Citizen Focus Group Meeting- Sauk Prairie

citizen_focus_groups-prairie_du_sac_5-21-2015.pdf (197 KB)

May 21, 2015  Ruth Culver Community Library, Prairie due Sac  5:00 p.m.

9 County Board Members – John Dietz, Joan Fordham, Tut Gramling, Bill Hambrecht, Tom Kriegl, Andrea Lombard, John Miller, Donna Stehling, Bill Wenzel
2 Staff – Kerry Beghin, Kathy Schauf
14 Public – John Eric Allen, Rick Chamberlain, Wessie Dietz, Mark Frey, Dan Holzman, Bob Johnson, Sylvia Kriegl, Theresa Krusko, Kim Lamoreaux, Bill Waser, others

Public’s Comments Expressed:

Expressed gratitude for County passing resolution urging changes to the proposed state budget.
Job growth is in low paying sector jobs, which hurts a community’s quality of life.  Corporate chain businesses keep wages low in an area.
Prevailing wage, right to work, act 10 are state initiatives that damage local family businesses.  Even if the County Board is not a decision maker in these areas, voicing opposition sends a strong messages.
Community Activated Recovery Enhancement (CARE) and Nurse Family Partnership (NFP) and good examples of the County’s innovation to proactively address a changing society.
Sheriff’s Department staffing should be reorganized to find new ways to address corrections and crime, fight recidivism, preventing crime in the first place.
NFP is an important step in intervening in high-risk families to prevent crime in the first place.
Important to maintain green initiatives in our beautiful county.  Actions as well as inactions speak volumes about our values.
The Sheriff’s budget uses so much of the County’s funds that other programs are suffering, such as care for children and education.  More oversight from outside the department should be given to that budget and management.  We have a law and order mentality, even though crime in this area is not that bad.
Why are there cuts to school budgets, with funds going to voucher schools?  75% of inmates do not have a high school education.  Focus less on arresting people and more on education.  Jailers should be trained to work as patrol officers too.
Third party solar on County buildings is a great idea.
Allocation of federal Medicare funds and how the State of Wisconsin uses them should be examined.
Exploration of green energies is an important strategic issue for the County’s future.
The Sheriff’s budget, particularly the jail, has grown very fast.  The ratio of Sheriff’s Department staff to inmates is getting further lopsided.
Committee meetings should be videotaped so the public can see the decision making process.
Inmates should not be charged such high rates to use the telephone and stay in contact with the families and support systems.  Visitation should be more family friendly to ease the trauma to inmates’ children.
Homegrown, clean, renewable energy should be a bigger goal, particularly third-party financed solar.  This would make our communities more resilient and insulated from the damages of major power outages and volatile energy markets.  In the Sauk-Prairie area a cooperative has been formed to help finance renewable energies.
Fewer jobs are available now to keep young people busy and productive. 
The County budget is suffering from changes at the federal and state levels.  The school voucher program and further privatization of governmental functions is hurting our state.
Compliment the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee.  Encourage thinking about new ways to run the jail.
The public should be more involved in local government, and County Board Supervisors should do better at listening to the public they represent.  The Board should actually govern, rather than simply saying they don’t like something and won’t do it.
Need more evidence based programming.