Fire Department Discussion...

The Village Buzz of January 6th concerning the Christmas day fire has drawn some intense response.  There is more to the story and I learned that from others yesterday.  I have agreed with village officials to wait until later today to post that information.

It will most likely be somewhat in conflict with the original information I received from another individual and I believe it important to print the 'official' version of this incident.

Please stay tuned.

Village Board Races...

The trustee positions that are up for election in the spring (Tuesday, April 7th) and the people who are candidates are as follow:

District 1:  Incumbent Michael Bech not running.

Bill Steitz vs. Terry Kaminski

District 2:  

Jim Langer (Inc.) vs. Dan Wing

District 3: 

Al Vanderheiden (Inc.) vs. Dennis Meiers

District 4:  Incumbent Art Zabel is unopposed.

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School Board Races...

The board positions that are up in the spring and those who are declared candidates include:

At-large Seat 1:

Jayson Stemo, Shad Young and Kim Fischer

At-large Seat 7:

Tom Bowe (Inc.), Robert Banner III, Brian Palzkill and Erin Jex

A primary election will be held on Tuesday, February 17th with the top two vote getters in each race moving on to the spring election to be held on Tuesday, April 7th.

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We will see new faces on both the Germantown Village Board as well as on the Germantown School Board.  It is good to see that only a single seat is uncontested.  Obviously Art Zabel must be seen as unbeatable and that is fine, but it is good to see fresh blood in the game every so often.  That tends to keep everyone a bit more on their toes than might otherwise be the case.

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Finally, if you've not visited the Village of Germantown website recently, take a look at the newly refreshed site.

Fire Department Staffing Question...

I received an e-mail from a concerned citizen (whom I know, who has no axe to grind and who isn't a 'crackpot' in any way) yesterday who raised the question as to whether we might be at the point where we needed to add to our full-time firefighter staffing numbers.  He was talking about the Christmas day fire and his e-mail read like this:

"I can't believe that our Village leaders will not provide us with full-time fire protection.  We have many dedicated on-call firefighters upon whom we rely for protection, however, on that Christmas day fire were 3 people who showed up on the 1st truck that went out, and they had to pull an EMT person from the ambulance to be the 2nd person on the other truck that went to the fire.  So Germantown had 4 firefighters at the fire and had to rely on mutual aid from surrounding communities.  As a result, the home sustained a lot of damage.

I think its time to really push the Village to upgrade the paid fulltime fire positions.  As our community has grown, we have seen the increased tax dollars gladly taken in, but not spent on the essential services like fire and police protection, and improved roads."

I recall having broached this subject some months ago with nothing much coming from it at that time.

What are the thoughts from those in the community?  Is it time for this subject to be aired fully?  Are you willing to see some of your tax dollars put to this use?

School Board Action...

The Germantown School Board has taken steps to bring a 'personal finance' course to the system in the 2009-2010 school year.  This course would be, as discussed so far, a half-credit course running for a semester.

What a great idea!  It is, in my estimation, the rare student that emerges from his or her educational process (even including college) that understands personal finance, knows how to balance an account, recognizes the dangers inherent in credit, etc.  I would lobby for this to be a required course were I on the board, with a test-out provision so that students that were already sufficiently conversant could pass the test and be able to avoid the semester course in favor of other courses.

According to the Express News article by Thomas J. McKillen, Managing Editor, there was discussion with some resistance to the idea noted.  In the end, the board has instructed the Instructional Improvement Council to return a proposal for such a course in April, 2009 for further consideration.

Germantown/Menomonee Falls Discussions...

On the same subject, education, I was very pleased to see that the administration of both communities' school systems were engaged in discussions concerning Germantown's possible use of an existing, but available, school building in Menomonee Falls.  The Falls board had already determined that it would close this building.  That seems to represent a possible solution, at least short-term, to the space needs expressed in Germantown.

I am sure there are numerous issues that would need to be resolved if this were to be put into place, but this represents that "outside the box" thinking discussed on these pages some time ago.

Let's hope that something comes of this outreach.

Happy New Year Germantown...

