Curmudgeon's Corner

I used the term 'small electric vehicle' yesterday in a Blog on this subject.  I've seen the term 'NEV' used since and received an email from Police Chief Pete Hoell on the subject.   NEV is defined as Neighborhood Electric Vehicle and you can see what one looks like by clicking here.  The 2 passenger unit pictured has a bare bones price of $6,795.  I find three dealerships noted in Wisconsin but that may be outdated by now.

Chief Hoell said, "I would be cautious to provide a positive recommendation if this were to be proposed in Germantown.  I think one of the best tools for making decisions is to examine history and evaluate others who have "been there, done that".  "I would like to evaluate Mequon's experiences with this new ordinance for awhile."

"Having said that, I know there are municipalities who have adopted these types of ordinances and the law has changed last year to accommodate that...".  "Knowing Chief Graff from Mequon PD, I am sure his research was thorough and well thought out."

Wisconsin Department of Transportation has a full description of NEVs and all the information concerning registration and licensing.

The following cities have already approved an NEV ordinance:  Stoughton, Mt. Horeb, Monona, Sun Prairie, Prairie du Sac, Sauk City, Boscobel, Reedsburg, Waupun, Hillsboro, Wonewoc,, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Eagle River, DePere, Green Bay, Ashwaubenon, Janesville, Beloit, Milwaukee, Ashland, South Beloit, Kaukauna, Delavan, West Baraboo, Madison, Racine, Fontana, West Allis, Black River Falls, Spring Green, River Falls, Pardeville, Union Grove, Marshfield, Verona, Suamico, Egg Harbor, Pleasant Point, Columbus, McFarland, Evansville, Edgerton, Elkhart Lake, Waupaca and Rice Lake.

Sixteen more are now considering similar ordinances including Grafton and Cedarburg in addition to Mequon in our area.

As Chief Hoell said, he has a feeling he'll be dealing with this issue sooner than later.

The NEV is defined as follows:

• has four wheels
• has a top attainable speed in 1 mile of more than 20 mph and not more than 25 mph on a paved level surface
• has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 3,000 pounds
• is self-propelled by electric power
• must be titled and registered through the DOT, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)
• must be operated by a licensed driver
• can be operated only on local roads specifically approved for NEV operation by local ordinance

I was very surprised to see the number of communities where this ordinance has already been passed.

I guess it must not be unusual for an 'old' curmudgeon to be behind the times!

MATC Secession...

It appears that we're finally moving ahead in the effort to have ourselves removed from the MATC district and moved into the Moraine Park Technical College (MPTC) district.  In spite of some village officials' assertions, the timing of this filing and its date of effect wouldn't have changed by filing three months earlier.  That complaint is a 'straw man' from my perspective.

I would suspect that a filing made on behalf of a school district would receive more consideration than had the village filed its own petition.  The school district speaks on behalf of the area while the village would speak on behalf of only the Village of Germantown.  While we're a significant part of the school district, we're not all of it by any means.

Can we make history and become only the second such petition to be successfully brought?  Wouldn't it be interesting since the first and only successful petition was that filed by our area to be removed from the MPTC area and realigned with the MATC area in 1971, if memory serves?

