Seeking citizens for show

Contributed by: Anonymous
I think it be equally interesting to have citizens and elected officials appear on the same show.

Or even better , have a Town Hall type show with you and Tony moderating for a show that could be over an hour.
I be game I am sure Paul Meredith and Bryan Bain and one or two form the school board be interested.

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Seeking Citizens for show
Authored by: L Schaffer on Tuesday, August 02 2005 @ 05:17 PM MDT
I am sure most of you were surprised as I was how much your tax assessment went up. I am afraid the next big surprised is yet to come, our tax bill come December. Our city manager stated that if the new assessment was last year, the mill rate would have been 22.17 per 1,000 of assessed value, with that my tax bill would have been 500.00 more. With the present elected people on our city, county, and school boards, we taxpayers don’t have a chance. One example is our city council approved on a 5-2 vote a resolution to borrow 31 million dollars a year the next 3 years, total of 93 million dollars if the state put a freeze on property taxes. Right now for every dollar that the city takes in, 26 cents goes to pay down our debt, this does not include the new water plant or the golf course, county or the school district. I wonder how many of our elderly citizens that are on fixed income will have to sell there homes or our low income citizens that can’t buy a home but have to rent can afford a large increase in rent payments. We taxpayers are now going to pay for all the buildings and land that the city bought and took off the tax rolls, all the tiff districts that were created. I am not against taxes, but I think all of our elected officials in office be it in the city, county, and school board start to show some restraint on how they spend our tax dollars.

Seeking Citizens for show
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, August 03 2005 @ 04:54 PM MDT
I am not sure how this last comment pertains to the original post. But I am willing to bet anyone here dinner at the restaurant of the winner's choice that your property taxes will not increase in the next year more than they have the average of the last 10 years. Beyond being irresponsible, it would be political suicide for our politicians to vote for something like that. Let me know if you want the bet.

Chuck Hable

Seeking Citizens for show
Authored by: admin on Wednesday, August 03 2005 @ 05:18 PM MDT
Chuck, I can tell you categorically that my own taxes - as a result of the reassessment alone - are going to go up more than $500 for the year, using the figures provided by the city staff. And that is without figuring in road repairs being done to my street or any regular tax increases put in place by the city, county, school board or other taxing authorities. I am not alone in this dilemma.

The city has stated publicly that people in the older sections of town are going to see tax increases as a result of the reassessment. This is a fact. So I'll be happy to accept your bet and I hope others do too. It will be one less meal we'll have to try paying for. :)

In all seriousness, though, this is exactly why so many of our city's elderly who still own homes in the inner city are afraid they will soon no longer be able to afford them. Unfortunately far too many people in this community, including many of our elected officials, can't understand this. Nor do they seem to care.

- Cheryl Hentz
(We've already heard from a few citizens who want to come on the show. Still looking for others to join in.)

Seeking Citizens for show
Authored by: Michelle Monte on Thursday, August 04 2005 @ 07:21 AM MDT
As far as property tax increases, I'd take that bet as well. Our property value went up over $57,000 this year. This would nearly double our tax bill. Since we didn't pay nearly what the assessors office said our house was worth and couldn't sell it for anything close, and because nothing has been done to this property in years, we asked the assessor's office to visit us and see for themselves. We went to Realtors.com and found three properties like ours and noted their selling price and then drove through our neighborhood and noted the addresses of houses the same as ours and looked up their assessments and noted the values. This information and the assessor's visit to our home lowered our assessment $11,000. Our tax bill is still going to go up considerably, but hopefully we can scrape the money together before the end of the year. I would encourage people to call the assessors office before it is too late (I think August 8 is the deadline.) and ask the assessor to do a walk through. We were told that our house's value was based on available information in the computer system which was plugged into an assessment software program and the computer gave us a value. No one has been in our house in ten years.
I worry about those that do not think they can request a decrease. Anyone can and should if you feel your house has an inflated value. While it is great to see properties gaining in value, if that value is too high, no one can keep it or sell it. What purpose does that serve? Aren't property values supposed to reflect the financial stability and financial status of the community? I understand the increase in values creates an increase in revenue for the city, but what good is it if people, especially our eldest citizens, are taxed out of their homes. Isn't homelessness and poverty a bigger burden on taxpayers than realistic, not inflated, property values?

---
Thanks for reading.

Seeking Citizens for show
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, August 04 2005 @ 08:08 AM MDT
Sorry....if I implied I was taking the whole city out to dinner, I wasn't! Cheryl was the first taker, she gets the bet if she wants it.

My understanding was that the assessment was required because some magic number fell below the 80% mark, and therefore needed to be redone. I got the feeling the mill rate would change to keep the overall dollar amount we pay on our taxes similar to what it was in years past. Perhaps I was wrong. Choose your restaurant, Cheryl, but don't start smackin' your chops just yet! If I win- Kodiak Jacks. I am still holding out hope.

And, no...you can't smoke.

Chuck Hable

Eye on Oshkosh seeks citizens to appear on show

Some citizens have asked me recently "Why don't you once in awhile have some regular citizens on the show talking about what they like and don't like about the way government runs thing?"

That's a good question. It is something I have considered in the past, but I wasn't really sure that anyone would step forward to appear. I always figured it would be somewhat like voting: many people complain about how things are, but then a lot of them give up on the system and won't even go to the polls. Consequently, we end up with more of the same year after year. Still, from time to time, I continue to be asked the same question by people. A few citizens have even made the suggestion to some of our elected officials, who have passed the suggestion on to me. That being said, let's test the waters.

Certainly, we will continue to have guests on the show who make policy and who are local and state newsmakers. But Eye on Oshkosh has always tried to be a voice for the people and we'd now like to give the people a chance to speak their own mind, in their own voice. Our elected officials need to hear from you, the people. After all, you are their employer. So, if you are a local resident - either in the city of Oshkosh or Winnebago County - and would like to come on the show and talk to us about why you like living here and how decisions our local representatives make affect you - good or bad - please contact us.

I know there are a few regulars who appear at the city council, school board and county board meetings. Their voice is certainly important and deserves to be heard. But because we all know where they stand on issues, we'd really like to hear from people who we and the local governments typically don't hear from.

I'd like to get a couple citizens on at once rather than just one at a time. If you'd be interested in coming on the show and talking about your feelings and concerns, we'd like to hear from you. You can either call me or drop us an email at hosts@eyeonoshkosh.com.

It's your government and it's your chance to give your voice an extra boost. Thank you!

- Cheryl Hentz

Oshkosh Man Joins Board of Statewide Equal Rights Group to Help Fight

[We received this press release and would like to send out our congratulations to Aaron on his appointment to the board of directors.]

For Immediate Release: July 27, 2005
Madison -- The campaign against a state constitutional ban on civil unions and marriage for gay couples gained steam today with the announcement that Oshkosh resident Aaron Sherer has joined the board of Action Wisconsin. Action Wisconsin is the statewide advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and is leading the campaign against the amendment.

Sherer moved to Wisconsin from Massachusetts with his partner Paul Smith in 2002. They live in Oshkosh, where Sherer is the director of the Paine Art Center and Gardens, and Smith teaches special education at West High School. Sherer says, “When we moved here, the rights of gay citizens were essentially identical in both states. Now, Massachusetts offers full marriage equality for gay couples, while Wisconsin is moving towards banning all legal protections for our family.”

"Having Aaron join the board will be a major boost to our effort to increase support for equality in the Oshkosh area," said Action Wisconsin executive director Christopher Ott.

The proposed constitutional amendment is likely to be on the November 2006 state-wide ballot. Lawmakers passed it once in March 2004, but the Legislature must approve it a second time before it goes before voters in a statewide election.

The amendment would not only permanently ban marriage for gay couples but would also foreclose the possibility of civil unions in Wisconsin, which could offer many of the rights of marriage. States that have already passed similar amendments are seeing them used to overturn domestic partner health insurance policies and domestic violence safeguards for unmarried heterosexuals.

Sherer’s primary reason for serving on the board of Action Wisconsin is to help defeat the amendment in the Oshkosh area. “We like living here and would like to stay. We think we’re making a contribution to our community. But this amendment goes too far. Paul and I are each other’s family, and this amendment would hurt our ability to take care of one another.”
Sherer also serves on the boards of the Oshkosh United Way and the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Appleton. The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, a religious congregation, recently took a stance in support of marriage equality for gay couples.

In 2004, most Oshkosh-area lawmakers supported the amendment. Senator Carol Roessler and Reps. Carol Owens and John Townsend voted for it, while Rep. Greg Underheim was one of only two Republicans in the Legislature to oppose the amendment.

Action Wisconsin is based in Madison and will soon hire a campaign manager and additional staff to build the statewide campaign, including an organizer to be based in northeastern Wisconsin.
Opposition to the amendment is growing in many communities, but there is particular momentum among people of faith. Recently, a number of regional mainline Protestant denominations voted to publicly oppose it, including three Lutheran synods and the statewide United Methodist conference.

Action Wisconsin: http://www.actionwisconsin.org

Following is a response to the post as displayed on an earlier version of Eye on Oshkosh

Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, August 08 2005 @ 09:17 AM MDT
Married couples have rights immediately upon marriage. Unmarried hetero couples have rights after a certain length of time cohabitating. No one asks if they are truely committed to each other. No one asks if they intend to be together through thick and thin. No one condems them or questions their devotion to each other. No one doubts their feelings or questions intimacies shared behind closed doors, both physical and emotional. We look upon a happy couple with a smile. We support them through their trials. We offer our sympathies when one is sick or has died. We believe that they have every right to create a life together if they choose to. They have every right to take care of each other and their families without question and without condemnation. The most beautiful thing in this world is a loving family. The capacity and bounty of love is boundless, endless, genderless; as is God's love for ALL creation.