2009 is upon us and brings with it hope for a better year.  Those of us who are optimistic see the new year as containing many exciting new challenges and opportunities.  Those of us who are pessimists tend to dwell on the problems of last year and see those continuing.  We each have the personal decision to take as to how we'll view the start of this year.  I have always been of the belief that each new year will be as good as I make it...no better and no worse.  I am also a firm believer in attitude making a big difference in our lives.  If we pursue each day with a positive attitude, we're much more likely to end each day feeling good about how we spent it.  The choice is mine, and not anyone else's.  Obviously, we'd define some days as being better than other days, but each has its special lesson for us if we search that out.

New Bank In Germantown...

Actually, it is the same bank that has been in Germantown for many years and that we most recently knew as the National City bank.  It is now owned by the PNC Financial Services Group based in Pittsburgh.  I am not aware of the branding changes we may see but expect that PNC will become a very visible presence in our community and in our area as logo changes are introduced.

I happen to do my banking, such as it is, in that bank here in Germantown.  The employees who make that bank what it is will continue to make it that no matter the logo that appears on the signage.  As I've mentioned earlier though, they will probably need to expand their clothes closets to handle yet another set of bank logo clothes.  I confess that I marvel at the number of times the veterans in that bank have had to endure re-training on products and systems.  I can only hope that the transition from National City to PNC goes as well as that from Mid-America to National City.

Village People...

We lost an employee in the village hall a short time ago who had been on an extended leave of absence about which we'll likely never know the details since those things are never made public.

Now the report of Fire Chief Pollpeter having been on a medical leave since December 1st surfaces in the Community NOW news.  Again, since these things are sealed and not made public, there will likely be no way that we'll learn the nature of this situation.  Given the somewhat rocky tenure of the chief, I find myself wondering if something more might be afoot.  Time will tell. 

I read an article over the time off following Christmas that puzzled me...not that many don't have that same effect...but this one said that we, Germantown, "thirst for comprehensive water plan".

As I went a bit further, I noted that the vaunted Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission was behind this 'movement' that would result in at least $352 million in construction expense and 53 miles of new water pipe.

Germantown, and other communities would be forced to shut down their water facilities and would buy the Lake Michigan water from the Milwaukee Water Works.  The costs are estimated to be as much as $8.5 million per year...BUT, we'd no longer need water softeners  and the attendant salt and we'd all SAVE at least $8.7 million.

Several things come to mind...

...will our water facilities be purchased from us or will we simply close the doors and the wells and the pumps and the towers and continue to eat those costs until everything is paid off?

...will this result in a fiasco on the order of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District with the high prices over which no elected board has control?

...why should we do this?  Are we starved for water?  Do we have radium issues that are not resolvable?

...would we be included simply to provide additional funding?

...who says we "thirst for comprehensive water plan"?

...what will happen when, twenty years from now, our former water facilities will be beyond re-use, and we have a Great Lakes problem that threatens to shut down the Milwaukee Water Works?  We'll obviously have no practical alternative at that point, and will be more victimized than I suspect we'll have been for the first twenty years.

How many of our trustees have been briefed on this and who are they and where do they stand on this issue? 

The only thing I've heard anything about are Menomonee Falls with its recent deal done, New Berlin with the radium issues and Waukesha with its radium issues.  Were we involved in these discussions?  Or are we simply being lumped in because, like the MATC, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC) needed more money to even begin to make this boondoggle appear to be affordable?

I am growing very weary of being the flea on the tip of the tail of the doggy.  It is plain that we'll be unable to 'wag the dog' because we've no leverage; to my knowledge, we're not even represented on this Commission...but I guess that's okay since it works well for the technical college system.

Every time that tax eating dog wags its tail, we get whipsawed...if we don't end up being tossed to the ground and run over.

This report is found on the SEWRPC website by clicking here. 

Wow!  It's Snowing Again (Still)...

The last prognostication I heard from the weather professionals this morning indicated that we could have another foot of snow between now and Christmas.

