often simply the easy way out for people charged with developing budgets. Each department head has, I hope, put forth their best effort. I rely upon the Village Administrator to assure that there is no "fluff" left in any department's numbers. I rely upon our elected representatives to handle the balance of any mandated budget reductions with the best interests of all citizens uppermost in mind.

I believe this proposed cut would be to carry the funding of the police department to a level that would cause our services to deteriorate too far. If we lose the edge we have today in that area, we will pay a very severe price. The "bad guys" don't respect budget issues. They respect force. I hope and trust that wiser minds will prevail when the Finance Committee and Village Board again convene. It is time for some serious leadership on a serious issue. There are "issues" and then there are "life and death" issues.

I can only imagine the reaction if a member of the Board were to be poorly served by the department in a time of need due to this budget process. I'll wager that the recrimination wouldn't be pretty, and I'll bet some heads would roll. But those likely wouldn't be "elected heads" rolling.