Good Luck, Aaron.

Smoking Ban Fiasco

Contributed by: Jim B.
It takes the powerful Hilton corporate lawyers to find the loophole in the smoking ban. The Lindbergh Club is designated a private club so smoking is allowed. Now other restaurants are trying to do the same thing and being smacked down by the city. This whole thing stinks!!! I am not a smoker, but I just don't see the logic in creating an uneven playing field for businesses. Take the Gardenview on Jackson. Their property is not completely in the city of Oshkosh so they are expempt. It is a nice place to eat, owned by very nice people, but should they have an advantage over restaurants that are within a two mile radius. It appears the same thing is happening in Appleton and Madison. Although they both took it a step further and made it all bars and taverns(i.e. all workplaces).

If it is going to continue it should be a statewide ban!!!

Jim B.

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Smoking Ban Fiasco
Authored by: admin on Friday, July 29 2005 @ 09:57 PM MDT
Jim, I agree with you that if there is going to be a smoking ban it should be statewide. My difficulty in it being in all workplaces is that there are so many people now working from home - either telecommuting or with owning an in-home business. And with ordinances such as the one in Appleton, it is my understanding that even if you, as the businessowner and homeowner, are the only employee of that business, you still cannot smoke in that workplace environment. It does not seem right that government at any level can legislate what we do in our private homes. Some considerations, I believe, need to be made when enacting certain legislation like a workplace smoking ban.

- Cheryl Hentz

Smoking Ban Fiasco
Authored by: Kent Monte on Monday, August 01 2005 @ 04:27 PM MDT
I agree that the smoking ban needs to be statewide. The Fox Cities is seeing why. Appleton began the workplace ban one month ago and now area businesses are seeing drops/gains in sales depending on location. There are 2 articles in todays Post Crescent that cover the ban. It really has put things in perspective. The state is looking at a statewide ban, but the Governor is going to veto it based on the strength. He feels that the ban that is proposed is not strong enough. He doesn't want the local governments to lose anything that is already in place. I really wonder if there is a solution?

Smoking Ban Fiasco
Authored by: admin on Monday, August 01 2005 @ 08:41 PM MDT
It is wreaking havoc on businesses in Appleton. Yet we have people like former Oshkosh school board member Theresa Thiel writing letters to the editor of the local paper saying there's no proof that businesses have lost money due to a smoking ban.

That is an ignorant comment to make, and evidently, one that a whole lot of business owners would like to chat with Mrs. Thiel about. Clearly, she hasn't actually talked to affected business owners to have a truly enlightened point of view. But in her defense, I guess it's easy to make statements like hers when your "facts" are skewed, you believe propoganda from ban proponents who have no money at stake in these businesses and you don't have to make ends meet with the income you receive from sales under a smoking ban like Appleton has - diminished as those sales may be.

- Cheryl Hentz

Smoking Ban Fiasco
Authored by: Kent Monte on Monday, August 01 2005 @ 09:36 PM MDT
You are absolutely correct. I know one of the managers of an Appleton business (one that I should not name) and he said that his bar business is down more than 50% compared to last July. One person I talked to said that he was in this sports bar at 10pm on a Sat. night and he was alone with 2 bartenders. This particular sports bar has at least 2 other bars within 2 blocks in either direction that people can smoke (Grand Chute). What are those business owners supposed to do? Now the City Counsel is looking at an exemption. I hope that it won't be too late. Again, remember that I don't care about smoking, I just don't think that it is fair for anyone to tell a business owner whether or not smoking is allowed in their own building.
PS, I noticed the name calling and insulting has stopped. People aren't so brave when they can't throw stones from cover. Great job Cheryl!

Smoking Ban Fiasco
Authored by: Jim B. on Tuesday, August 02 2005 @ 08:31 AM MDT
Interesting articles in the Post Crescent. The true sign of this ban not working is the increase of business in Grand Chute and Menasha. These bars are seeing an increase in sales while Appleton is seeing decreases. Talk about an uneven playing field. Do the ban advocates realize they are shifting business from their municipalities to others? And how about the arrogance of the advocate who basically said that these people just need to get over it and move on. If they would stop being bitter about it things would improve. Wow, she actually said that!!!!

I concur about the lack of venom on this site, but why can't all the anonymous check in and engage in true debate?

Jim B.

Smoking Ban Fiasco
Authored by: Kent Monte on Tuesday, August 02 2005 @ 11:33 AM MDT
I think that anonymous should be able to read, but they should need to say who they are if they want to speak. They still have the opportunity to speak out anonymously if they go through the administrator to do it. That will eliminate the spite that has been taking place.

Cheryl, could it be set up so that everyone could read the comments whether they are signed in or not without being able to post? [the preceding comment about anonymous postings and/or the ability for anonymous persons to read comments already posted was made in reference to an earlier version of Eye on Oshkosh, not the current one.]

EAA deaths

Contributed by: Anonymous
Has anyone in the area paid any attention to the deaths that occur from people flying to the EAA convention, leaving the convention, or flying around during the convention? To my count, this year alone, 7 people have died (up until 7/28) and yet, we all go about our business and go to the convention and act like nothing happened. 7 people! For me, that's 7 too many.

I know that this is the biggest gathering of pilots and planes and that accidents are bound to happen with everyone so close to each other, but at what point do we say "ya know, too many people lose thier lives for this place." These are peoples lives and for officials just to say "it's bound to happen" is not an excuse anymore. These numbers add up, and after 10 years, when 80, 90, even 100 people have died, since this was posted, for this convention, you have to sit back and say, "this shouldn't be happening."

I felt I had to say something on here after looking at the Oshkosh Northwestern's website and notice that 2 out of the 3 headlines have to deal with someone dying during the convention, and the 3rd saying almost exictedly " GlobalFlyer finally arrives."

I can't think of any other convention where so many people die. Not even the NRA's, and guns kill more people than planes do. Accidents do happen, but when 7-10 happen in a 2 week span in late July, something should be done, whether is be drastic or not.

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

EAA deaths
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, July 28 2005 @ 04:06 PM MDT
Dear anonymous:

One person dying is “too much,” however you can’t shut something down (if that’s what your suggesting,) because of accidents. If that were the case, nothing would go on.

Unfortunately, at the national convention of the Boy Scouts a couple of days ago, there were four scout leaders that were killed. You certainly wouldn’t suggest that the Boy Scouts should cancel further conventions.

People are killed on our roads every year, yet we don’t suggest people stop driving. People are killed every year in aviation related accidents, yet we don’t suggest airplanes be grounded.

NASA had deaths associated with the space shuttle. These deaths are extremely unfortunate, but NASA learned from their mistakes, and moved on. I’m sure everyone that was lost in those missions would want it that way.

The fact is that aviation is the safest way to travel. It is unfortunate that we have lost people that are arriving, participating in, or departing AirVenture, but I don’t believe any of the EAA participants would want AirVenture cancelled because of these deaths. In fact, I saw an interview with a P-51 Mustang pilot (like one of the planes that was lost,) that the gentleman that was lost would want the show to go on.

Let us also remember that AirVenture is a HUGE undertaking, and that EAA staff spends countless hours in preparation, security, and safety measures every year to prevent accidents. And I might add, very few accidents actually occur on the grounds of the EAA, which is a testament to their staff. Also remember that there have been MANY years where there haven’t been any accidents either at the EAA grounds, or with people arriving or departing from the event.

We should all pray every year that we don’t have any accidents at AirVenture, or any event for that matter, and if something should happen, we should learn why the accident happened and take measures to make sure it never happens again.

Sincerely,

Paul Esslinger

EAA deaths
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 29 2005 @ 06:35 AM MDT
Well said, Paul. People choose to come to Oshkosh, and we should be glad for that and welcome them. Unfortunately, accidents do happen but I'd guess if you polled the people sleeping under wings of airplanes out there, about 95% would say they couldn't think of a better way to go.

EAA deaths
Authored by: Jim B. on Friday, July 29 2005 @ 07:09 AM MDT
I must admit thinking the same thing as the original poster on the crashes and deaths. How many people attend conventions and lose their lives? However, these people know the dangers and risks of their sport/hobby. I believe both Pauls are right that they wouldnt give it up for the world. The only way this becomes a big issue is if we begin to see innocent people not affiliated with EAA hurt or killed on the ground because of these crashes.

Jim B.

Titan Stadium

Contributed by: Anonymous I'm dumbfounding about the $5.7 million makeover of Titan Stadium. The Stadium was already there, all they did was put carpet on the field, add a track, replace the lights and benches, and will update the locker rooms under the stadium. All for $5.7 million!

Now, the University of North Dakota built the Alerus Center for their football team, and they built it from scratch, all for the cost of $4.4 million. Now the Alerus Center is a 13,500 seat INDOOR football stadium, and includes 18 luxury suites and state-of-the-art scoreboards and video replay boards. For $1.3 less than a renovation of an EXISTING stadium, the UND has a NEW facility that will be used year round, regardless of the weather.