What goes around, comes around...maybe!

~~~~~~~~~~

Waste Management Strike...

The village is, of course, served by Waste Management.  The Local 200 teamster members who are employees of Waste Management went out on strike, as you've probably heard, after some four months of trying to resolve issues on behalf of those members.

Village President Tom Kempinski has reportedly threatened to terminate the village's contract with Waste Management apparently to protest the company's inaction, and has supposedly sought an opinion from the village attorney as to whether or not this is possible.  Kempinski is affiliated with Local 200 although he denies that has any direct involvement in this action.

Two things: 

Our service with Waste Management is much improved over that we received from the former servicing company.  I presume that many of those current teamster members were probably also former employees of the last firm that had the Germantown contract.

This seems a very convenient time for Kempinski to be pushing a termination; he appears to be using the village's business to bring even more heat on the Waste Management negotiating team in favor of his fellow teamsters.  That is inappropriate if true, and an unfortunate confluence of events if simply coincidence.

His two lives must be kept separate and distinct.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Harley Rumble...

The "Harley Rumble", as I'll call it, has returned to our area.  As I lay my head on the pillow last night, I could hear the sounds that are only made by Harleys waft through the open window.  We're a couple of miles away from Hwy 41/45 so my joy may well have been another's dismay, but it is a great sound that we last heard some five years ago.

Quite a tribute to the small motorized bicycle shop that started in a shed.

And, quite a bump for the local economy.  I had begun to see out-of-towners in Harley garb already patronizing local stores and hotels and watering holes yesterday. 

Our neighbors in Mequon have scheduled a discussion for this evening concerning the use of 'small electric vehicles' on streets with speed limits as high as 35 miles per hour (MPH).  The Mequon Police Chief appears to be in favor having sought ordinance language that would permit this.

These vehicles apparently have a top speed in the 20 to 25 MPH range, are four-wheeled and likely have the necessary lights and equipment to be qualified to operate on a city street.

We have more and more scooters and small motorized bicycles on the streets now that gasoline prices are rising.  Those are difficult enough to see and cause slow downs.  Those are typically operated by young people or younger adults.  My real concern is the operation of such vehicles by senior citizens who may or may not have the reflexes, vision, flexibility and strength they once did.

Cyclists may take me to task but I don't make the same connection with this proposal.

I am torn with my internal debate on this subject.  I am now a senior citizen by definition; I don't feel like a senior but that may come along soon enough.  Members of my family have gone through the process of losing their personal freedom by being unable to drive.  That is a most painful and, probably, humiliating process.

I think of the old fellow (now anyone who is more than twenty years my senior) from Iowa who, feeling he needed to see his brother near Richland Center one more time, rode his John Deere lawn tractor on the shoulder of roadways making his way on that trek.  I see those who have personal disabilities riding around the sidewalks on their electric scooters.

But, the idea of these, essentially, golf carts with lights and a horn traveling on Pilgrim Road or Mequon Road (where speed limits are 35 MPH) is something I can't quite square.  I would be very fearful that accidents would either involve those vehicles or be caused by the distraction of those vehicles.  Autos and trucks are now traveling at speeds up to 10 MPH greater than the posted speeds on those routes.  Imagine a golf cart being overtaken by a pickup truck that is traveling at twice its speed.  Imagine the sudden braking and the chain reactions.  Imagine the lawsuits.  Imagine the personal injury or deaths.  Imagine the 'road rage'.

How will such a vehicle fend for itself on the round-abouts being placed here and there?  What if the driver chooses to travel at even less than the maximum speed of the vehicle.  Imagine a 10 or 15 MPH golf cart going down Mequon Road at 4:00PM or at 7:30AM.

How will drivers of standard size vehicles maintain lines of sight so that they can identify and avoid these vehicles.  Full sized vehicles can "suddenly appear" where we didn't see them a moment earlier.

I know I may regret having stated this position if I ever find myself being forced into immobility, but it just seems fraught with problems.

Traffic Signal Update...

I was reminded, on my trip to the Post Office this morning, that Sendik's is slated to open for business at 10:00AM on Thursday, September 4th.

The crew installing the traffic signals is hard at work but there sure seems a lot of work yet remaining before those are operational.

I made an inquiry to Dave Schornack, Village Administrator, who replied quickly to say that they hope to have that work done and the signals operating by September 3rd.  He hastened to add, however, that this company is also installing signals for the High School and are sort of between a rock and a hard spot (my analogy) since those have to be operational by the start of the school year.

Maybe both can still be working if the weather holds as it seems likely to do.  The long Labor Day week-end won't help, however.

~~~~~~~~~~

School Survey...

I realized that we've covered part of the school survey results but never provided the link that will get you the full report.

That can be found by clicking here.

~~~~~~~~~

An Oldie But Goodie...

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque.  It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it.  The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood by the little boy, and said quietly, "Good morning Alex".

Alex replied, "Good morning Pastor."  His eyes still focused on the plaque, he said, "Pastor, what is this?"

The pastor said, "Well son, it is a memorial to the young men and women who died in the service."

Soberly, they just stood together staring at the large plaque.  Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, "Which service, the 8:30 or the 10:30?"

You and me are really great people.  Why is that?  Well, we seem to help bail out just about everything that bangs on Washington's door.

A short time ago, the sub-prime mortgage companies received their bail out; likely the first of their bail outs since Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are still in the throes of that mess.

Now the automobile industry is in the queue for what yesterday was about $25 billion and today has already climbed to $40 billion according to the press.

Is this a proper use for the tax dollars that are extracted from each of us?  Should we be funding these bail outs for industries that essentially have gone bad because of their own doing?  If you or me were responsible for these 'disasters', we'd probably step up to the plate and take what was coming to us.  But we didn't force people to be too gullible and let people sell them homes they couldn't afford.  We didn't cause the oil price jump because we didn't approve new refineries for thirty years or drill for new fields of oil?

If any of us should be paying 'the price', it seems that the finger of blame needs to be pointed at Washington and the people we send there to represent us.  That group has caused these issues to surface through favors to those putting money into their campaign accounts.  That group has caved in to the environmental groups that are fanatical to the extreme in their pursuit of the ultimate goal they espouse.

Oh, that's right.  We are to blame because we continue to return the same people to Washington in spite of what they do and don't do.  We don't require any 'reparations' for their actions.

Maybe we all need to get a little more involved and a little more vocal starting with our upcoming local elections.  Too may of us simply shake our heads and fume; we really need to be more active in our precincts and districts and villages or cities, and in our counties and states.

I saw a quote in the past few days that went along these lines:  "Too many people have died for our freedoms for us to not vote."

Why is it that at the bottom of too many discussions about rate increases or tax increases we find a series of initials?  It apparently isn't enough that we are forced to deal with the MATC.  We also are saddled with the MMSD.

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District (MMSD) hit our village and other taxing entities with a significant increase in capital expense contributions that it requires from its 'customers'.  Its 'customers', of course have no other options.  So like other communities, Germantown has had to 'pony up'.  We've been depleting the sewer fund reserves to the tune of nearly $1 million each year over the past three years, and our reserves are going down as the result.  The idea of a reserve is that there will be adequate funds available in reserve if needed due to some unforeseen situation. 

The long and short is that we'll likely face an increase in sewer charges due to these charges laid on us by MMSD.

MMSD, like MATC, is governed by an appointed board.  These eleven people include village/city officials, elected representatives, and others whose names seem to always be involved in such appointed positions.  You and I do not have any representation on the MMSD board over which we exercise even indirect control.  The citizens of Germantown should, by now, be resigned to our fate...except there has to be a better way.

I challenge one or more of the current crop of candidates for state positions to pledge their best efforts to change this system.  Every appointed board in the state should be subjected to thorough review to determine if direct elections are a more appropriate way to determine those who'll be seated.  We have heard that some are willing to look at the mechanism for governance of the State Technical College System.

There really must be a top down review of every similar entity in Wisconsin, and it ought to be very rigorous...not simply a 'lip service' group convened with foregone conclusions from day one!

Cigarette Taxes...

The state raised cigarette taxes to $1.77 per pack and promptly budgeted/spent all the new money that would bring in.  The only problem is that this 230% increase in the tax rate only generated a 48% increase in the tax money received!  Now, we're stuck with a lot of people circumventing the tax entirely by buying cigarettes out-of-state or over the Internet.  And, we have added to an already staggering budget shortfall.

Makes a lot sense, huh?

