|
|
|
|
Click here for NOAA Mississippi River Stage information
CONTACT US for picture reproduction of photos in our paper...reasonable prices!
December 3, 2008 |
Budget and the economy drove most of the discussion and decisions at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Prairie du Chien Common Council, including the library budget, a household recycling charge, extension of a development agreement and approval of a new cleaning service for City Hall.
In order to create a balanced budget for 2009, all city departments, including the library, were required to slash 10 percent from their department budgets. Such a budget cut, however, could potentially create a problem. State law requires that the primary funding body for the library provide financial support at no less than an average of the funding provided for the last three years.
The original budget proposal, according to Library Director Nancy Ashmore, was already at the minimum level for compliance. If the library falls below that minimum, they risk expulsion from the Southwest Wisconsin Library System, which provides their material and patron database, cataloging of new materials, delivery of interlibrary loan materials and many other services.
The finance committee is now recommending that rather than making a budget cut of $30,000, the library be billed for services, which would include such items as rent, heating, repairs and maintenance provided by the city. This, technically, would not be a cut.
City Attorney Peterson said there are conflicting opinions about the legality of the action, but he would agree with that recommendation. City Administrator Jim Gitz said such a decision is painful, but added that it when the city has already made difficult cuts relating to public safety, he and the members of the finance committee could not justify treating the library differently.
He added that he is convinced the law was designed to protect libraries from unfair budget cuts. "But this," he said, "is not an unfair cut."
Council approved the finance committee report and is expected to take final action on the budget following Thursday’s public hearing.
The adoption of a household recycling charge is also a reflection of budget woes. The city’s grant for recycling does not cover the entire cost of the program. Up until now, the city has been subsidizing the recycling with monies from the general fund. Council passed a resolution calling for a $10.20 recycling fee charged to every residence which receives garbage pickup. It will become effective in 2009.
The state of the economy was a driving factor in granting an extension to the city’s development agreement with Martin Rifken for development of the former Wolf Machine site along Marquette Road north of Walgreens.
Rifkin was to have paid the city $66,000 for the site by December 1 of this year. The Finance Committee recommended that Rifkin be allowed to pay that sum in four monthly installments beginning Dec. 31, with the provision that the $50,000 late penalty be waived as long as installment deadlines are met. Finance Committee member Becky Hackett said that, because of the economy, the city would have trouble selling the site to someone else at this time.
Dick Mergen, chairman of the Industrial Development Corporation, and Arnie Mueller both spoke in favor of granting the extension.
Council approved the report and an amended agreement will be drawn up.
After discussing the possibility of asking city Street Department staff to clean City Hall, council ultimately approved a contract with J & K of La Crosse (Service Master) to do the cleaning for the low bid of $655 a month, or $7,860 a year.
Councilmember Dave Hemmer said he had discussed the idea with the public works director and thought it could save the city some money.
City Administrator Gitz said the new cleaning service was already $200 a month cheaper than the city has been paying, and that service has been working on a temporary basis and doing a good job when the previous cleaning service quit in November.
Gitz said that, without further investigation, he could see some potential problems with using city staff, including union contract issues, purchasing equipment, coordinating the cleaning with other staff duties. He suggested if the council wants to consider it, they go about it systematically.
A motion to table decision on the cleaning contract until the city staff option could be explored failed to pass, and the motion to approve the contract passed, with council members Hemmer, Boylen and Pintz dissenting.
New priests intent on
serving PdC, Wauzeka parishes
By Sandy Vold
This is the first of a series of articles about how the ministries of some area churches have changed to meet the needs of the people they serve as well as cope with a shortage of priests or ministers.
Father Edwin Thome and Father Jerome Naduvathaniyil are, on the surface, a study in contrasts: one is American-born, the other from India; one a diocesan priest, the other a Benedictine; one is a young man, with only three years experience as a priest; the other, a life-long priest who came out of retirement to accept his position. They met only three days before they assumed their duties serving St. John’s and St. Gabriels parishes in Prairie du Chien and Sacred Heart in Wauzeka.
Happily, despite all their differences, these men who are 50 years apart in age found they share the same attitudes toward their work and the parishes they serve. "We found we are very much on the same wave length," said Father Thome.