So before everyone says "hooray!" about the new Titan Stadium, for more than a million less, the Titans, Spartans, Knights, and Wildcats (I still like the Indians) could be playing in the warmth of a new indoor, state of the art stadium that could host other events, non football related.

here is a link to the Alerus Center: http://www.fightingsioux.com/info/facilities/alerus.asp

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 07:58 AM MDT
Sure if they built it in North Dakota and don't you think there would be some cost to demolishing the old stadium and if they did that I'm sure you would be complaining that they were tearing down a perfectly good stadium...

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Jim B. on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 09:12 AM MDT
What is the break down of public vs. private funding on this project? I may be wrong but I was under the impression a lot of it was private.

Again, here we are talking about progress vs. stagnation. This update will go a long way in securing future regional sporting events at the college and high school levels. This in turn brings in money to our community.

Jim B.

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 09:23 AM MDT
Here our pal Jim B goes again.

It doesn't matter what the cost is on a project, just do it. Thank God this guy is not in a position to vote on our taxes!!

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 09:44 AM MDT
"The completed Oshkosh Sports Complex will cost $5.7 million, raised entirely through private donations."

http://www.osc.uwosh.edu/

Perhaps some of you should begin doing some research before getting the reactionary juices flowing. I know I shouldn't expect much more on this web site, but just figured I'd put this out there for everyone.

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 10:46 AM MDT
To all of the other complainers, if you don't like the project don't contribute to it and don't attend any events there. As for me, I think it's a great thing for the university, the high schools and the community as a whole. Could the project have been done differently or could it have been done cheaper, perhaps.

But all-in-all it is good for Oshkosh and doesn't seem like it will cost the city or state taxpayers at all. Unless there are some huge upkeep costs which the taxpayers must support - if so then this could present other questions.....

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Jim B. on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 10:43 AM MDT
Where you got that I supported this stadium from my post I will never know. Perhaps you see the name and automatically spew your venom. At least I give a name!

Hmm let's see......a privately funded improvement to our community is a bad thing? Something that will bring people in to our community, stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, and shop in our stores. Even if it was a private/public venture it would be a good thing. That by no means I agree with any and all projects that will increase our taxes.

I think it is time for the people who are against progress in Oshkosh to start travelling a little bit outside the city limits and state line. City similar to the size of Oshkosh all over the Midwest are so far ahead of us in terms of services and quality of life. Heck, even our neighbors to the North have beat us out in those categories! Oshkosh has some nice things to offer, but even more potential. I see nothing wrong with tapping into that potential.

I would suspect that you are the same type of person that thinks EAA is a big pain in the butt because of the awful traffic. Hate to tell you my myopic friend, the traffic that EAA creates is so small in comparison to what people all over the country deal with every day.

We have it pretty good here, but it can be better!

Jim B.

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 03:46 PM MDT

Jimbo:

For the record, I love the EAA and most things in the city. You sir, seem to think any idea that's hatched by anyone (mainly by people that don't live in the city, and don't pay taxes) should be done at any expense.

I'm happy that there are some in this community that question where, when, why, and how my money gets spent.

As I stated, I'm glad you aren't an elected official. You'd be nothing more than a yes boy for the Chamber and the like.

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Jim B. on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 04:26 PM MDT
What is the difference if you are on the record since we don't know who you are?

The stadium is paid for by PRIVATE FUNDING. Has not cost you or me a thing!! I support smart and practical progress, especially with private funding.

You on the other hand think it is more productive to name call and make judgements on people you don't even know.

Ignorance is bliss!!!

Jim B.

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 10:20 AM MDT
It is not only the stadium but the surrounding grounds and facilities.

Titan Stadium
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, August 10 2005 @ 05:35 PM MDT
It's more than just the grounds surrounding the stadium. It's all of that, plus more. It includes upgrades to the baseball stadium and track as well. It's not just a Titan Stadium upgrade. It's the whole sports complex. You will note the new name for the venue is the Oshkosh Sports Complex.

The artificial turf placed in the stadium was well worth the price, whatever fraction of the 5+ million it cost. Most of the games at Titan are high school games. With all of those, plus the college games on Saturdays and who knows what else the stadium was used for, the grass couldn't handle it. It now has the same artificial turf all of the major colleges and pros are installing at a fraction of the cost of natural turf over time. Furthermore, it allows the teams who use the stadium to PRACTICE where they play! It also allows for soccer games.

If I had one criticism of the complex, it would be the lack of lighting behind the fans in the stands. The old lighting was wonderful because the whole place was lit up. I wish they could add some lighting on top of the press box to make the stands brighter for reading programs, etc.

Great work, however, on a wonderful facility. Teams in Texas in Florida play in stadiums like this.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget

Contributed by: Anonymous
Will Don Sween be allowed to vote on the budget? Being a retired teacher he has no business voting on a budget that has a direct affect on his health care cost and retirement benefits.

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, July 21 2005 @ 09:27 PM MDT
No, he shouldn't. The state ethics laws are fairly straight forward. He shouldn't vote on anything where he has a direct monetary interest. NOW...GOLFING BUDDIES ARE A DIFFERENT STORY.

I predict an immediate ethics complaint being filed. If the amphatheater bathroom problem educated the public about anything, it taught us to act immediately when we feel something is wrong.

I certainly hope he isn't offended when this happens.

Also, beware parents...I suspect there are behind the scene plans being made on how to force feed the public "realignment"! Organize now or it will be too late!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 22 2005 @ 09:48 PM MDT
People that are addicted to spending won't pass up a chance to..So lock up your wallet and watchout for the garnishing of your hard earned dollar!.....WEAC can always represent him if an ethics complaint is filed....

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, July 23 2005 @ 02:10 PM MDT
How about we not give the teachers another 7-9% rasie and fix the infestation of 200 mice at Carl Traeger ? Ya, thats right. They caught 200 mice in Traeger this year !! But our teachers got a huge raise when the rest of the world has had a pay freeze for 2-3 years !!

Or how about we fix the roof at Merril school instead of putting tarps on it ? ?

This board needs to get a clue !!!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, July 23 2005 @ 02:42 PM MDT
NOT True teachers did not get a 7-9% raise where do you people get this from? The total package was about 4.2% which includes the cost of benefits so there is NO WAY the raise could have been 7-9%. Please try and get your facts straight before posting comments. Also about 3 years ago teachers took an actual pay CUT and Oshkosh teachers are continually losing ground to teachers in surrounding districts...why do you think we lost at least 3 teachers to Kimberly? Because they were willing to pay them much more than Oshkosh.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, July 23 2005 @ 02:46 PM MDT
What North lost was 3 teachers/COACHES to a Kimberly district that is committed to winning in sports. Get your facts straight!!! The key word being COACHES.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, July 23 2005 @ 05:05 PM MDT
Wow, the district lost 3 teachers to another district! Out of almost 900 I hear, that isn't too bad Ms. Theil!

Also, it is good to see people leave if the only thing keeping them here is a nice raise!

Adios.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 06:51 AM MDT
If you think this district lost only 3 teachers in one year you really do live in a fantasy world. Those were just three very publicized leavings but the turnover is higher than that and it is just the begining as the teacher shortage grows the losses to this district will grow as well.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 06:57 AM MDT
I'm not crying to see some teachers leave. If they just want to stay because of money, it's probably best if they go. I'm sure there are plenty of other great teachers that would be happy to make the money that the ones who are leaving make!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 07:02 AM MDT
So, how many did leave because retiring at 55 with full health insurance and working 9 months of the year wasn't good enough?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 07:21 AM MDT
As usual you miss the point, the great teachers are now going to districts that respect them.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 10:25 AM MDT
Show me some numbers. My experience is the young teachers are the good ones. I have no problem taking teachers fresh out of college. People leave for the money in all professions. We as a city can not afford to be the highest bidder. Those are just the facts.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 03:20 PM MDT
If you think they get paid so well, and you think they're lives are such a gravy train because they only work 9 months out of the year and retire at 55, then apply for the job! You forget-- the contract they negotiated was for 9 MONTHS OF WORK. And they do NOT retire at 55.

Humorous how so many people here don't have a clue. I can tell you the cops and firefighters in this city make more than the teachers do. Why aren't you going after their jobs and benefits?

The bottom line is, if you think they make so much, you outta stand in their shoes for a while. They earm every penny they make, and I, for one, respect each and every one of them.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 03:29 PM MDT
Police and fire employees put their life on the line every day they go to work. Do teachers??

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 04:52 PM MDT
They teach our kids! Or are you the type who use the school system as nothing more than glorified daycare?

Let's compare, just for kicks. How much do you think a teacher in this city makes? How about a police officer? How about a firefighter? And what about their benefits? How do they compare to the teachers?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 05:54 PM MDT
Actually, depending on the time employed, teachers make more than firefighters or law enforcement. And as I stated, firefighters and law enforcement put their butts on the line every day.

Teachers teach our kids; great, but do they put their life on the line? If you were lying on the floor dying, and someone called 911, would you want a teacher to come save you or a paramedic? If your house was on fire, would you want a teacher or a firefighter to come and save your butt?