~~~~~

Clean Air Act Gone Wild...

One of my favorite agencies, the EPA, has decided that it now has free rein over so-called greenhouse gases.  This came to pass as the result of a 'namby-pamby' U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that didn't go quite far enough to ward off this rampant agency.  EPA has now released its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule-making, an ANPR in the jargon, and this is astonishing.  EPA would regulate airplanes, trains, ships, boats, tractors, farm and mining equipment, lawn mowers, garden equipment, portable power generators, fork lift trucks, construction equipment and logging equipment.

EPA estimates that more than 500,000 new permits will be required.  Among the supposed new requirements are these:

• Lawn mower standards:  "...each application could require a different unit of measure tied to the machine's mission or output-such as grams per kilogram of cuttings from a 'standard' lawn for lawn mowers."
• Truck speed standards:  "Speed limiters are generally available on new trucks or as a low cost retro-fit..."
• Single family homes become polluters:  "...we believe that small commercial establishments...and indeed, a large single-family residence could exceed this [CO2 pollution] threshold."

All of this means that our taxes go up exponentially since the EPA will be forced to grow staff and facilities to handle this new found mission.  And, it means that we'll all pay more for products and services.

And, none of this was ever the intent of Congress nor has it had the opportunity to inject itself to this point.

~~~~~

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs...

Regular, nice old incandescent light bulbs (starting with 100 watt bulbs) become illegal to manufacture in 2012.  The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) points out that this means we can forget about spending 20 cents or so for the old bulb while buying the new CFLs for something on the order of $3.00+ (remember that these are usually subsidized today).

While CFLs save energy, they have costs associated with them that make all this really questionable:

• The average lifetime is not 10,000 hours, but "up to 10,000 hours"
• The energy savings and lifetime of CFLs has been exaggerated in some applications
• The CFL only achieves the claimed efficiency if burned continuously for long periods
• If left on for only 5 minute periods, the CFL will burn out just as fast as an incandescent bulb
• CFLs dim over their lifetime and do not deliver what is promised

And, we're adding mercury to the environment which supposedly will be handled by proper disposal.  Yeah, sure!  How many of us has disposed of a burned out CFL improperly already?  How is that ever going to be policed?

~~~~~

Clean Water Restoration Act...

The EPA is back again.  The original Clean Water Act of 1972 had gotten to be very broadly interpreted under various EPA rulings.  "Navigable waters" had morphed into isolated wetlands, dry lake beds and drainage ditches, for example.  Now, two Democrat members of Congress have introduced the bill named in the title.  It would replace the phrase "navigable waters" with the phrase "waters of the United States"  This means "all waters subject to ebb and flow of the tide, the territorial seas, and all interstate and intrastate waters and their tributaries, including lakes, rivers, streams (including intermittent streams), mudflats, sloughs, prairie potholes, wet meadows, playa lakes, natural ponds and all impoundments of the foregoing".  Reason magazine, August/September 2008

If this bill were to pass in its current state, it would very likely result in massive new regulations for boaters, fishermen, hunters, and even conservationists.  This act would leave it to the courts to decide what constitutes "waters of the United States".