Father Thome is no stranger to Prairie du Chien. He served as pastor at St. John’s for seven years, leaving the post 17 years ago. He celebrated his 25th anniversary as a priest during that time. After serving as pastor at nine different parishes, he retired at age 70, but continued to assist at other churches for several years. Then, he said, it seemed as if no one needed him, and he moved into a retirement facility. "Everything was being done for me," he explained, "and it was boring. Then the bishop asked if I could come here and I said yes. I’m rejuvenated."
Father Jerome comes to the diocese by way of India. A monk of the Order of St. Benedict (OSB), he was ordained to the priesthood on Nov. 23, 2005. He has done extensive study in philosophy and theology, and in addition has diplomas in journalism and human resources management. He speaks five Indian languages in addition to English—which he speaks fluently and rapidly. Bishop Listeki of the La Crosse Diocese had visited India to recruit priests, who are in very short supply, and Fr. Jerome’s superior sent him to the U.S.
Although he is relatively new to the priesthood, he is not without experience. Most recently, he was assistant principal at a Catholic high school in Bangalore South while serving as assistant priest at the parish church. He says, "I really appreciate the kindness and concern and warm welcome of parishioners of St. Gabriel, St. John and Sacred Heart. It is really heart-touching and inspiring. As I begin my ministry here, I humbly ask the prayers and blessings of all of you."
They are replacing Fr. Hubert Boschert and Father Jim Warosh, the last of the Jesuits who had served in Prairie du Chien since 1875. They are also taking over for Father John Gialbert, who was transferred elsewhere.
The two priests have been able to continue the weekday masses and usual church schedules in Prairie du Chien, but have had to make some adjustments in order to serve Wauzeka as well. The Saturday night service there has been eliminated, and the weekday Masses have been cut back to Thursday evening. Jessie Bird, an active member of Sacred Heart, said that, despite the cutbacks, the congregation is impressed with the enthusiasm and helpfulness of both Fr. Jerome and Fr. Thome, who alternate in saying Mass there. "It’s a big change, but people are dealing with it," she said.
Thome and Father Jerome emphasize they have no intention of making big changes in any of the parishes, and they want it clearly understood that they have no intention of either closing or combining the Catholic schools. What they really want to do is enlarge them—not in the sense of building size, but in enrollment. They pointed out there are empty classrooms in both schools, and "we want to fill them," said Father Thome. The schools, he said, do an excellent job in the areas of both religion and education.
They also have a vision. They’d like to build the gymnasium for which a fund was created years ago. Father Thome estimated that about $300,000 had been set aside in a special fund, including $1,000 which he had personally contributed. At that time, no decision had been made about where the gym would be built. In the intervening years, the cost of building the gymnasium has increased considerably, so they are hoping to encourage some generous person or persons to contribute enough to accomplish the task. "We are hoping someone will come forward," said Fr. Jerome.
Lana Gratace, office manager at the rectory, said she is delighted to have the two in residence. Father Thome hired her in 1981, and it is good to have him back. Father Jerome she finds to be a man of incredible energy. "He says he is on call 24-7, which is good in this kind of business," she laughs.
Fr. Thome perhaps best summed up the driving force in their partnership: "We want the best for our children and our adults; we want them to be devoted to the Lord and their community."
City continues to work toward
the betterment of financial situation
By Ted Pennekamp
With the prospect of raising taxes in these lean economic times, the city of Prairie du Chien will continue to work towards alleviating what City Administrator Jim Gitz termed as various "financial issues."
The city’s budget will be finalized on Dec. 4, but Gitz said that the city will need to find a better way of analyzing and handling its finances so that it can clean up any and all issues and make the budgeting process much more effective and efficient next year and in the years to come.
"I’m extremely interested in cleaning this up," said Gitz. "We need to do it better and do it different. We need to have good information from which to make decisions."
The major budgetary problem is that the city has spent more money in the past five years than it has taken in, said Gitz. Gitz noted, for example, that the city has completed various and highly-visible capital improvement projects within the past five years. "These projects will benefit all of us for decades to come," said Gitz. Although these projects were funded by various grants, the city often had to come up with local matching funds, he said.