Please don't compare firefighters and law enforcement to teachers, its apples and oranges!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 06:05 PM MDT
But the bottom line is, they are all paid by OUR tax money. So regardless of whether or not you think they should be compared, they do have something in common. That alone should be grounds for discussion.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 06:20 PM MDT
Teachers DO have the gravy job. OVERPAID! Yes, their union has negotiated a sweet deal. Eventually, you will see more and more school districts having to take a stand and bring down their annualized compensation (or, require them to work a full year). A teacher should be able to do the math...35 hours per week...35 weeks per year. Plus full benefits!!!! Too bad they can't get that gig for a full year (oh, wait...summer school @ $45+ per hour). Don't give me this crap about our poor teachers!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 07:48 PM MDT
No one said anything about our poor teachers. The fact is, they negotiated their contract on 9 months of teaching. If the school year would be all 12 months out of the year, you could expect to pay 33% more for their work. I am not a teacher. Yet I agree completely with the wages they earn. They are teaching the next generation! And maybe for someone like you, providing free childcare. But the fact remains, the wages they earn they bargained for, fair and square. The school board agreed on their contract provisions. Furthermore, YOU don't have to work under the wage constraints the teachers do, with QEO--the biggest joke ever to face our teachers. If you think they make so much money, apply for the job!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 08:46 PM MDT
Hey, this mental midget is now calling QEO, a law which guarantees a 3.8% increase a "wage constraint".......They must be kidding!

Wage constraint......Thanks for the humor....

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 09:20 PM MDT
I'm wondering if all of the people who use the arguement "teachers are teaching our children, the next generation of the movers and shakers" would be against teachers earning, say, $70,000 per year plus benefits? After all, "it's for the children."

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 09:50 PM MDT
A lot of them DO make that much if you annualize their salary!!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 09:58 PM MDT
The thing you're missing, Wilt Chamberlain, is that the teachers get 3.8%. What do you think the city employees and county employees are making without that wage constraint? WAY more than that, especially considering the cost of health care recently. And who is paying for that? YOU ARE, Mr. Mental Giant.

And I am willing to bet there ain't one teacher in the Oshkosh School District who is making 70 a year. Where do you come up with these numbers? I re-ask the question: What's the avg salary for a teacher in Oshkosh? What about a cop? Firefighter? No one has answered yet...maybe cause they DON'T know?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 05:54 AM MDT
The salary range for a police officer is $38,000 - $49,000 (http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us/Personnel/Safety.htm.)

The AVERAGE salary for teachers is now $45,000. So as you can see O WISE ONE, teachers are making as much if not more than people who put their life on the line every day! GOT IT??

And I wasn't saying teachers make $70,000 per year, I was wondering if liberals like you would think that they should make that much, and if you thought that the taxpayers should be shelling out that kind of cash because you can always use the argument, "it's for the children."

Wise up sir/madam!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 06:58 AM MDT
There are a lot of employees who don't "put their lives on the line" every day, whose wages are paid for with your tax money. And they make A LOT more that the cops' wages you state. The city attorney. Engineers. MIS gurus (computer guys). So with your argument, should they make more or less that public safety personnel? Is it appropriate that they make more? So why shouldn't a teacher?

Why does everyone think teachers have it so easy? They all have bachelor degrees, many have masters. Some brain surgeon earlier posted they only work 35 hours a week. PLEASE. They work their butts off. 35 hours in the classroom in front of children, maybe, but that doesn't include the class prep time, etc. And the 35 hours they put in in front of children is not like you sitting at your desk. It requires their undivided attention to detail when supervising a class of 25 children.

How long of a workweek to police officers in this city have? 37 1/2. Firefighters? 56, but they sleep at work. And teachers/firefighters/cops all have similar health insurance benefits, so that argument is moot.

The average between 38,000 and 49,000 is about 44,500, when talking about a police officer in this city. Awfully close to the 45,000 you insist teachers are making, and that doesn't include overtime! You really don't think teachers are worth that?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:01 AM MDT
Not to mention a teacher's starting salary is nowhere near $38,000.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 12:22 PM MDT
How many months of the year do teachers work?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 01:17 PM MDT
Not as many as firefighters or police officers.

But then I think the other person(s) that are posting would claim that teachers are more important than firefighters and police, and therefore should make more money, better benefits, more time off, etc., etc., etc.

You would think some of these people posting think that teachers should be paid as much as brain surgeons.

After all, they're doing it "for the children."

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 01:47 PM MDT
The average full time firefighter in this country works 100 days a year. The money they make is bargained on that. Along the same lines, the average teacher in this country works 9 months out of the year. Their contract is bargained on that.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 02:04 PM MDT
teacher contracts are 190 days

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 02:47 PM MDT
190 days of 5 days a week. My math brings that out to 38 weeks. Divide that by four equals 9.5 months. Just like I said. 9 months. Don't pretend you work on the weekends. Don't pretend the teachers do, either.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 05:25 PM MDT
9 months a year and make 45K......Simply UNREAL !! And thats only 35 hours a week mind you !!

Biggest racket going in todays job market !!!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 05:57 PM MDT
And the best part of it is, YOU have to pay for it! You don't have a choice. Whether you want to or not, the bill is yours to pay! The teachers make more than you, they work less than you, and they get great benefits. HA! You're jealous!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 06:48 PM MDT
This sure is a smug attitude. If you're a teacher, you need to be ashamed of yourself and you are the very example of what people are complaining about. If you're not a teacher, you still should be ashamed of yourself to talk like such an asshole where people's tax dollars are involved. Go bury your head in the sand and pretend people in this city don't have financial woes as they struggle to pay for so much of this that they simply can't afford.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:36 PM MDT
It was a tongue in cheek response to the "biggest racket in today's job market" comment. Are you really so naive that you couldn't see that? Who's the asshole?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 02:46 AM MDT
I have not yet posted an opinion on this subject but after reading the entire dismal outlay I am wondering why more teachers do not "go postal" and damage themselves or others in front of classrooms coast to coast.

For God's sake, folks. Most new teachers exit college with massive student loan bills ready to launch into a career that HAS to draw people who have a desire to work with young people and help them. That is the only reason to become a teacher. People with bachelor and masters degrees can certainly do better for starting salaries in any number of jobs and most of those can expect to spend their careers in an atmosphere far more cordial than teachers enjoy.

So they start out and what is the first thing they experience from their "employers"? Gritching. Complaining. Envy. And non-stop reminders that they "work" for the taxpayers and had better learn to do with as little as they can.

Why all the envy? Just now. I am nearly seventy and teachers have worked nine month every since I started first grade. It was no secret the number of months they worked. And in those days you can bet teachers in any town made more than 90% of the population. They had steady jobs when other people had to scratch sometimes for day labor. BUT I NEVER HEARD ANYONE COMPLAIN. Not one person. Not ever.

And do you know why? I think I do. Most of those people barely had grade school educations and they wanted better for their children. They saw the teachers as a ticket out of the bottom rung for THEIR children. Teachers were revered and respected. They held Hope in their hands.

Now we seem to look upon them with contempt. As if $45,000 is not really all that much above the poverty level. It certainly is not a fortune as some seem to imply. We act as if we are really putting ourselves out to foot the bill and as if those lucky teachers should come to us only on bended knees, heads bowed.

It is ironic that at the same time there is so much angst about the cost of education in Oshkosh on this forum that elsewhere I suspect some of the same people are hailing the fact that we are opening schools in Baghdad not only at the cost of billions a month but also paid for in the blood of our own children. And it seems I never hear very many voices complaining that that cost is too high.

It is almost as if some of us become possessed with warped values and odd conclusions. As if we wade out and cannot find the way back. I, for one, have no problem with our teacher's salaries. If anything they are paid too little.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 02:32 PM MDT
Thank you for your addition to this sad string of comments. I went back to school to become a teacher and racked up over $30,000 in student loans. My first job was in a very poor district where I started from scratch with only shared textbooks. No lesson plans, no school supplies, no anything. I bought classroom supplies for myself and a box full of school supplies for my students who couldn't afford even pencils, none of this was reimbursed. I worked 60-80 hours per week between classroom time and home time correcting papers and writing lessons, tests, and worksheets. My contract was for $25,631 per year. After one semester, I was laid off because of state budget cuts. WEAC didn't come to my aid nor did they do anything to help the other dozen teachers in my district laid off.
After several years of trying to find teaching jobs (I can't sub because of the cost of daycare), I will be going back to school for my Master's hoping to improve my chances of getting a job. This will cost me an additional $32,000+ in student loans with no guarantee of a job anytime in the near future.
I became a teacher for the love of the profession and the glow a child gets when they finally understand. It really is that simple. However, it is not enough to find me a job. I am competing with hundreds of people with the same degree, but more experience. I am kept unemployed by teachers who are just there to collect a paycheck because WEAC protects their own and it is nearly impossible to fire a teacher. Teachers are working longer because retirement doesn't pay for everything. And colleges continue to turn out teachers.
After all I have been through and seen, I still want to teach. How sad it is that very few see the value of teachers. I don't blame non-teachers. They only see the bad side of the profession, the politics. Personally, I think the union has abandoned it's true purpose to educate and protect proficient educators and got sucked into politics and "us against them." I also think the QEO is a political trap to force the districts to maintain wages while no longer providing the funding promised to cover the wages. Most of all, like any other occupation, teachers should be paid based on performance (administrators, too). Raises should be merit based with, maybe, a cost of living increase equal to the national/state average. Can't do your job, make room for someone who can.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 03:28 PM MDT
Wow, I can't believe you are having a problem finding a job in Oshkosh. We were lead to believe there is a mass exodus of teachers here in Oshkosh because of low wages. Where is that teacher shortage we have been hearing about Mrs. Thiel?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 03:51 PM MDT
Maybe, just maybe Ms. Thiel doesn't know what she's talking about, or, she's trying to cover for the teachers again.