Thanks to Ronald Bailey for writing the article "Feds in a Fishbowl" in Reason.

~~~~~

Anti-Meat Campaign...

Finally, from the Heartland Institute, this on global warming activists' latest efforts.  They are launching new efforts to restrict meat production and consumption, building on prior efforts to restrict various agriculture activities that supposedly would reduce 'greenhouse gases'.

More on this can be found on the worldchanging.org website.

If we continue to have a ban on drilling more oil, we won't be able to buy meat anyway, so maybe this isn't as bad as I first thought.

Maybe we really do have too many crackpots in Congress...or too many people are being paid through campaign contributions and don't have the commonsense necessary to sort out the good from the crazy.

Proposed School District Budget...

I received an email from School Board Director Bruce Warnimont today with a link to the "work in progress" budget for 2008/2009.  He was careful to point out that the Board has not yet vetted it.  The Finance Committee meets this coming Monday night and it is likely that the budget will be discussed at that meeting.

Comments from the public are viewed as carrying great weight, especially in these formative stages.  Warnimont pointed out, for example, that "Fund 41", in school accounting jargon, is the area where all the larger physical improvement/repair projects get funded.  This is also unique in that this fund's size is established by District residents by direct vote at the Annual Meeting in October.  Once that amount has been set, the Board has no power to alter the appropriation.  While it tends to defy logic, an increase in this fund  does not necessarily mean higher tax rates.  The additional funding, if approved, would come from another area within the budget.

The upshot is this:  If you have some thoughts about things that need to be improved or repaired in the coming year, this is the time to make those thoughts known in person.

I have not had time to review the information found by clicking this link, but want to get it into your hands, if you desire to review it, as soon as possible.

I can tell you that Warnimont doesn't sound too enthusiastic about this draft and there may be others with similar thoughts.  I suspect there may be a move to task the administration to review and revise.  If it were to be approved as stands, it would involve an overall tax levy increase of 11% over last year.  That doesn't translate into an 11% property tax increase, incidentally.  It would threaten the trend of school district-related property tax decreases we've seen recently, however.

This subject has been visited before, and, unfortunately, will probably be visited again before we've achieved the proper result.

The Journal Sentinel editorialized on August 8th about the new Wisconsin voter registration system...delivered more than two years after the deadline and with cost overruns (but who is surprised with that outcome).  The editorial opinion was that photo IDs for voters were simply to be taken off the table now that this system was up and running.

On August 12th, an article appeared citing two different organizations for apparent violations in registering voters that had resulted in criminal referrals.  Those two organizations are the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) and the Community Voters Project.  ACORN leaders were quoted as saying then that they had found between 200 and 300 improper voter registrations cards turned in by their workers.

On August 20th, Sue Edman, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Election Commission raised the total count of election workers forwarded to the DA to a total of 39.

This all points to the simple fact that voter photo ID is appropriate; in fact it is an absolute necessity.  Even with the focus having been placed on these registration organizations, they are still sending through cards that are sufficiently questionable as to warrant the district attorney's office investigating.

Beyond this, we still have same day registration that permits even greater levels of election fraud to be foisted upon those of us who are properly registered and qualified voters.  It is very possible, since the voter organizations have the records of names registered, that people can be corralled to vote using one of those false names.  Without photo ID, that is significantly more easily accomplished.

Wisconsin had among the slimmest margins to be found in the country in our last major election.  Every indication is that this will be the case in this year's Presidential election, too.  If only 1% of the registered voters are invalid, they can easily swing the results given the voter apathy that exists even in Presidential races.  The numbers of registered voters always is considerably higher than those of actual voters.

Photo IDs will not keep citizens from the polls.  That is a bogus argument.

Most of us understand exactly what has been going on for years.  Activist groups seek out the potential voter most likely to represent their political interest.  There are far more liberal activist groups than conservative activist groups.  These groups stop at little, not even the law in these instances it appears, to get their chosen people registered and out to vote.  Cigarettes were the pay-off in a fairly recent Milwaukee election with the 'voters' recruited from the Rescue Mission.  Slashed tires were another ploy aimed at the Republican Party in another recent election.

Much of my group of acquaintances is conservative (surprise, surprise), and virtually all of them recognize that this activity is most often aimed at electing liberal candidates.  When was the last time you can identify a story about illegal voter registration tied to conservatives? 

It is way past time for voter photo ID!

McCafe?

Have you noticed the newest signage on the side of the McDonald's on Mequon Road?  What is meant by the word "McCafe" I wondered?

Could it be a new look?  Could it be a promo effort of some kind?

Well...Google to the rescue.  Click here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Citizen Observer Program:  Still More...

Some overriding thoughts seem to stay with me as I reflect on my ride along.

Our department is good...very good.  The individuals know their business and are very professional in how they approach their business.

They have everything on their side.  If you're thinking you can get away with something, you are, in my opinion, kidding yourself.  I was really making every effort to see things that Cpl. Delmore saw.  A missing headlight was easy.  The blacked out windows escaped me.  I asked him what triggers a stop and he told me there are literally hundreds of reasons for a vehicle stop.

The reason can be as small, to us, as a license plate light not functioning.  Virtually every vehicle that approaches a squad has been 'clocked'.  The places that are more likely to produce violations are known by every member of the department in every region of the village.  Parking in fire lanes is a favorite, as it should be.  Cruising through a motel parking lot looking for vehicles with local registrations is productive so far as underage drinking and drug use.

Particular times during each shift have their own peculiarities.  Work lets out; bars close, games end, etc.

If you've been stopped before, there is a very good chance the officer will remember you, what the stop entailed and when it occurred.  If you're stopped again by a different officer, they have all the records at their fingertips.  We encountered two or three people in one eight hour block who had been ticketed for something within the prior twelve months.

If you're going to repeat, you're going to get caught.  It is just that simple.  The officers are not there to make your lives miserable; they are there to keep the rest of the citizens safe.

Some repeaters seemed to believe that they were simply in the "wrong place at the wrong time".  Or, they were "hanging with the wrong group at work".  In reality, they were doing a wrong thing again...and they got caught...again.  There are, unfortunately, people who think they can continue down the path without paying a price...or they're impaired to the point that they simply don't think at all. 

I have a better understanding of the technology available to our police officers and I know that only a fool would try to beat "the system".  You might get lucky once in awhile...but you'll lose sooner or later.  With any 'luck' when that happens it won't involve someone else who really was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The 'virtual fence' that was approved by Congress to extend across hundreds of miles of the border between the United States and Mexico has been been put on hold indefinitely.

Why?  Well, it seems that the Interior Department has not signed off on the use of its lands.  These officials have refused to accept an environmental assessment that the towers, cameras, etc. would have no appreciable effect on the lands.

Even though the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to waive environmental laws for border security projects, it apparently does not extend to the virtual fence projects.  Sounds like the typical governmental bull!

An employee of a Florida hospital testified recently about the costs of treating illegal immigrants in one hospital.  You can watch the testimony by clicking here.

The citizens of this country finally prevailed on border controls, and yet the government continues to thwart this solution.  It seems like someone is a bit confused on just how this country works.  The people in these various departments are employed because we pay taxes to support their employment.  I am tiring of those within the system who pervert it to their own will.

I have fallen behind with the pieces concerning the candidates for the Assembly seat being vacated by Sue Jeskewitz.  Lo and behold, a fellow Blogger in the Menomonee Falls NOW group whose name is William Weaver has posted these responses on his site called 'Hunting Season'.

Never one to duplicate another's good work, please click here for his compilation.

My thanks to Mr. Weaver.

Fire Department Gear...

The subject of replacement firefighter equipment that was approved and forwarded to the Board for consideration was on the agenda for last night.  The equipment request was nearly scuttled when the Fire Chief, asked if this could be postponed until next year, said yes.  As was indicated in the Village Buzz on August 7th, this equipment was agreed to in return for an ambulance that was able to be postponed.  The department determined that the need for the equipment was more important than the need for another new ambulance at this time.

Trustee Langer, as a former firefighter, initiated a discussion that probably turned the tide and the result was a unanimous vote of approval by the Board.

I am not a firefighter...but it is difficult for me to understand why the chief wasn't more adamant about protecting the safety of the men and women who fight the fires.  To simply roll over in the face of a question seems inappropriate to me.  I would, if I were a firefighter, be very concerned about the leadership displayed.  I am, as a citizen, happy that the people who may someday need to save me will be properly equipped.