In addition, there have been increases in expenses, including the rising costs of materials, salt, health care, utilities, fuel and pay for personnel. Gitz said that in previous years, the city has been paying for these increased expenses out of the general fund balance. "You can only do that for so long," he said.
As with all governmental units, the city of Prairie du Chien is being squeezed between state-imposed revenue limits and ever-increasing expenses.
Another issue that should be addressed is that various city funds previously had been consolidated with the general fund account balance. By the spring of 2009, several funds, such as boat launch fees for example, will be segregated from the general fund in order to give a clearer financial picture to everyone, said Gitz. "These funds should be segregated as the city comes back into balance," he said.
Gitz said that the city council needs exact financial information in order to make the most well-informed budgetary decisions.
To help the city council with the budgetary process and in making financial decisions in the years to come, Gitz said that he is in favor of forming a Financial Advisory Committee, which would be an "impartial arbitrator" that could advise the city council on the best course of action concerning the budget. The Financial Advisory Committee could meet quarterly and could consist of people with financial expertise such as business people, bankers, and people who have served in a public finance capacity.
Gitz also said that it would be good for the city’s Finance Committee or perhaps the full City Council to meet quarterly to keep abreast of the city’s financial situation.
In addition, Gitz said that monthly financial reports could be provided so that all City Hall personnel, the mayor and the City Council are well informed as to the exact amounts of money in each department, in every fund and for each budgeted item.
"We also need to be totally transparent to the community," said Gitz, who noted that it is very important that the public be kept up-to-date with the city’s financial situation. "It’s very helpful to share with the public, what we’re doing and why," he said. "The more information we share, the better. We need to show what we spend their money for and the justification for it."
Gitz praised the efforts of the staff at City Hall, the mayor and the City Council with their concerns and efforts regarding the city’s finances.
"We have a great staff, and Mayor Karl Steiner and the council are very dedicated to finding ways to save money and to get the city back on track financially," said Gitz. "The mayor and the council are dedicated to operating the city leanly and to deliver top-flight services at relatively low prices."
Gitz said that of great importance is to balance the budget. "If we have to raise the tax levy and make budget cuts to get back to an even keel, then that’s what we need to do," he said. "I’m an advocate of balanced budgets."
Gitz noted that the mayor, the City Hall staff and the City Council have worked very hard on a difficult budget this year. "They’ve taken apart this budget in greater detail than I’ve seen anywhere," he said. "They are very dedicated to balancing the budget in ‘09, no matter how painful. And, this budget is extremely painful."
Gitz said that the Hoffman Hall swimming pool will likely have to be closed in order to save money. Also, numerous other cuts will be made. There will be no new equipment purchased for the Police Department, fewer crossing guards, less grass mowing, the loss of a full-time position in the Street Department, and no major equipment replacement for the Street Department.
"All across the board, there have been downward adjustments in order to maintain core services, but to create a budget that will balance," said Gitz. "I think the mayor and the council deserve tremendous credit in tackling tough issues. These are not popular decisions. The department heads also deserve a lot of credit for their team effort in the midst of adversity."
Another action that the city could take to improve its financial situation would be to update the five-year capital projects plan in 2009 and to formally adopt it as a separate budget, said Gitz.
Gitz noted that all of his financial proposals would, of course, have to be approved by the City Council.
Gitz listed what he thinks are five priorities that the City Council should look at regarding finances. "Reducing utility and energy costs would help the taxpayer and the bottom line," he said. "We need to find energy efficiency anywhere we can." Gitz said that the city needs to find out where energy efficiency can be improved and grants that can be applied for. Possible solar energy applications within the city have been and will continue to be discussed, for example.
Another priority, said Gitz, is that the city needs to be alert to federal and state programs that can expand the tax base and improve the economy, especially should an infrastructure program be passed by Congress.
The city should also look for more ways in which to collaborate with other units of government in Crawford County that would be mutually beneficial, Gitz said. The joint, City-County Dispatch Center is one recent example.
Gitz said that the housing study should be completed for Prairie du Chien so that when the economy does turn around, the city can figure out the best ways in which to grow population wise as well as economically.
The growth of the tourism industry in Prairie du Chien should also be of "front row importance," said Gitz.