I visited with Dave Schornack, Village Administrator, yesterday on another subject and he mentioned that Germantown had burned 1,200 gallons of fuel just on snow clearing over the past week-end.  That also required that our village crew members were on the job for sixteen straight hours at one point.

Dave did mention that as soon as there was a sufficient break in snow falling, the village will begin to haul the accumulated snow banks away to make room for more.  It doesn't sound very promising for that activity in the next few days.

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Property Tax Bills...

That reminded me that I had planned to mention our community tax bills.

My property taxes, in total, increased $5 year over year.  I can live with that quite nicely, thank you!  There is a growing interest within Wisconsin to see the property tax system relieved of the ever-increasing pressure felt by property owners.  Among other things, that would see increases in sales taxes and in numerous fees.

An organization called Wisconsin Way has presented its plan for accomplishing this and we'll likely write about that plan in coming weeks.

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Winter Safety...

The snow that is costing us all money for road maintenance has more serious effects.

First, the rate of accidents, most relatively minor thank goodness, has increased even after we've gotten the 'hang' of winter driving.  The powdery dry snow falling this morning on top of snow-packed streets has certainly made for slick streets.

The huge piles of snow that have accumulated are making our intersections more hazardous and causing youngsters out enjoying winter to be more difficult to see.  We really need to adjust our driving habits and our driving speeds around the community to preclude loss of life in addition to damage to and loss of property.

Germantown Streets...

Our village employees are doing a great job today on the remains of the snow storm that appeared to dump about 12 inches on my house.  Our street had a swipe taken by about 6:30AM today so that it was passable.  I have resorted to paying to have my driveway plowed and that had been done before 7:30AM.  After some clean-up shoveling, I decided to drive to my office only to find that parking lot full of snow and just beginning to be cleared, so I deferred until later.  The traffic was sparse at that time.

The main streets are very passable considering the snowfall and the wind, and the side streets appear to be a good shape, too, although there is some touch-up remaining to happen.  If I'm not mistaken, I think I noticed that sidewalks on Mequon were being addressed with the small maneuverable plows the village deploys.  If not, they were certainly clear for having had the snowfall that we had.

Germantown People...

On the same theme, when I did go out again about 11:00AM, I was reminded of how nice it is to know that you live in a place where people take the time to help neighbors, and where you can almost always count on a smile in return for yours to others.  Even today, with nerves maybe a bit frayed, that seemed to hold true.

Of course, smiles tend to have magical qualities about them.  They provoke thoughts of kindness in others who almost always have to smile back; such a great payback for so little an investment.

Shopping in Sendik's was easy.  There were still just a few people who had ventured out, but the store was ready and the staff was friendly and helpful...as always.  The parking lot was quite well cleared just prior to noon, and had looked to be quite passable during the Fox 6 reports that were aired from their parking lot during the early morning hours. 

We had free run of Menard's, as well, where employees outnumbered customers by two to one or better, although that parking lot left a great deal to be desired. 

Snow days always seem to have something special about them, even for me as an adult.  Maybe it is the idea that I can justify not being in my office or being a little lazy in the morning until the driveway gets plowed.  And, if we but look about at the youngsters having so much fun when they can be out of school on a school day, maybe that is infectious, too. 

All in all, it is a great day in Germantown!   I hope you feel the same way about your town, too, if it isn't Germantown!

I've mentioned, several times, the fact that I had been participating in the 8th class to go through the Germantown Police Department's Citizen Police Academy (CPA).  Our group 'graduated' last night after our final session which involved Officer Jeff Schnell and Officer Bosco (who sure seems to be healthy in spite of a couple of shaved spots following his recent medical adventure...Bosco, that is; not Jeff Schnell).

The CPA operates under the guidance of Crime Prevention and DARE Officer Ray Borden with Chief Hoell's full support and with the full cooperation of the various officers, detectives and support staff who were our instructors over the past three months, and who all take compensatory time (if it is available at all) instead of overtime for these activities.  A tip of the hat to all will follow at the end of this piece.

So, just what did we all get from this CPA experience?  Well, for starters, I have a much better appreciation for the department and its officers and other personnel.  It always helps, in my experience, to have some of the mysteries dispelled, and I had many unanswered questions about law enforcement in general.