~~~~~~~~~~

Citizen Observer Program: Yet More Thoughts...

I had indicated that I wouldn't identify the officer with whom I rode but he has indicated that he doesn't mind if I do so.  My assigned 'keeper' was Corporal Dan Delmore, a twelve year veteran of the Germantown Police Department.  He graduated with an Associate degree, found a part-time job as an officer for two different small communities in NE Wisconsin while he tried to find his break.  That came in the form of the Germantown department.

Since then, Cpl. Delmore has completed his Bachelor's degree and has just been awarded his Master's degree in Police Science.  This is an example of the professionalism in our department as well as amongst our police officers.  I confess that I grew up in a world where the local policeman might well have had to take the job because it was all he could find.  His training, if any, was rudimentary.  It is not that way at all anymore...(If it ever was; maybe my recollections have become blurred over the years)....and that is great for you and me.

We were engaged in supporting another officer in a Disorderly Conduct incident during my ride along.  This resulted in me being able to see the process of booking up close.  The person involved was not disruptive and had been through the process before.  I was the only 'newbie' in the booking room.  The photos were taken, the prints were taken (electronically now...not using ink), and the complaint was completed (also electronic).  The accused was permitted to make calls to try to arrange for bail money.  That looked promising early on but it fell apart after the booking was completed.  We learned that after returning to the squad and resuming patrol when a message was received from the arresting officer that he was en route to the Washington County jail.

As I reflect on these experiences, I am amazed that our officers don't become jaded by everything to which they're exposed.  It must be very difficult to avoid seeing the entire community through the prism of illegal conduct.  I was surprised that the officers who were on the scene in this incident were able to defuse a tense situation without any significant force being used.  The tempers were calmed.  The players seemed to have accepted their individual roles in the situation and were resigned to the situation that resulted.  The presence of authority, the knowledge that force was a possibility and the professionalism of the police officers made this something survivable for all the participants. 

I asked Cpl. Delmore about the thought of not surviving another day.  He told me that he is aware of that every time he leaves the Police station.  I guess you need to understand your vulnerabilities so that you're able to guard against complacency.  This is, after all, a matter of life and death.

It is not just a 'ride along' as it was for me.

Village Investments...

I sought out some information from Kim Rath, Germantown's Director of Finance and Treasurer based on the article I read in the August 14th column in the Community Now newspaper.  That mentioned that the village had some $25 million in invested funds and I was curious.  That seemed like a lot of money for a community fighting through tax issues, and so on.

Ms. Rath was more than helpful, even responding when she wasn't in the office.  She advised that the $25 million was the amount that the village had on hand on that date.  It included current operating cash as well as the total of all funds.  Those funds included the general fund, utilities, impact fees, special revenue funds, TIF funds and capital project (borrowed) funds.