Gitz said that the staff at City Hall, the mayor and the City Council will continue to work with financial consultant Public Finance Management of Milwaukee in order to find the best ways to make use of the city’s finances.
December 1, 2008 |
An informational meeting about the potential closure of Hoffman Hall pool held last Tuesday left many people still seeking answers. The city is considering the possibility of closing the pool at Hoffman Hall as a cost-saving measure.
About 60 people turned out for the 10 a.m. meeting held at Hoffman Hall. The meeting was called by park and recreation director Mike Ulrich. Also on hand were city administrator Jim Gitz and several council members including Becky Hackett and Linda Munson.
Jim Gitz opened the meeting by explaining that the city is experiencing a budget shortfall and is looking for way to cut back on expenses.
"We’re actually going to be in a negative situation," Gitz told the crowd, referring to the budget. He explained how he and members of the council’s finance committee have been forced to repeatedly cut the budget in almost every department. "This has been a very unpleasant experience for everyone," Gitz said. Now he said, the time has come to look at expenses at Hoffman Hall.
Gitz said that according to 2008 and ‘07 line item budget numbers, it costs the city $61,000 annually to operate the pool, which includes staffing and maintenance, but not utilities. The pool itself brings in about $20,000 in revenues.
The idea of closing the pool created waves of frustration and anger in the crowd. Many offered suggestions for ways to improve usage and attendance at the facility and cut costs. Suggestions from the crowd included partnering with large area employers such as 3M and Cabelas, the local school district and even other communities regionally to provide swimming lessons and fitness facilities. Such partnerships, it was suggested, could help employers reduce their insurance costs, increase recreational activities for students as well as provide a financial base for the pool and Hoffman Hall in general.
Several people noted what an asset in indoor Olympic-sized pool is to a community the size of Prairie du Chien, and that no other similar facility exists anywhere in the area.
Park and recreation director Mike Ulrich agreed with many of the comments, and said that he has contacted some area businesses and the local school district. He said that with the current financial crisis, companies are not willing to undertake such partnerships at this time. The school district, already supports rec sports at Hoffman, but not the pool. Currently the school does not have the funding to staff a school swim program based at Hoffman, Ulrich said in a telephone conversation.
Everyone at the meeting agreed that the facility is under-utilized. A dedicated core group of users including lap swimmers and water aerobics enthusiasts visit the pool regularly, but even that group has been shrinking. Since the pool reopened this fall after being closed during the summer for maintenance, cold water and air temperatures at the pool have discouraged many former users.
Energy inefficiency is particularly problematic at Hoffman Hall, and is of great concern to the city. The building and the Olympic-sized indoor pool are now 45 years old, and have received very few upgrades. According to an estimate done by H.S.R. Engineering of La Crosse at the request of the city, it would cost $2.4 million to replace just the windows, doors the roof and mechanicals on the building. This does not include "green" energy efficiency measures which the city will adopt as part of the ‘25 by 25’ partnership with the state, so this estimate will likely undergo changes.
The city has not been required to pay utilities at Hoffman Hall, which is connected to the steam plant at the adjacent Prairie du Chien Correctional facility. There is no separate meter, and the city cannot control the heating and cooling at the building. The city remains in negotiations with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections on utility costs; the city aims to have separate metering system installed for the building, which will not be a simple operation.
At the city Finance Committee meeting, held Tuesday evening, the committee let stand the recommendation to close the pool by the end of the year. According to Finance Committee member Becky Hackett, the Committee sees this as a temporary measure. The city, she says, will continue to try and find ways to improve funding and reopen the pool.
"We’re just going to try and move forward and find a solution. Right now, this is the only solution we have," Hackett said.
There will be a public hearing to discuss the budget Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Harold Brown, recently retired CEO of Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital, had no clue that he would be working with medicine or hospitals when he received his degree in business administration accounting from Drake University in 1956. He intended to become a lawyer, and had actually started law school when he was drafted.
Making the best of things, he enrolled in the Navy’s Officer’s Candidate School, becoming an officer and serving on active duty for almost seven years. After that, he planned to return to law school, but family obligations required that he get a job. His first job was as a business consultant for a management firm. From there, he was hired as business manager and controller at an osteopathic hospital in Des Moines, then secured a position with Hospital Corporation of America in Dyersville, Iowa before coming to Prairie du Chien.