Both scenarios are quite possible.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: admin on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 12:06 PM MDT
We obviously have some people here who think they know everything. For the record, I indeed DID delete some of the posts that have been made in the last week or so, because they were NOT made my me or they were not appropriate for this site. Not that it is any of your business, but because of other commitments, I have had extremely little computer access of late. However, there have been some very strange things going on with the web site and a lot of inappropriate, obscene postings, many of which were sexual in nature, etc. There was also postings that appeared as if they were made by me. Again, all of the aforementioned things have been deleted and will continue to be, should they turn up again. When I post something I sign it, as I think most people already know. Too bad you haven't figured that out yet. I am not going to engage in a further discussion about this with you as it really is not worth it.

But, as for your complaints about this site: If you do not like them - no matter who posts them - the solution is simple. Don't come here. Your rhetoric would not likely be missed.

- Cheryl Hentz

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Jim B. on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 01:01 PM MDT
My guess is the sex ads and such are not locals. I have seen that before on other sites. They hack in and add their links.

As far as local stuff, why don't you make people register? That way you have their e-mail address and they will be less likely to spew negative stuff. this site is great for seeing other points of view in local politics, let's not ruin it!

Jim B.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, July 27 2005 @ 08:56 AM MDT
Take this for what it is worth, but the Oshkosh News site made people register for their discussion board relating to the School District (which I thought was a great idea), and if you look at it I think maybe two or three people have posted anything in about a month. That is not a criticism or a judgment of ANYTHING, but just an observation.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, July 27 2005 @ 11:00 AM MDT
I posted there 2 weeks ago and it appears that when you are forced to identify yourself, you lose the ability to spout off as most are doing. That being the case, fine with me. It leaves the space open for serious discussion without any name calling or belittling that has been happening.
K. Monte

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 26 2005 @ 07:39 AM MDT
No. Try 47K for three days a week, plus $88 per diem. State Assembly - sweetest deal in Wisconsin.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:57 PM MDT
No need to pretend teachers work on the weekend, many do, drive by schools on the weekends and you will see lights on in their classrooms, I've done so many times...

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 06:47 AM MDT
That's NOT a 3.8% WAGE increase.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:02 AM MDT
Right, it is NOT a 3.8% wage increase. It's a 3.8% increase in all of their benefits, health insurance premiums included! So while the total benefit package increase can be up to 3.8, their wage increases are way less than 1%! How much did your WAGES increase last year? I bet more than the teachers!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:10 AM MDT
Not a chance that my wages went up that much. BUt can we please get back to the main argument here and that is whether DOn Sween, a retired teacher, should be voting on a budget in which his retirement benefits are a part. I say no and I would be interested in hearing from others who are willing to file a formal grievance if he does make such a vote. What are your thoughts people? We have a city council that made an illegal vote and a DA who is to lazy to pursue prosecution. Now we have a school board member who I'm willing to bet will make the vote. Let's start demanding justice and fairness in our elected officials and the actions they take.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:15 AM MDT
Your wages didn't go up 1%? Without giving enough info to ID yourself, tell us how much you made last year, and the year before, before OT.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:24 AM MDT
No we were NOT given raises, period. We were told the employer could not afford them. That is the long and short of it.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:29 AM MDT
I understand what you are saying. I know a company that offered its employees a choice of a small raise and having to pay more for their benefits or no raise and their benefits ream intact. eachers get a combination of both. I applaud teaches for what they do and do not bash them, but they don't have it as bad as many say they do or others think they do. If they have it so terrible they could always work in the private sector and see how things are. But as long as they work in the public sector they have to be be willing to listen to what the public has to say and make compromises where possible. The public can not cntinue affording everything government expects us to pay for.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 01:21 PM MDT
How much of a raise did the Leach workers get? How much of a raise are the Oshkosh B' Gosh workers going to get. How much did the Wisconsin Automated Machinery workers get? How much of a raise did the Square D folks get?

You see, A LOT of people in Oshkosh are losing their jobs, but we still can find a way to pay teachers more, and more, and more, and more!

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 01:46 PM MDT
Why single out teachers? How about county and city workers?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 01:49 PM MDT
City employees in 2005 got between a 2 and 3% wage increase. Why aren't you screaming about that? That doesn't include health care benefits, retirement, etc.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 04:21 PM MDT
On average, city workers don't make the kind of money that teachers do, and city workers work 12 months out of the year.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 04:52 PM MDT
Public safety officials do. The administrative staff does. I bet half of the city employees make at least what teachers in Oshkosh average.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 08:02 PM MDT
And why did most of those companies say they were leaving? Because they can pay workers less elsewhere...the pay was too high here...yet you don't begrudge those people (I don't either by the way--- I think all workers should make fair wages) their salaries even though it means the cost of the goods you buy cost more... simple economics

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 06:07 PM MDT
How much does a long term teacher make?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:05 AM MDT
It depends on their education and their years of teaching experience.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 04:50 PM MDT
We are not attracting the best out of college anymore either, why work in Oshkosh where if you watch school board meetings or check out this site you will be bashed constantly when you can go to Neenah, Appleton, Kaukauna, Kimberly, Green Bay (the list goes on) and be appreciated?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 05:16 PM MDT
I have watched every meeting for quite a while now. When is all this supposed teacher bashing taking place. I have never heard anyone speak against teachers. Administration maybe from time to time, but not teachers.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 06:53 PM MDT
The board loves the teachers and naver has a bad word to say about them.

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 08:52 PM MDT
I think I need a tissue.....All this bashing.....Maybe it is more of frustration at having to dig deeper in my pockets for health premiums, and tax increases, so staff doesn't.....Think about it...

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 06:50 AM MDT
Exactly how deep are you having to dig? Do you even know what the dollar figure is?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 04:56 PM MDT
What exactly are the FACTS that show we as a city cannot afford to pay a for our schools? I think it isn't a can't afford to but rather a DON'T WANT to. Why is it the majority of school districts in the state spend more than Oshkosh? We are not one of the poorest cities in the state or one of the poorest counties in the state so what are your FACTS?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 24 2005 @ 05:14 PM MDT
I apply to this district every year because it is closer to my home and my husband's work and every year there are no openings. This year there were two because of retirements, not better pay elsewhere. Where is this mass exodus of teachers?? I'm still looking. Most schools can't afford to fill vacancies because of budget cuts. Where are all these wonderful, high paying jobs?

Don Sween and His Ability to Vote on the Oshkosh School District Budget
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 25 2005 @ 07:56 PM MDT
Last year Karen B. made a resolution to the school board to tax the taxpayers allowable by state law, it was defeated, but it was brought back by Don Sween and it passed. It was Don Sween vote that made all the difference. Now on August 3 2005 the school board is going to vote on the budget for the upcoming year. Don Sween should not be allowed to vote on this budget. He is not being partial and he favors the teachers over the taxpayers ability to keep footing the bills.

Dick Wollangk's Contract

Contributed by: Anonymous
Maybe our City Manager is qualified and deserves to have his contract renewed. But after they way this city has been run the past few years, I think the Council at least owes the taxpayers some explaination as to why our manager should be re-hired.

Does anyone else think that it is a bit absurd to pay someone over $100,000 to do the job that our city manager has done, and then not even explore the possibliliy of hiring a more qualified public administrator? Why does his contract have to be renewed for THREE years? Why does it have to be assumed that there is going to be a raise? Considering the budget problems, why not offer a new contract offer at $80,000/year?

Considering the budget overruns last year, (reports say, in total, the city went over its budget by a total of more than $3 million in eight different areas last year), the well known problems in dealing with the city inspectors office, and the controversies with our police department in the past few years, is this city really being managed efficiently? This doesn't even mention the probably law breaking bathroom fiasco. I'd urge the council to at least consider what they are doing instead of "rubber stamping" this new contract. In their own Municipal Codes, it states, "The City Manager shall be selected by the Council purely on merit".

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Dick Wollangk's Contract
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 19 2005 @ 03:16 PM MDT
Please elaborate on the problems within the police dept, as you state. None come to mind...

Just like Oshkosh

Contributed by: Anonymous
Whether you agree or disagree, isn't it just like Oshkosh to fly off the handle to build a pool during the hottest summer in 25 years?

Next year we will have this shiny new Aquatic Center, and we will also almost surely return to normal summer weather. This will include a few hot days, a few rainy days, and a lot of just plain old days where a few people will want to swim but the majority of people will just live their lives and go about their normal activites.

However, crowded or empty - keep in mind that we will need to pay to keep this running for years and years, no matter the weather....

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 19 2005 @ 03:52 PM MDT
Does anyone have the numbers on the Omro Pool since it opened? I know they lost a large amount of money the first year.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Jim B. on Tuesday, July 19 2005 @ 07:11 PM MDT
I don't have specific numbers on the Omro pool, but I was told by the city clerk that each Omro resident was taxed an additional $200/year for the pool, and it has never broke even. As stated in another thread Omro has approached surrounding communities for financial assitance in trade for lower non-resident rates and have found no takers. This is an awesome facility that is under used from what I have seen. With the exception of last Sunday, which could have been the hottest day of the year, the 10+ times I have been there it was not crowded at all.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 10:05 AM MDT
If Oshkosh builds a facilty the Omro one will be dead.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Jim B. on Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 10:36 AM MDT
I am not convinced this will be the case. The daily pass fees are not cheap. Family of four non-resident daily fee is approximately $16.00. That can really add up if you go more than a couple of times a year. This is one of the reason my family decided to pay the non-resident annual pass of $160.00. Most of the people I have talked to there were Omro residence. Most of our friends who come out from Oshkosh only come out once or twice a year due to the costs. I think Omro is stuck with the operating costs due to low attendance and higher fees. I don't think a lot of Oshkosh residents take the time or the money to go to Omro.