I had also asked about the reserves carried by the village.  She advised that, in round numbers, there is an estimated $1.5 million in general fund reserves, approximately $1.5 million in the water utility fund and about $5.4 million in the sewer utility fund.

I wondered how these amounts were invested, other than the cash accounts.  Ms. Rath advised that the new organization, RBC would be managing some $3 million that was comprised of some general fund monies, impact fees, special revenue funds (canine and asset forfeitures), water and sewer utility funds and the health and dental plan funds.  The current operating funds are held in the State Trust fund and by Associated Bank.

~~~~~~~~~~

Citizen Observer Program:  More Thoughts...

I related a few of the things that happened in the first hour of my ride along.   The accident required a significant amount of time for the gathering of witness information, photographs depicting the damage to both vehicles, diagramming of the scene for future reference, checking of driver's license and vehicle registrations, etc., etc.  The team of officers that were on the scene seemed to understand what the officer in charge needed in terms of assistance.  The fire and EMT crews operated virtually independently of the police team assuring that any injuries were dealt with quickly, and assisting with any spills, etc. that might have been present. 

As soon as this was over, we were back on patrol.  The officer to whom I had been assigned knew his area very well.  If there were likely areas for speeding, he knew them.  He predicted that we'd see a speeder after pulling off to the side of the road, and there couldn't have been more than a two minute time period elapsed before it happened.  A young man came over a rise and was immediately tagged at something in the range of twenty miles per hour over the limit.  He reacted almost instantly as he passed the squad and recognized it as a squad.  By the time the officer had turned to go back in that direction, the truck was pulling over.  As a matter of fact, there was no hesitation on the part of any of the drivers stopped during this tour.  Everyone seemed to realize that he or she was the intended target of the flashing lights.

My observations of each incident was made from a few feet behind the officer as he interviewed the occupants, tried to make determinations about the presence of alcohol, etc.  Several of the incidents involved people with prior records that were less than 12 months old.  Several involved alcohol use by a person between the ages of 18 and 21.  Several involved people driving with suspended licenses.  I was quite surprised at the numbers and the officer confirmed that what I was seeing was more the norm than an exception.

We returned to the police building at about 10:00PM where the third shift roll call was being conducted.  At the beginning of each duty shift, the officers are briefed on the things that have already happened on the preceding shift as well as any other special situations that may be important to them.

Each officer is assigned a patrol area, checks the assigned squad vehicle extensively to assure everything is in order, verifies the calibration of the onboard 'radar' system, etc.  The trunk of a squad car is full of equipment including a GPS unit so that the dispatcher and other officers are aware of where each unit is at a given time.  Laptop computers are found in each squad.  There was a system 'bug' that evening and we were without the computer until the time of the accident when the Captain brought a plug-in air card with him.  That worked well through the rest of the ride.  The dispatchers were on top of their games as well.  Requested data was relayed quickly using both plain language and the '10' language I grew up with when watching Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford (how's that for dating one's self?)

It is a very effective team that responds well under pressure.

More to come in the next day or two.

We've discussed the plight of newspapers before and we're witnessing some of those repercussions in our local marketplace.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is involved in the second 'force reduction' in a short span of time.  It made known its intent to reduce its staff and gave people an opportunity to opt out before they began the process of determining how many more had to be released.

I noted that the Los Angeles Times will now be run by a man who has no newspaper experience at all.  The new publisher is a fellow named Eddy Hartenstein and he gained his reputation as the CEO of Direct TV.  He will be the fourth publisher in that position since 2000.  That is yet another indication of the real battle going on within the newspaper industry to find the formula required to be profitable in the era of The Internet.

Even the owner of the USA Today brand is now cutting some 1,000 jobs in its local news organizations while supposedly protecting the staff dedicated to the USA Today publication.  That organization, Gannett, also owns some 23 TV stations.

The amazing plight of newspapers has been caused by a decided lowering of the advertising revenues, the life blood of that industry.

The Journal Sentinel has also suggested that it is in the midst of deciding how to reduce the size of its weekday newspapers while it enhances its on line efforts.

The Internet has revolutionized this industry just as it has impacted so many other aspects of our daily lives.  "Google" has become a mainstay and it didn't exist a few years ago.  We are in the throes of some of the most significant changes in how we get our information since Mr. Guggenheim invented the press.  I doubt there is anyone in the newspaper industry who has a solid idea of where to go and how to get there.  To the contrary, the hiring of a non-newspaper person would suggest just the opposite.  The hope at the LA Times is that somehow this newest 'miracle worker' will make the right moves.

While this is disconcerting to many, and disrupting the lives of many, it is one of the most exciting times to be imagined.  We are all, in our own way, part of a historic change in something that had been seen as sacrosanct until a short while ago.

I have been polling people informally over the past few weeks to see how they gather their news.  I am finding that more responses today center on the Internet.  For example, a person told me over the week-end that there are no newspapers in their home.  They go to JSOnline for their news "fixes".  "Why pay for something you can get for nothing?" might be the way to describe the current problem confronting newspapers.

Citizen Observer Program: Initial Observations...

I have always thought that 'someday' I'd love to be able to spend a little time with a police officer during duty hours.  That seemed like a good way to gather information about how they function, what they encounter, and about our community.

Well, the Citizen Observer role was mine during the period from 6:00PM on Saturday through 2:00AM on Sunday.  I was assigned to one of the officers who would be out and about.  I would love to name the officer, but they are a team and I would only be able, in that manner, to call out a single person.  This team is composed of those who handle incoming calls and dispatch officers to situations.  It involves the leadership team in place for every shift; they are sometimes seen at various locations and other times are largely behind the scenes.  It involves those officers who walk into the situation having to be prepared for any eventuality.  And, it involves the support people back in the headquarters location.