Brown, who retired in October, reflected recently on his 35-plus years with the hospital and the many changes that took place over those years.
When Brown started, the hospital was suffering financial woes, and had to borrow to meet payroll. "One thing we did have was patience," he said, and things gradually changed.
One of the routes to solvency lay with rate adjustments. At the time, the hospital board boasted of extremely low room rates. That created a problem, because Medicare reimbursed hospital based on the lower of the two: costs or charges. Once the hospital revamped rates to more accurately reflect costs, the economic outlook improved.
The hospital faced one more downturn during Brown’s tenure. In the 1980s the bridge to Iowa was closed, and during the time the hospital lost 40 percent of its patients and employees from Iowa in addition to four doctors with offices in Iowa. Total lass, he said was about $25,000.
One of the keys to success, Brown feels, has been diversification. The hospital became involved in home health, hospice, meals for the county and senior meals. "It completely changed and improved our finances," he said. The hospital has persuaded Gundersen-Lutheran to bring a satellite dialysis unit here to serve people who before had to make long drives to La Crosse for treatment; they took on the Family Resource Center and pay for at least half of their costs, They also provide a home for the CARE (Crawford Abuse Resistance Effort) program. The home meal program enables people trained in CPR to check on seniors as meals are delivered—"a service beyond what we get paid for," he said. All of these things, he feels, which affect so many people, have also generated tremendous community support.
In 1975 the hospital obtained commission accreditation and has maintained it ever since. Every three years the agency sends people to assess the quality of care given to patients, and for the last three visits the hospital has had no recommendations for changes, Brown said.
Brown was active in the National Rural Health Association in the 80s and 90s, and through his visits to other areas, saw a lot of things which could be introduced in Prairie du Chien. "I feel it paid dividends for the community," he said, "especially for our senior members." At one point, Brown was president of the association, and worked to help small rural hospitals get properly reimbursed for their services. Legislation was finally passed, he said, to consider them critical area facilities, and they are now reimbursed for costs plus one percent.
As he discussed the changes and improvements, Brown emphasized that the changes did not come about merely because of him. He reiterated what he said in his farewell address to the Hospital Board of Directors Oct. 20: "Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital has been primarily successful due to our employees and staff being a family, in addition to supporting boards, medical staffs, and auxiliaries, over the years, being big contributors to our success."
In that same speech, he also said he would like to be remembered: as a giver rather than a taker, as a contributor to the health and welfare of the community, especially the seniors; as a boss contributing to make a ‘fun’ place to work; as encouraging all to strive for excellence; as an encourager of leadership development within the organization; as a ‘we’ a than an ‘I’ person; as someone who left the hospital a better organization than when he came.
Over the years, the hospital accumulated at least $20 million in reserves, and gave $12 million to the Community Health Service Corporation, a separate entity from the hospital, for construction of the Senior Village complex.
As someone involved in planning the Senior Village complex, Brown has stayed on, as chairman of the board and president of the Community Health Service Corporation, to oversee the development. He said he wants to see the first phase, the assisted living, memory care and town square up and running and would like to see at least the start of the condos, cottages and duplexes. The project is ahead of schedule at present, he said. The original plan was to be finished July or August, but it could actually be completed sooner.
Brown’s wife Karen was a nurse-practitioner for years at the Farrell Clinic and then at Gundersen-Lutheran. Brown believes she was the first nurse-practicianer in Wisconsin. Brown and his wife must have set a good example, because three or their four children are associated with the medical profession. Their oldest daughter is a physical therapist in San Diego; the other daughter, who also lives in San Diego, has a degree in public health and is working with trial runs on drugs. Their oldest son is in real estate in Milwaukee, and the youngest son is senior vice president of Swedish Hospital in Seattle and is now in charge of building a new hospital. "At his stage of life, he’s far ahead of me," said Brown.
Summing up his years as CEO, Brown concluded, "We’ve always tried to do what is right for the community and what is right for the people that live in the Prairie du Chien area. It’s given meaning to my life because I was able to help a lot of people in my own way."