Jim B.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 02:02 PM MDT
Has there been any talk about integrating our new water park with the proposed 5 Rivers project? Is there any reasons that this couldn't be done? We get our water park and it's a great carrot for the 5 Rivers people (it would obviously make the condo/rooms more valuable). That could be operated as a true public/private venture. I realize that would take a lot of coordination and negotiation, but wouldn't it make sense?

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, July 21 2005 @ 01:26 PM MDT
I'll point to another "public/private" partnership that we had in Oshkosh to help business.

THE PARK PLAZA HOTEL. The city will lose $750,000 in back taxes and sewer/water charges, and the city will lose the property that it's on because of this great venture.

Keep the 5 Rivers deal separate from the municipal pool!

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, July 21 2005 @ 01:58 PM MDT
I love this Jim B. guy.

He didn't have any problem with taxpayers paying $3.1M for the amphitheater, and paying anywhere between $10-$50 for a ticket (which would be $40-$100 for a family of four which he outlines in his last post,) but he complains that it would be $16 for a family of four to go to the Omro pool.

Hey Jimbo, have you been tippin' the bottle or smokin' somethin' funny?

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, July 21 2005 @ 09:48 PM MDT
Why do you have to insult people? You ruin this forum and other's ability to debate with dignity and respect. Save your chickenshit statements for the citizen statements at the council meetings, with the other yahoos in this city.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Jim B. on Friday, July 22 2005 @ 10:28 AM MDT
First of all the mention of the non-resident fee at Omro pool was not a complaint, simply fact. The point is that my family decided to buy the annual pass knowing that we would use the facility enough to warrant the $160.00. I could see some families might be less apt to pay $16 to use that facility.

Secondly, you are comparing apples and oranges. I do support the Leach ampitheater because I believe this will be a huge benefit to our city(see previous posts by me). With the acts they have brought thus far, it is unlikely that you will bring your whole family to the Leach for a concert. I wouldnt pay for my small children to go to Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Howie Day, or Seether. So the comparison is a little off.

If you review my history of posts you will see that I try to be constructive in my criticism, and point out the positives as well. I suggest you do the same.

Still not quite sure what your point was!!!

Off to smoke and drink the day away,

Jim B.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 22 2005 @ 11:03 AM MDT
My point is, Jimbo, you seem to be a hypocrite and a little dumb. When you want to go to an event (the Omro pool,) you *censored* about the price.

Then it's ok for me (and you) to spend $3,100,000 on an amphitheater that you claim is so great, but still has not been proven. In fact, if you read the Northwestern, some of these events are not getting many people to attend. Do you like your tax dollars going to a place that had no planning, had illegal votes by our council, and will continue to drain my tax dollars for years to come?

Sober up Jimmy!

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Jim B. on Friday, July 22 2005 @ 11:26 AM MDT
Does the namecalling reflect badly on me or you? Since my family does not have unlimited discretionary funds, we made a conscious choice to buy an annual pass at the Omro pool. Sorry if that offends you. I am glad to let you choose to spend your money as you see fit. I am not sure where the hypocrisy is???

What the Leach has to do with this particular thread I don't know, but I am happy to spend upwards of $50 a ticket on a show at the Leach that interests me. the place has not even been open for 4 months. Concert tours were well in place before the opening date which I am sure hindered PMI's ability to market it. I support the Leach because long term it is a good addition to a downtown in need of resurgence.

If that makes me "dumb" so be it!

Jim B.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 22 2005 @ 11:50 AM MDT
Jim B. good for you. I don't agree with you, but you certainly make valid points. Thanks for keeping things positive.

For the rest of the people who like to belittle and call people names, keep in mind that while you may think it's fun it certainly hurts the credibility of whatever points you are trying to convey.

Just like Oshkosh
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 22 2005 @ 02:52 PM MDT
Have thought about going top the County Beach ? And what would you and others who want a new water facility in Oshkosh be willing in taxes or admission fees to pay for a new water park-like facility in Oshkosh ?

Middle Ground

Contributed by: Anonymous
I am a lifelong (pretty much) citizen of Oshkosh. However, I don't consider myself stuck in the past - though I do wish that the Fox River mall would have been built in Oshkosh, and that Wittman Field would have been given a bigger role in the area.

I know that the city needs to move forward and I applaud some of the changes that have taken place over the past decade or so. I really hope this continues though I caution the leaders of our city to do things in a measured way and to keep the taxpayers in mind. I think some of the projects that the city looks to dive into have overly optimistic goals and/or projections, and I hope that the leaders take this into account when giving city approval on projects.

I know that there seems to be a lot of "one side or the other" folks on these issues, and I ask you all to remember that there are probably a vast majority of the people who are like me - basically in the middle on this. Please remember us!!

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 05 2005 @ 11:37 AM MDT
Does anyone recall when applauding the Miles Kimball Corp for their benevolent gifts to Oshkosh that THEY were the reason the Fox River Mall was not built in Oshkosh.

Yup....turn back the clock to the 1970's and recall that Miles Kimball had recently built the downtown Park Plaza Mall. Developers wanted to build a regional mall west of highway 41 on highway 21. Miles Kimball executives successfully swayed Oshkosh politicians into voting NO for that project.....so the developers took their plans north to Appleton.

And thats the rest of the story......Game over, Appleton wins.

Good Ole Miles Kimball huh?!?

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 05 2005 @ 12:10 PM MDT
That is a very sad story. I don't know if I would like the traffic and congestion, but I sure think things would be a lot different - and hopefully better - for Oshkosh had the mall been built here.

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Thursday, July 07 2005 @ 07:23 PM MDT
Just another example of corporate greed. They say that its for the
good of the community, but in reality....just looking out for
themselves and more CORPORATE profit at the average person/
taxpayers expense.

Miles Kimball did this city NO GOOD

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 09:01 AM MDT
Yeah and what about Oshkosh B'Gosh? Another local firm whose management and owners caed in to corporate greed.

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 09:59 AM MDT
Well, at least Bgosh and the families that majority owned, provided jobs for all those years and the community is better off because of it....Unfortunately, the saying "all good things come to an end" proved accurate on this.....Anyone is free to open up their own company, put their assets to risk and create jobs.....Rather than just complain that the job creators no longer are providing!

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 10:58 AM MDT
The orginal comment was that because of Miles Kimball and the political pressure placed on City Officals by them...OSHKOSH LOST TONS OF JOBS.
The Fox River Mall was instead built in Appleton and all the jobs connected to it and the associate businesses and stores that sprung up could have been OSHKOSH CITIZENS JOBS.......alias they are not. Appleton wins retail.....game over Oshkosh.

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 11:06 AM MDT
YA.....I remember that era. Miles Kimball was the "Big Stick" in Oshkosh. Lets see..they owned WMKC Radio (W "Miles Kimball Co) they owned "The Paper" to compete with the Northwestern and they owned the Park Plaza Mall.

I didn't know that story about loosing the Fox River Mall because of Miles Kimballs Park Plaza ownership.....but it all makes sense now.

What does their radio gingle say..."Miles Kimball, its a nice place to work".....Ya for $6.00 an hour!! Try supporting a family on that!

Thanks for NOTHING Miles Kimball, your screwed up Oshkosh by not allowing the Fox River Mall to be built here.

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 01:09 PM MDT
People don't have to work at Miles Kimball if it is so poor....You are free to start a company and pay double what they pay! Why don't you? Why don't you start a discount chain to compete against Walmart and pay people benefits? Or, are you just going to put down families that have been charitable to the tune of millions because they didn't accumlate wealth based on your beliefs.....You probably have no wealth and are class envious......

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 01:12 PM MDT
Miles Kimball "screwed up Oshkosh".....Why don't you get together a bunch of investors and open a Mall in town? Rather than just sit back and criticize those that have created a tremendous company and many jobs......

MILES KIMBALL DERAILS OSHKOSH MALL
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 08:44 PM MDT
No Can Do.....Remember that Fox River Mall was built as a REGIONAL
MALL. Bay Park in Green Bay and Forest Mall in Fond du Lac are
surviving, but they're at the fringe of the drawing area.

The other important issue is that the mall is a catalyst for other
activity. Look at Grand Chute today compared to how it was 25 years
ago.....AMAZING growth. People want to live and work in a vibrant
area. Appleton due to the Mall, IS that area.....Sad to say but
Oshkosh is a second class community in comparison.

History will show that the Miles Kimball roadblock of the REGIONAL
MALL is one of the KEY reasons why Oshkosh looses ground.

At ONE TIME.....Oshkosh was the second largest city in
Wisconsin.....what are we now??

Middle Ground-Miles Kimball
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 01:49 PM MDT
Experts will tell you that low paying service sector and retail jobs do more harm in many ways than good in a community. Stop badgering people who are having a tough time making ends meet and stop always telling people to start their own company or build their own pool. You are pompous and don't seem to have anything substantial to offer to the discussion.

MILES KIMBALL HINDERS OSHKOSH GROWTH
Authored by: Anonymous on Friday, July 08 2005 @ 08:35 PM MDT
Your not listening are you.....The issue is this:

Miles Kimball and the political pressure placed on City Officals by
them...LOST TONS OF JOBS FOR THE CITIZENS OF OSHKOSH!