My intent is to do a series of Village Buzz editions that discuss our public safety arena.  I will tell you up front that I am a solid booster for Chief Pete Hoell and his team.  They do a lot that most of us never know about, but those are the things that need to be taken care of to give us the peace of mind we enjoy in our community.  They are the reason I can go to bed each night without worrying about my safety and that of my loved ones.

Our 'tour of duty' involved young cyclists being praised for wearing their helmets while being reminded to always ride on the side of the roadway.  That earned them a couple of free McDonald's cones and probably a little higher heart rate than they'd had just before their encounter.  I saw a very compassionate and caring officer who was thinking about them, about the reputation of the force and about the community.

A pizza delivery person enjoyed a little break while he learned that one of his headlights was out.  Two young people were in a vehicle that had 'blacked out' windows which were beyond the permissible level.  One of them proved to have been consuming alcohol while under the legal age.  Another call involved an auto accident that, thankfully, didn't seem to result in serious injury although the fire department EMT team succeeded in having the young female driver taken to Community Memorial just to be sure there were no concealed problems of which she was unaware.

Interestingly enough, that call actually occupied every available squad, a fire engine and an ambulance.  We were critically short of response capability during that episode.  Had a fire, ambulance or accident call (or combination) hit during that period, the overall response would have been challenging to say the least.  These are things we don't think much about except when village budget time rolls around and we try to find ways to cut costs.  Or when we are the ones waiting for help.  Some cuts hit muscle and not fat.

The things mentioned above occurred in the first hour of my full shift 'ride along'.  As I was reminded, this was way before the closing time for bars and taverns when the police and fire team often finds itself very gainfully employed.

My overall initial observations were these:  Our police department is operating in a lean manner.  It has space issues even with the old library building having been in use for some time.  We need to find a way to accommodate more space at a reasonable cost to taxpayers.  The patrol force has not been expanded in numbers for years even though our population has been increasing on a regular basis.  Paper work still is a signifcant time consumer even with computers, etc.  An upgrade to the current system hoped to be accomplished in the next year will see printers in each squad to eliminate the actual hand writing of every ticket.  (And no, there isn't a 'quota' of tickets for the officer.  That is against the law.)  Morale appears to be very high; the team seems quite functional while permitting some individual flexibility in how the officer pursues his or her shift.  This strikes me as a professional unit and that comes from the top all the way down the depth chart.

I feel proud of them as a citizen and taxpayer.

Oregon has had government involved in health care for quite a few years.  The state electorate also approved the concept of state sanctioned suicide several years ago.

Recently, the board that reviews the medications that are approved for state residents made a determination that was controversial...in my mind if no where else.  The board, in essence, said that, given the cost of a certain medication, it would approve suicide for this patient but would not approve use of the medicine given its relative newness and the lack of convincing data as to the outcome.  It had essentially set a price on the human life involved.

Today I read the story concerning Denver Children's Hospital and heart transplants in infants that use the heart from another infant that died a 'cardiac-related death'.  This differs from a heart harvested from a brain-dead infant in which that heart is beating until removed from the donor body.  A decision has been made that the donor that has been pronounced dead and has been in that state for only 75 seconds, is a valid heart donor for purposes of this new program.  The earlier line that had existed required death be determined only after some five minutes during which time the heart did not re-start itself.  In this instance, the length of time a person had been deemed 'dead' had been reduced to assure that the harvested heart had a decent chance of functioning in the new body.  The three cases in which this approach has been employed resulted in three infants alive today.  The decisions to withdraw life support were made by the parents in all three instances.

We know so much more today than we did a decade ago.  We can do things from a medical perspective that were impossible then, and these procedures have become commonplace now.  We are, in this area, pushing the envelope as it has never before been pushed.

I know there are at least two sides to these issues.  I have good friends whose daughter lives today because of transplanted organs that were available on a timely basis.  I can't even begin to comprehend being placed in the middle of such decisions, and I earnestly hope that never befalls me.

And this leads to my general question:  Is there a line we dare not cross?  If so, where is or was that line?  Am I comfortable with an appointed board making life and death decisions about me?  Who among us can claim the right to make such a decision?  How do medical ethicists deal with these kinds of issues?

I don't profess to have the answers to these questions.  If you do, and you're willing to share, I'd appreciate your comments.

Had there been any doubt as to the political stripes of Rep. Sheldon Wasserman (D) who is running against Sen. Alberta Darling (R), it appears this news might put that to rest.

The Obama Campaign for Change will open a campaign office in Glendale, WI at the Glendale Square Mall at 6:00PM tonight.

Scheduled to appear at this opening ceremony is Rep. Sheldon Wasserman who, as I recall, has worked diligently to cast himself as a conservative Democrat.

Barack Obama has staked out such a huge chunk of liberal turf, I don't see how a self-avowed conservative candidate of either party could get anywhere near that campaign even if he felt strongly that Obama had to be our next president.  That would especially be the case given the moderate John McCain as a second choice for a conservative Democrat mind.

Maybe Rep. Wasserman isn't quite the conservative he wants us to think is the case.  Maybe the state Democrat party has put the clamps on him and is forcing this submissive position.  After all, it seems this is one of the most, if not the most, hotly contested seats from the Democrat perspective this season.

Draw your own conclusions.

MATC Director Response...

I sent an email to the MATC PR person on July 30th seeking information about former superintendent Victor Rossetti's continued membership on the MATC Board of Directors.

I mentioned that I was aware that Mr. Rossetti had vacated his home in Germantown.  I also asked, that since he had moved and since he was no longer the superintendent of Germantown Schools, if he would be removed as a Director.

Kathleen Hohl, MATC Public Relations Director sent her response to me today:

"Mr. Campbell,

Thank you for your July 30, 2008,inquiry.  Milwaukee Area Technical College does not have knowledge that Dr. Rossetti has moved outside the District boundaries, nor has he resigned from the District Board of Directors."

I have since learned that he moved to the Madison area which I know is "outside the District boundaries".  It would seem that MATC could've made that determination by this time, as well, if it were interested.  I wonder if there will be any change in the Directors prior to June, 2009 or if the District and Germantown will remain unrepresented.

