October 19, 2023 – Washington Co., WI – Thank you to Washington County and the 20 local municipalities that are working together to make government more efficient. As the former mayor of West Bend and a local business owner, I appreciate what I see.
Over a decade ago in West Bend, we established a Mayor’s Value Task Force that reviewed city operations and identified “how-to’s” for streamlining. As a result, more efficiency improvements were made, and priorities were shifted. The primary charge of that team was to ‘ask questions of government that have never been asked before.’ While some of these conversations were challenging, they did open up great dialog and allowed a free flow of information rarely seen at the local government level.
While much has changed since then, what has not is the mission that stretching and investing taxpayer dollars needs to be of paramount concern. The time is right for municipalities and the county to work together to discuss how to best allocate limited resources. The savings through shared services will allow municipalities to focus on other pressing priorities.
County Executive Josh Schoemann and County Board Chair Jeff Schleif have been hosting a series of discussions with the local elected officials. The group is tackling issues such as road repair, lead lateral pipes, and Fire/EMS shortages. From what I can see, it appears these discussions are going well and progress is being made. This is a win-win for communities across our county as we strive to grow our businesses and create a climate for continued prosperity for our families.
The County Executive, County Board Chair, and participating municipalities should be congratulated for the progress and vision. It is not easy work. I am hopeful the greater community will recognize the value of this work and support all their efforts.
Kraig Sadownikow
City of West Bend
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