Questions and Answers
As I campaign people are asking me great questions about my positions. I will share my answers to those questions below so the voters of Oshkosh will know exactly where I stand on the issues that matter to them.
Do you support the city’s use of Tax Incremental Financing (TIF)?
Yes. TIFs are a powerful economic development tool that are working in Oshkosh. As a member of the Council and Plan Commission I have always asked tough questions and kept a critical eye on the underlying assumptions of proposed TIFs. We must always ask if the project could be done without a TIF, and always be conservative when investing the people’s money in a TIF-funded project.
What are your economic development priorities?
My top priority is maximizing the quality of life in Oshkosh so that people and businesses want to be here. That means empowering our neighborhoods, maintaining our parks, increasing walk-ability, embracing inclusion and diversity in all we do, and providing top-notch government services. It also means keeping our tax climate favorable to business and residents to ensure Oshkosh is a place where businesses can flourish. I also support GOEDCs activities in providing performance-based loans for entrepreneurs who want to innovate in Oshkosh.
How much debt is acceptable?
Like a home mortgage or car loan in your personal life, some debt is necessary in government. However, we must be careful about 1) Our total debt-service costs, and 2) The beneficiaries of any debt we take out. As a member of the city Long-Range Finance Committee I helped craft a debt policy that limits our total debt to a manageable level, and ensures the council takes into account social equity when taking on new debt.
What is your position on special assessments?
As a member of the City's Long-Range Finance Committee I am supportive of the body's work on replacing special assessments with a more equitable alternative. I support the latest monthly fee proposal, but would also be supportive of more categories depending on factors such as road impact and parcel usage.
Would you raise property taxes?
That is a bit of a trick question as our property tax levy is largely a function of the state cap linking revenue increases to increases in assessed value. But, I believe that to be competitive we must maintain a favorable tax climate for business and residents. Currently our property taxes are comparable to peer cities like Appleton. I would not allow taxes to get to a point where we compare poorly to our peer cities. We need a strong tax base, and that takes policies that attract business and residents.
What are three things the city can do better?
1) As the president of the Millers Bay Neighborhood Association, I have seen firsthand how neighborhoods can win grants, form great plans, but have difficulty with implementation. If elected I will make implementation of neighborhood-driven projects a priority.
2) I also think we can improve the transparency of our government by taking a more proactive approach. Specifically, I will work to create a performance dashboard that gives residents up-to-date performance and budgeting information in an accessible format that empowers us all to know what our government is doing, why they are doing it, and whether they are doing it well.
3) I am guilty of being a bit of a fiscal hawk. If elected I would support a review of all of Oshkosh’s contracts with 3rd parties to ensure we are getting the most for our money
Do you support paying all employees of the municipality a living wage?
Yes. The city has a moral responsibility to ensure our employees make a living wage. We also have a responsibility to vet 3rd parties to ensure they too pay their employees a living wage. We do need to our homework to be sure we are in agreement about what constitutes a living wage and apply the standard fairly.
What is your opinion of current wage and benefit packages for municipal employees?
I think the current situation is satisfactory, but we must be vigilant about ensuring we pay competitively to attract and retain talent. This challenge become greater given state funding freezes.
Do you support or oppose the privatization or contracting out of services?
I support a review of our contracts with 3rd parties, and support the use of 3rd parties for provision of government services when it would improve performance and save money. All things equal I prefer to keep the capacity within government, but recognize contracting out can be beneficial.
Do you support the funding of public transit in our community?
Yes.