~~~~~~~~~~

Change in Village Investment Advisors...

I received an email from a Germantown resident raising several questions about the announced change in investment advisors that saw RBC and its local representative named to replace the existing organization.  The resident was concerned as to whether or not other entities had been interviewed, or whether an RFP had been issued and competing bids received.  His concern was that this might represent too cozy (my words) a relationship.

I emailed Dave Schornack, the Village Administrator and received his response promptly. 

He advised that the local person had made an unsolicited approach to the village through Kim Rath, Village Finance Director/Treasurer.  That led to the proposal he made being reviewed by the General Government and Finance Committee which approved the proposal and submitted it to the full Village Board.  The Board approved the proposal with three dissenting votes.

Mr. Schornack said that the village is not required to go to bid and that this proposal represented better value than was being received.  Apparently the service being received left something to be desired according to Ms. Rath although no formal requests for proposal had been generated.

I feel sure there was nothing untoward involved in this change.  I am concerned, however, that there seems to be some precedent being established that may be difficult to follow in the future. 

Another recent matter involved a Germantown businessman who sought a meeting on the website redesign only to learn, after interest had seemed to wane, that the existing relationship with the Ruekert & Mielke engineering firm had been expanded to encompass this redesign effort without having been put out to bid.  This was done, apparently, in order to consolidate all such activities in one vendor relationship for the Village.

Beyond this, there have been instances where committee efforts with bids taken were superceded by direct action on the part of a village official.  This involved actions where vehicles were purchased by the village for the Police Department and for the Senior Center.  I am not privy to the financial aspect of these arrangements and, again, have no reason to believe anything improper was involved.

I certainly would favor residents and local business owners being favored with village business provided that everything was fully transparent.

My concern is that things handled in this manner can cause consternation that might have otherwise been avoided had they been handled differently.

A story in the morning newspaper caught my eye.  It discussed the 'shortage' of rattlesnakes in western Wisconsin.  I grew up in Vernon County that parallels the Mississippi River in some of the most beautiful 'glacier-free' land in our state.  We have eagles and we have rattlesnakes and lots of things in between...including feral pigs that top 300 or 400 pounds.

But, I just have a hard time imagining that we're going to try to raise the rattlesnake population.

As a kid, I recall the hunters who would periodically bring the rattles from all the rattlesnakes they'd killed to the County offices in Viroqua to be paid the bounty then in vogue.  My recollection was that the bounty then was $0.50 each...a lot of money sixty years ago for the hardscrabble farmers and trappers and fishermen who had the most opportunities to find rattlesnakes.  Believe it or not, that would buy two gallons of gasoline at the time, and the people who earned the bounty would have 50 or more rattler tails with rattles when they came "to town". 

The beautiful bluffs that had been eroded by the Mississippi River over the centuries were the home to thousands and thousands and thousands of rattlesnakes.  If we were ever to go near those bluffs, we were reminded about rattlesnakes and where they'd likely be found and what to do to avoid being bitten.  If you were going to be hiking along those bluffs, you knew that heavy leather boots that laced very high were the order of the day.

So, this story reminded me of the men and boys I used to see on that day each month when the bounty was available.  Once in awhile, my friends and I would ride bikes to the Courthouse to see if we could catch a glimpse of the snake hunters, because we couldn't quite imagine what it must've taken to walk right up to one with the stick they used to pin them down at the head.

I knew we had timber rattlers, and I thought we had diamondbacks but I don't recall the Massasauga rattlers that are mentioned in this article.

At any rate, the idea that we spend tax dollars to try to add some rattlesnakes to the state is a little difficult for me to comprehend.