The thrust of this program is certainly to engender good public relations for the department.  But, it is also meant to help citizens feel capable of taking some control on their own.  For example, the Citizen Patrol squad will be seen throughout Germantown usually driven and occupied by graduates of this program.  Citizens have no arrest authority but do have the ability to monitor neighborhoods clocking traffic speeds, noting 'violations' so that the department can intervene with a friendly letter indicating that they were observed and that this could've resulted in a ticket being issued.  Class graduates are regular volunteers for village needs that require something less than a sworn officer but that do require the person to have knowledge of procedure, etc.

Graduates have the opportunity to ride along with officers to observe and experience.  Graduates can become involved in various special projects, and have created some of those projects on their own.  Graduates were very much involved in the quest for a motorcycle patrol and for the K-9 program, both of which are supported almost entirely from public contributions.

We all learned about the current world of drugs in our community so that we might be better able to identify with the problem and help in our own families.  We learned about investigations, finger printing, exercise and diets, dispatch, traffic enforcement, the emergency response team, accident scene investigation/reconstruction and juvenile services.  We learned, for example, that Bosco was involved in the recent bank robbery and found evidence that likely had been hidden in a charcoal grill by one of the suspects.  And, I think we formed a level of camaraderie within our group.  I met residents that I'd have never had the opportunity to get to know.

This was and is a great experience and I'd encourage any of you that have interest to let CPO Ray Borden know.  If you'd like, I'll be happy to pass your indication of interest on to him (since he may not want his direct line broadcast all over Germantown).  You can click on the 'e-mail' link above and send your e-mail to me in confidence.

Finally, the tip of the hat to all those with whom we interacted, some several times (and my apologies if I miss anyone):

Chief Hoell, CPO Borden, Ofc.Case, Cpl.Delmore, Det.Yogerst and Det.Schmitt, Communications Supervisor Schmidt, Lt. Schreihart, Cpl.Rechlicz, SRO Miller, Det.Eggers, Ofc. Schnell and Ofc. Bosco. 

Officer Bosco Fund Well-Supported...

A morning press release from Chief Pete Hoell brought good news.

Officer Bosco is back to work and doing well.  And, the fund raising effort has met with success.  The goal of $4,000 has been surpassed although the department will happily continue to accept your donations if you desire and add that to the K-9 Fund for future Bosco needs.

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Village Races Shaping Up...

District 1 - Michael Bech has indicated he will not seek re-election and former trustee Bill Steitz is planning to run for that seat according to reports.  Rumors indicate that he may have a challenger in that race.

District 2 - Incumbent Jim Langer will run again for a third term and will be opposed by Dan Wing, a Plan Commission member, who has run before.

District 3 - Incumbent Al Vanderheiden will run for a third term and will be opposed by Dennis Meyers, a member of the Police and Fire Commission.

District 4 - Incumbent Art Zabel is running for a seventh term and is, so far at least, unopposed.

Nomination papers must by filed by 5PM on Tuesday, January 6th.  Primary elections will be held on Tuesday, February 17th, with the general election set for Tuesday, April 7th.

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Our Citizen Police Academy group went through the next to last week of education last evening and the subject was traffic stops.  Officer Ray Borden had enlisted the aid of two graduates of earlier classes and they posed as drivers and/or passengers in vehicles that we were to stop in mock situations.

I had been on an earlier 'ride along' so I expected to have an edge last evening.  That was a mistake, as I learned pretty quickly.  Even the simplest of traffic stops is a situation in which every police officer must stay fully alert and aware in order to assure his or her own safety and that of the vehicle occupants.  In reality, there is no "simple" traffic stop.

Each of the class members was put behind the wheel of a squad and made stops as the class progressed.  The first involved a speeder.  We had to make the stop, position the squad properly, approach the stopped vehicle properly, present ourselves professionally, observe constantly, etc., etc.  Every encounter in an officer's day or night can prove to be problematic.  Things are not always as they appear.