The Fox River Mall was instead built in Appleton and all the jobs
connected to it and the associate businesses and stores that sprung up
could have been OSHKOSH CITIZENS JOBS.......alias they are not.
Appleton wins retail.....game over Oshkosh.

NOTHING Miles Kimball has done (Civic Auditorium etc) will make up
for how they de-railed the Regional Mall project back in the '70's!
Appletons growing, exciting, profitable, upscale, cutting
edge....Oshkosh is the polar opposite, and it hurts me to say that as I
am a 3rd generation Oshkosh resident.

Get it...Good.

Middle Ground
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 06:39 AM MDT
I started this post and didn't mean for it to evolve into a bashing of Miles Kimball. To be honest, like most companies, it seems like they have done some good and some bad. The bottom line on this post is that though there are problems and dumb things done occasionally, or more than occasionally, I consider Oshkosh, to quote a familiar radio jingle "What a great place to live....".

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle

Contributed by: Anonymous
Well once again the Northwestern has done a lousy job of reporting ALL the fact associated with the latest story regarding the Sheriff's Dept. budget overrun AGAIN! County Executive Mark Harris is reported as saying" the budget line items for the Sheriff's wages should have raised a red flag. The error passed through the Sheriff's dept, the accountants, the county executive and the county board. It wasn't caught."

Let's just examine those comments. First, the Sheriff's Department has it's own accountant at taxpayers expense (fulltime/benefits) this is one of the only departments I am aware of that has it's own accountant preparing it's budget! Secondly, while Mr Harris may have been newly elected to the post as County Executive this last April. He was an elected member of the Winnebago County board at the time this budget "error" was missed. He was also a member of the most powerful committee on the county board a member of the P&F committee also known as the Personal and Finance which IS actually what it sounds like, THE committee that ALL budgets the like are run through first! Mr Harris' campaign treasurer Mr Stan Kline was the Chair of this P&F committee as well!

So needless to say Mr Harris MISSED this $818,000.00 dollar SHORTFALL on at least two occassions for budget review, was he too busy campaigning for the next BIGGER job? This is a man that sold himself on his great budgeting ability and law degree...what the hell happened here??

Mr Brooks, you have been asking for budget transferes FAR TOO often. You sold the taxpayers a bill of goods on this new jail. It was to save us money due to the pod design, in staff effictcies not creat 17 new postions. The overruns have also been due to your vast amounts of overtime. This is pure and simply BAD management of taxpayers resources. If you and your staff accountant aren't smart enough to get your budget right after months of preparation, and if the county committes and board MISSED $818,000.00 worth of expenditures then a money transfere...(by the way where does one pull $818,000 from ?)should not be allowed and then you should be fired!

Mr Harris you too should hang your head once again, you continue to fall far short of the picture you painted of yourself and your abilities.

Where does this type of lack luster reporting get the people of Winnebago County? It is very clear that a real story and investigation will not be forth coming, as The Northwestern can't afford to slap around their hand picked elected flunkies!!! And Flunkies they truly are!! F for failure to protect the taxpayers.

The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 09:21 AM MDT
This is the second problem Mark Harris has had since being elected only a few months ago. First was losing Country USA from county-owned property; now this. He is certainly setting a lousy track record for himself in his first 90 days in office, isn't he?

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 10:09 AM MDT
Nice non job Mark! I believe he is a CPA also......Remember the another smart CPA that was a "good" business manager.....Andrew Fastaw, the CFO for Enron!.....

I wonder what type of tax increase Mark will pass on to us??

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 10:46 AM MDT
Only time will tell. But between the city (what with reassessments, amphitheaters and redevelopment) and the school board plans, we can't afford one more penny from Mark Harris and his county board. He better start using his CPA intellect and do some creative bookwork in order to pare down that budget.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 11:16 AM MDT
Harris has only been in since April. Wouldn't the previous County Exec. be responsible for this budget? The waste in county goverment is endless.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 11:45 AM MDT
But Harris was on the county board and should have caught things. Besides, Harris saw fit during his campaign to blame Jane Van De Hey for anything and everything that occurred on her watch, even if she was not directly responsible for it. He can expect the same kind of watchful eye during his next four years. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 12:22 PM MDT
This blogger is correct. The County government is different than city government in that it is a committe structure. There by, the committees are responsible for the various budgets and activities of there assigned departments. What is SO OUTRAGEOUS about this offense on the taxpayer, is that Mr. Harris had TWO kicks at the cat to catch this HUGE shortfall. First as a member of the powerful Personal and finance committee, then at the overall budget review as a County board supervisor.

Can someone please explain to me, why on earth we pay two accountants one that only works for the Sheriff's dept and the other that is in charge of the entire county? How much is the accountant for the Sheriff's dept getting paid, how much is Mike Brooks getting paid? How much is MArk Harris getting paid?

Then when we find out about their pay and benefits, ask yourself this, if you, made this type of OVERSIGHT on your job that cost your company $818,000. and no way to make it right but stealing it from other account...Would you still have a job? Would you still deserve to have your job?

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 12:42 PM MDT
I guess this is why Jane always thought it was alright to have a "rainy day" fund. To cover up for this incredible incompetence!! The taxpayers deserve better.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 02:11 PM MDT
Actually any government entity worth its salt has a rainy day fund. In fact, every househole should have one. It's all about preparing for those unexpected emergencies. Stop blaming Jane for something that she and those before her were smart to have. Harris though, had no problem using the general fund for the city of Oshkosh (it's rainy day fund) to pay for overcharged bathrooms at the Leach Amphitheater. Can we expect more of the same at the county level? We shall soon find out.

FIRE THE ACCOUNTANT - BROOKS SHOULD RESIGN
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 03:38 PM MDT
FIRE THE ACCOUNTANT - BROOKS SHOULD RESIGN

We cant fire the elected Sheriff so the Sheriff's Dept Accountant
should be "downsized" and the Sheriff should resign his position due to
gross negligence.

If in the private sector, both executives would be summarily fired.

SOMEONE NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE.....HEADS SHOULD
ROLL!!

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 12:12 PM MDT
With pending state budget cuts and levy freezes in the works, the Great Mr. Harris will undoubtly resort to tax increases! He is also very well known for increasing fees for services. This is a person that has spoken out of both sides of his mouth while a member of the city council, why would a zebra stop being a zebra just because you promoted him for being a zebra?

I too wonder what other "pay back for campaign support pork barrel" projects we taxpayers are going to have to support? More hangers for the rich and infamous at the airport? A performing art complex for his friend Joe Maehl? Will Eileen Connelly-Kessler's husband be the new Airport director because Mr harris has been busy grooming all State and Local Democrats for his next big campaign. (why would making Ms Kessler's husband accomplish that you ask?) You see Ms. Kessler has the ear and support of the now Governor of the State of Wisconsin (thus her appointment to the board of regents for UWO) therefore making the well connected folks in Oshkosh happy and that translates into favors and further political back scratching for Mr Harris in the future.

Of course this only works IF Governor Doyle makes it through the next election. And even if he doesn't Mr Harris has ensured a sense of loyality with the lady that current holds and pulls all the big money purse strings in the Fox Valley. You want a project done, you will need to talk to her, not your elected officals, you fools! What a screwed up community and it's citizens that blindly allowed this to escalate to this level.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 02:14 PM MDT
Yes, Eileen Connelly Keesler is one of the many puppeteers this community has. She runs things from behind the curtains and you can betch your ass that in years to come whatever she and her Oshkosh Community Foundation don't control presently, she will then.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 04:14 PM MDT
Check out the foundation's expenses in relation to the amount of assets they control. Their efficiency rivals that of most government entities.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 08:09 PM MDT
When they have to operate under the same rules as any government entity then and only then will that comparison be a valid one. When they must by law provide services that are mandated without proper funding for said mandates let me know. When they operate in the open and not behind the veil of secrecy and we know who is in real control of this so called organization let me know.

I find it interesting that all you would prefer an individual controlling your money rather than an elected, and hopefully accountable city official. Why would that be, does it then weed out the so called rift raft of Oshkosh from having a say or a real stake in what happens in their community? Is it your position that them who has the gold really does rule?

These are just questions you may want to ask yourself. But I will ask one to please when making comparisions, make them as apples to apples.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 08:21 PM MDT
What exactly is your point and whose side are you really on here? It is hard to figure out from your comments.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 09:37 PM MDT
My point was that the foundation is not a very efficiently run organization. Similar to most government.
True, this was not an apples-to-apples comparison.
I too, am a bit concerned about the power of the foundation and other interests. It's very distressing to see that the city, the foundation, and CR Meyer are in discussions regarding potential projects.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 05:48 PM MDT
He is an accountant no less. What was wrong with Harris that he couldn't catch this problem? Apparenrly when he helped approve the county budget as a county board supervisor he didn't bother looking more closely at the "red flag" line item that he now mentions when talking to a newspaper reporter. This guy is unbelievable. The county is unfortunately going to get screwed by his incompetence. This is only the tip of the iceburg.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 08:02 PM MDT
And the other 30 something board members get a pass? Put your hate for Harris aside for one minute and look at the situation clearly. The error was by the people who work directly with that part of the budget. Brooks and his accountant. Do you honestly expect every board member to be accountable for every line in the budget for every dept. That is why we hire accountants and have dept. heads who submit budgets. To make sure the books balance. To blame one board member is a joke.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 08:19 PM MDT
I was not the one who was trying to pass the buck here. If you read the article as written. It was Mr Harris that has started pointing fingers already. I do not hate, but I do have great contempt for any person that lies and misrepresents themselves to a trusting public, all for the stake of WINNING an election.

