Commish's Corner, June 6th
I hope the summer is starting out well for everyone. Since I took office in Jan of 2009, my main mode of communication was through my Commish's Corner that is published every other week. This has always been used for an update of the county, or something of regional interest.
I hope the summer is starting out well for everyone. Since I took office in Jan of 2009, my main mode of communication was through my Commish's Corner that is published every other week. This has always been used for an update of the county, or something of regional interest.
I will be posting these columns in my blog in case you do not get our papers.
June 6th Commish’s
Corner
Graduations
and weddings are on calendars everywhere. I hope those who are partaking in the
celebrations truly take time to enjoy them and not worry about the little
stuff.
We are half way through the year,
and it is a good time to assess where we are with our County goals. When the
County Board sat down for a Strategic Planning meeting, we discussed how each of
us envisions the County in the future. From that, we developed a shared vision.
We continually set our policies to align with our County goals. The staff then implements
that policy. Our 2012 goals are printed on the county letterhead. There are a
total of seven. One of the goals is to: Create
action steps/options to reduce and eliminate our structural deficit. Many
do not understand the term “structural deficit”. Some think, since the word
“structural” is in it, it is related to buildings, but it is not. Quite simply
it means an organization has more expenses than revenues, basically not
sustainable. When times are good, it can be hidden, as money flows freely, and
increases in tax levy and fees are not always noticed. But, when the economy is
down, it rears its head and can devastate an organization.
The only way to deal with a
structural deficit is to increase revenue and/or decrease expenses. At Winona
County, we were in the enviable position to be able to address our situation by
mostly decreasing expenses. In the last few years, we have worked hard to
reverse the trends of annual tax increases. We added onto our County Office
Building, and were able to take advantage of merging departments, sharing
counter space, and cross training our employees. We were able maintain services
to our citizens with less people. Positions were eliminated as staff retired or
moved to other job opportunities. No layoffs occurred. We have not reached our
goal of eliminating the structural deficit altogether, but are well on our way.
Three years ago, it was over $2M, currently it is less than $500,000.
Another one of our goals is to: Develop a Comprehensive Plan Process.
The “Comp Plan” is the vision for the County. It is created through a similar
Strategic Planning process that the board goes through for our county. The “Comp
Plan” is a citizen driven, countywide vision, that focuses on land use,
economic development and growth.
Jason
Gilman, the Planning and Environmental Director, is working with his staff to
hammer out the process. The process must be sound, as it is a vital piece of
creating a successful Comprehensive Plan. The process will include: education
to the public as to what this means to us, how we will bring the citizens to
the table, how we proceed once we are at the table, and the projected timeline
so the public can know when to expect the results of the Comprehensive Plan.
We
anticipate the process to be in place and ready to start at the beginning of 2013.
If you have questions, feel free to call Jason; he is always willing to share
his knowledge and expertise.
Congratulations
to all the graduates and newlyweds as you start the next chapter of your lives.
I wish you all the best.
Please
contact me if you have any questions or comments about the County.
Mena Kaehler