There is an almost overwhelming amount of detail that must be top of mind in every one of these situations.  The officer is constantly observing our movements, the position of our hands, our appearance, the general state of the vehicle, the contents of the vehicle and all the outside distractions such as traffic, pedestrians and so on.  Every officer has many stories about "simple" stops that evolved into things beyond belief for the average citizen.

As I've gone through this training, I have been amazed at what is required of the officers.  Most of us go through our day oblivious of the little things that surround us.  The officer must be aware of those 'little things' because they could suddenly become 'big things'.  We read of the capture of suspects and tend to think of those situations as the stressful encounters.  Yet, every stop has the potential for turning into one of the cases we read about in the weekly report by our police departments.  A simple defective headlight or brake light can turn into the arrest of a drunken driver, or the arrest of an individual who is in possession of drugs or the arrest of a person with an outstanding warrant.  The key is that the officer doesn't know which stops will be those, so they have to be prepared in every stop.

Among the things I've taken away from this so far is how the officers can be regular human beings after being exposed to the seamier sides of any community.  Divorce rates are higher in the uniformed ranks and the under cover ranks than is normal across the population.  The stress can take its toll in many ways.  I have now met and interacted with quite a few of our Germantown officers and can say that I have yet to find a bad apple.  He or she may be there, but I've not found him or her yet.  That is, I think, a tribute to our officers, the support staff and their leadership.  I'm sure there are the petty things that crop up in any organization from time to time, but these guys and gals know what they're expected to do and they do it very professionally.  If there are those petty things, I've not seen them manifested and suspect that I won't ever see them in any duty situation.

We have a department populated with professional police officers and support staff.  We can be proud and we can feel confident they'll be there if and when we need them.

A story in the morning Journal Sentinel by Mike Johnson discusses a John Doe investigation ordered by Waukesha County Circuit Judge Ralph Ramirez at the request of a Mr. James M. Hermann who was a Germantown resident at the time of his arrest.

The John Doe is supposedly set so that the judge can compel testimony to determine if Mr. Hermann's rights were violated when he was taken to Community Memorial Hospital where officers ordered that blood be drawn for testing.  The officers supposedly were concerned that he might have been using a controlled substance and sought the blood draw to make that determination.

All this happened on March 21, 2007 when police were called to his residence for a disorderly conduct-domestic violence complaint.  In the course of that call, he claims to have been injured by a Washington County Deputy Sheriff, and he claims that his rights were violated because officers found cocaine in a black box inside a safe that he had given verbal permission to be searched.  Supposedly he had told authorities that they could not look at the contents of the black box, but the officers did since they were concerned that it might contain a weapon.

It should be noted that he was subsequently charged with possession of cocaine, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, disorderly conduct and endangering safety with use of a dangerous weapon.  He pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a weapon and was sentenced to 18 months in prison where he resides today.

It is certainly possible that he could've been injured during the arrest.  If he was under the influence of a controlled substance, he might very well have been combative.  That substance could've also been detected by officers observations of its effects on his body, in addition to finding it in his safe, thus providing probable cause for demanding the blood sample.

This has the earmarks of the classic charge being filed by a convict sitting in his cell with too much time on his hands and too much access to law books in the prison library and to the proverbial 'jailhouse lawyers'.  I sometimes wonder if judges are too easily convinced to hold hearings such as the one scheduled for next Tuesday on this case.  There will be testimony that often involves overtime costs and takes officers out of the community when they might be needed.

Chief Pete Hoell was quoted in the article as saying, "He's in prison because we're doing our jobs."

Officer Bosco Update...

I received an e-mail today from Chief Pete Hoell who had this to say:

"I am pleased to inform you that Bosco is back on the job and we have raised $2,420.00 so far.  Thank you everyone for your very generous donations and kind thoughts and words."

With the goal of $4,000 in mind, the Germantown Police Department K-9 Fund is still in need of $1,580.00.

Remember that you can make a contribution by mailing a check made out to the Germantown Police Department K-9 Fund to the department at P.O. Box 96 , Germantown, WI 53022 or by stopping at the Police Department building at N112 W16877 Mequon Road to drop off any contributions. 