My issue, $818,000.00 dollars this is no small chunk of change and DEMANDS a swift and decisive move. Who will be the one to do it, and who will be the scap goat for all of these people that dropped the ball. Finally, do I think every board supervisor should be accountable of every line in every budget..YOU BET YOUR SWEET BACKSIDE I DO. If you voted to support expeditures, you had damn well better be able to defend them, explain them and maintain them. If not do not run for office making promises to the contrary. END of story and end to lame excuses!

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 09:21 PM MDT
When the people from that dept. and the accountant from that dept do not catch the error how do you expect a board member to catch it. The board members are not full time county employees like Brooks and his accountant are. I doublt any of them have the time to go over every line of every department. We have accountants for that. If you are so blind as to not see Brooks and his accountant are the fault here, you really do not have a clue. But you do have a personal vendetta.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 09:41 PM MDT
I never said Sheriff Brooks and his accountant were not at fault to a degree. That much goes without saying but to suggest that county board embmers are not responsible is the most out of touch, asinine remark you could make. They are the ones who have the ultimate say in budgetary matters and they are elected to be the watchdogs and good stewards of our money. If you do not understand that, YOU are clearly the one who has not clue. As for personal vendetaas, nope you're wrong. I just expect these people who want to run things to be responsible when they run them in the ground. I am speaking somewhat metaphorically, of course, yet with some seriousness in my comments at the same time.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 11 2005 @ 08:25 PM MDT
No the other 37 board members do not get a pass BUT Mark Harris knew when the budget was passd that he would undoubtedly be running for the county exec position. He also takes every opportunity to mention his law degree and the fact that he has his accounting degree as well. Many of the other county board members do not have such extensive education. The point here is while that does not excuse them, it makes Harris a little more liable. His eyes are trained to pick up on things like this, especially an oversight so large. Perhaps he couldn't see it because his eyes were so glazed over from trying to forsee his political future.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Mark L. Harris on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 05:42 AM MDT
The original error occurred about a year ago when a payroll estimate was prepared based on a snapshot of the payroll listing all active employees and their compensation on a given date. Part of the process requires an adjustment for positions that are vacant on the date of the snapshot. This is the missed step that went all the way through the budget process without detection.
The P&F committee does not develop or review the budget however the entire board does hold hearings on the budget once it has been completed. To catch this error a board member would have to notice that the total wages for the sheriff department were budgeted to increase by a smaller percentage than many other departments. This could have been found with a little computation about 190 pages into a 460 page budget.
Since discovery of the error the Sheriff has been working to make difficult cuts in spending to reduce the size of any transfer required to cover the error.
The taxpayers are paying a little less this year because this expense was left out of the levy but reserves will likely have to be used to cover the portion not offset by the Sheriffs belt tightening.
Proceedures have been added to ensure that payroll computations for all departments are reviewed in finance before they are incorporated in the 2006 budget. This process is well underway with most departments having allready submitted their 2006 payroll estimates.
I hope this adds some perspective.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 07:57 AM MDT
I'm just wondering Mark, if Jane would have been in office when this happened, would it have been understandable that she missed $818,000 in her budget?

During the last election you blamed her for everything that "went wrong" which was a slimy tactic; isn't it now ok for people to start blaming YOU when things go wrong?!

People who live in glass houses.............

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 08:50 AM MDT
Some people just refuse to see the facts. Please take your hate elsewhere.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 09:10 AM MDT
Fact; $818,000.00 dollars needed to pay staff was not budgeted for, missed as it were.

Fact; Sheriff's dept, has it's own departmental accountant who missed this so-called snap shot again missed

Fact; Reserve funds will have to be used for this oversight by two accountants, and a full board of 38 County Supervisors. missed

Fact; Mr. Harris condemned the practice of misusing reserve funds to off set bad budget decsions, or indecisions in his campaign, and vowed his administration would not adhere to such practices. Missed!

Those people are the facts, no sweeping them under the rug, no excuses, just plain and simple incompetence. You can try as you might to spin that to shift responsibility Mr Harris, but you are driving the bus now and you must hold staff and boardmembers accountable. Do you have the spine to do so. Do you have the will to help make the deep cuts in Mr Brooks dept. to minimize the amount you will need to steal from the reserve fund?

I seriously doubt it. I hope this gives you some real perspective on how some of us taxpayers feel about this type of nonsense.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 02:16 PM MDT
Fact: $818,000 was missed!

Fact: This is inexcusable!

Fact: Heads should role!

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 02:19 PM MDT
Wow...Clarity Care, the missed $1Million for the nursing home deal, and now $800+K because of an oversight! Come on!

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 08:08 PM MDT
Jane Van De Hey was in office when this happened. The error was in her budget!

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 08:53 PM MDT
Those who hate Mark Harris do not want to hear that. Just another in a long list of blunders by Jane's administration.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 12 2005 @ 08:59 PM MDT
And an even bigger blunder by the stewards of our money who missed it: the county board of which now county exec Mark Harris was a member. Van De Hey didn't get to vote on the budgets; Mark Harris and his fellow boards member did. Too bad, so sad. Mark is partially responsible no matter how you Harris lovers want to look at it. This has nothing to do with not liking Mark Harris. It has ro do with not liking shoddy business practices; and politics and business as usual.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, July 13 2005 @ 08:07 AM MDT
Never trust a "politician" who never has a hair out of place, doesn't own a pair of jeans, and gets manicures......This situation and response makes me think of when Bill Clinton blamed Republicans for his transgressions in the oral office........

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, July 16 2005 @ 04:25 PM MDT
County Executive Mark Harris did not lose Country Usa that was done because Country Usa wanted to own all thier parking areas and not lease land from others.

Current County Executive did find out that Country USA was looking at moving until the Monday after he was elected.

That way Country USA can make all the money from the parking of cars.

Also the Sheriff increased his staff since the County was goign to get more state inmates, but that state wants to end that process of having County jails house state inmates.

The Sheriff has committed not fill 5 vacancies he has on staff. Also the Personnel and Finance is not he "power " committee that someone claims it is on the site. Nor does it ok every departments budget.

Before one comments it should dig futher to get the correct facts.

Someone shoulld contatc the Sheriff himself to explain- maybe appear on the Eye on Oshkosh show itself.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 17 2005 @ 09:16 AM MDT
Well Mr Norton, if the committe structure doesn't work,as proof of the budget bungle and the 38 county board members can't be counted on; proof again by this budget bungle. What IS the benefit of having another bloated bureacracacy? Lets just do away with the Sherriff's dept. let do away with County government. Let's truly stream line the layers that have proven themselves to time and again be ineffective.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 17 2005 @ 01:46 PM MDT
I wish Mr./ or Ms. Anonymous would identify him or herself. Also take the time and understand county government or nay government for that matter. Its is easy to cbe a nay sayer.

Do away with the Sheriff's department - is this person actually proposing this ? I take this perosn must live in the city and does not care for what goes on in the rest of the county.

It is County government that must deliver many of the functions mandated by the state.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 17 2005 @ 04:15 PM MDT
You are an idiot.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 17 2005 @ 09:32 PM MDT
I wish you reveal your self ?

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 17 2005 @ 09:30 PM MDT
And for the record I voted against the budget becuase the way the budget is handled by the County Board.
Have you expressed your concerns to your County Board Supervisor ?

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 19 2005 @ 10:57 AM MDT
First off, I understand Sheriff Brooks will be on a future show. Second off, Mark Harris contributed to the loss of Country USA as he said himself in the Northwestern that he was negotiating with them. Not very well, as it now appears. But here's the thing: He blamed Jane Van De Hey for everything that happened under her watch whether she was directly involved or not; the same is now going to happen to Mark Harris. If he or people like you don't like it: too bad. Thems politics!

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, July 19 2005 @ 01:49 PM MDT
Lets compare apples to apples here. What did Harris blame Jane for that was the fault of the County Exec before her?

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, July 17 2005 @ 01:57 PM MDT
I would hope that the group formed to create a water park would consider placing the park at the Winnebago County Park.

There is plenty of room to expand an easily accessible for all around to get to.

One knock on the County Park is that it’s too far for children to get there by bikes. But that argument could be used for any proposed site, for if built at the old pool site how could someone living across town or the highway be able to get to the water park by use of a bike.

A bus route could be altered to have children and adults alike dropped off right at the door of the water park. And by building it at the County Park families and individuals could be involved in many activities besides swimming while at the County Park.

The water park will need professional staff to maintain it; the County parks staff has that expertise. And with the school district possibly providing the lifeguards the whole area could be part of this project.

By utilizing the County Park the need to find and possibly purchase land for such a facility would not be needed.

I ask you to get behind this idea and contact your county board supervisor and city councilor to get there support, and support private efforts to get the funding to make a water park a reality in the Oshkosh area.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, July 18 2005 @ 07:48 AM MDT
Please do not place the park in a county facility. You only need to look as far as the Park View debacle and the sheriffs budget to realize we do not want to be tied to them in any way. The park belongs in the inner city.

Sheriff Department Budget Bungle
Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, July 20 2005 @ 02:18 PM MDT
Amen. Keep the County government as far away as possible.