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Germantown Sidewalk Clearing...

Is it just me or did it seem to you, as well, that the sidewalks normally cleared by the village very promptly after a snowfall were left untended for a while this time?  I noted this morning that they had been cleared.  Maybe it was simply that the week-end fell at an awkward time.  The weather doesn't always cooperate.

Speaking of which...please take care to be sure that you aren't one of the reasons for an ambulance run during and after this next storm being forecast for us.  We've had the opportunity to re-learn our winter driving skills, and to remind ourselves of just how heavy snow can be.

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"Normal" Winter Pattern?

We seem to have a good start at what came to be last year's normal winter pattern...several inches of snow, colder weather for a few days...and then more snow.  We have friends who are avid snowmobile riders (or should I call them "snow machines" now?) and I know they're probably excited.  But, let's not get carried away!

The current "big storm" appears to be a "for sure" happening as I listen to the weather reports, with the only real question being that of who will receive what in terms of snowfall.

I really hope we're not on our way to breaking last year's record snowfall so soon.  Once those records are set, we normally would have some time to brag about how we handled "that record-breaking" year.  People aren't going to believe our stories if we repeat the same ones year after year.

Two different classroom experiences in the past two days have convinced me that I am too naive for my own good.

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I've shared that I am involved in this year's class of the Germantown Citizen Police Academy.  Our session on Wednesday evening concerned drugs, and I came away from that class shocked at what I had seen.  I do not want to be alarmist, but we have a problem here in the Germantown area as do virtually all communities across Wisconsin.  The class presented was a very shortened version of one that is delivered by Cpl. Dan Delmore to officers in our department as well as in departments requesting his services.

We saw graphic evidence of what people use, how they use it, and what the consequences of that use are for those people.  There are, obviously, consequences for citizens, in general, since these habits have to be supported...and that results in crimes.  I was very surprised at the things that are common in grocery stores and gas stations and other retail outlets that can and are being used in an abusive manner by students as well as adults.  As I said, I was too naive for my own good.

I have raised my children long ago, and I am happy that this was the case.  It was much less threatening then than it is today.  If I were raising children today, I would, knowing what I now know, be very active in my supervision of their activities while trying to not be too controlling, of course.  That is a difficult line to walk, and I'm sure it is fraught with hurt feelings and anger as our children make their ways into adulthood.  But, it is something that needs be monitored.  It is something that needs be discussed with the children so that there is an awareness.

The D.A.R.E program that Officer Ray Borden is involved with is a big step in the right direction.  The School Officer program is a big step in the right direction.  But those, in and of themselves, are insufficient.  Us parents have to be involved, and that has to be happening on a 24/7/365 basis.

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The second class experience was yesterday during a continuing education course that is required for me for a state license I hold.  We listened to an Investigator and an Assistant District Attorney from the Waukesha DA's office discuss the issue of identity theft.  They shed light on a murky area that I knew existed but about which I was ill-informed.

According to their information, over 700,000 people are affected by identity theft every year in the United States.  The five common types of identity theft include:

• Driver's License
• Social Security Number
• Medical Information
• Character and/or Criminal
• Financial

Identity theft is a felony in Wisconsin and is vigorously prosecuted whenever possible.  We heard of people who have had second mortgages made on their own dwelling and who were unaware of that until they were hit with legal action because the bad guy was no longer paying the monthly amounts due.  This case involved something beyond $20,000.

Others have been the subject of arrest warrants for things done by people using their identities.  Others have seen their credit ratings destroyed by multiple credit card accounts that were opened and then never paid after large amounts were run up by the bad guys.

One of the things that hit me was the fact that there are people who do nothing but cruise neighborhoods every day filching mail from mailboxes looking for paper checks being mailed to the resident, or gathering all the 'pre-approved' credit card applications, or watching for the red flag to be raised indicating that there might be a bill payment sitting there with all the bank and checking account information.

Phishing scams are designed to gather private information to be used illegally.  Those are most often tied to the Internet, but some can be done by telephone, too.  Credit card numbers are available to employees in retail establishments or may be part of the junk tossed into a dumpster.  Dumpster diving is often employed by identity thieves.

Some of their suggestions were:

• never give your credit card to the waiter or waitress and instead take the bill to the cashier.
• never use the mailbox outside your house to mail outbound items.
• maintain a credit card with a minimal credit limit for use in Internet transactions.
• check your credit card balances and transactions several times monthly over the Internet to catch irregular items as quickly as possible.
• always cover or conceal items being left in your vehicle and lock the vehicle.

The one thing that hit me between the eyes was the fact that they see more identity theft being perpetrated by a relative of the victim than any other single cause.  I wondered if some of those thefts were as the result of the relative having a drug habit needing to be supported?

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As you can see, I was plainly too naive for my own good.  I hope you aren't.

Open Seats...

Dave Magill has confirmed that he has filed papers indicating he would not be standing for re-election to the Germantown School Board's At Large Seat #1.  His term expires in April, 2009.  So far, I am unaware of any person filing to run for that open seat, but there is still plenty of time for that to happen.

Michael Bech has also filed papers indicating that he will not be a candidate for Trustee in District 1 of the Village of Germantown.  The rumor mill has it that Bill Steitz, a former trustee, will be filing papers soon.

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Officer Bosco Update...

Chief Pete Hoell provided the following information today:

On Tuesday, December 2nd, our K-9 Officer Bosco had been placed on a light anesthetic for the first procedure.  When the doctor increased the anesthetic for the biopsy procedure, Bosco's heart rate elevated.  Additional anesthetic would have caused Bosco to go into cardiac arrest so they stopped the biopsy procedure.  It is unknown why his heart rate would have increased while on the anesthetic.  Due to the three doctors' previous examinations, they are confident and concur that it is not a cancerous mass; however, the mass will have to be watched very closely.  The doctors believe Bosco can be treated with medication without having to undergo surgery at this time.

To date, we have incurred $1,300 in medical bills.  The monthly costs for the medication could be as high as $500 a month.  We have at least a $4,000 fund raising goal in mind to pay for the medical bills and future medication(s).

On the whole, we are optimistic that Bosco will recover, however we will have to monitor the mass and hope the medication works.  We are in a day by day situation to see how things work out.  The way it stands now, we believe Bosco will be back to work on Monday, December 8th.

I'll continue to keep you posted on his status.

I would also like to thank every one for their support and kind words and thoughts.  It means a lot to us here at GPD but it is especially meaningful to PO Jeff Schnell and Bosco.

K-9 Officer Bosco is supported by contributions from the community without tax money involved.  This occurrence has obviously started the run-up of medical bills that will need to be paid from the Germantown Police Department K-9 Fund.  If you can find it in your heart to help Bosco with a contribution of a dollar or ten dollars or a hundred dollars, that can be made by mailing a check as indicated below or by simply stopping at the Germantown Police Department and walking into the lobby to make the contribution.

Remember that you can make a contribution by mailing a check made out to Germantown Police Department K-9 Fund to the department at P.O. Box 96 , Germantown, WI 53022 or by stopping at the Police Department building at N112 W16877 Mequon Road to drop off any contributions. 

Thanks in advance for your help! 

Meeting With Assembly-person Elect Dan Knodl...

I enjoyed a meeting and cup of coffee with Dan Knodl on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  He had indicated a willingness to meet since we hadn't yet had that opportunity.

We discussed his campaign 'issues' and he appeared to be very contrite, wishes that it hadn't happened and indicated that he was ready to face the penalty.  I felt that he was being honest and forthright during this discussion.  He recognizes that this will dog him for a good long time to come, but wants to do a good job for the district and hopes to eventually move beyond this chapter in his elected life.

His purpose in our meeting was to indicate that he wanted to "stay grounded" and open lines of communication with people throughout the district.  He indicated that he had already tendered his resignation from the Washington County Board; I'm not certain of the effective date of that resignation.  I believe that spot will be filled by appointment with the full Board's approval.

We joked about the 'broom closet' he was likely to be given as his Madison office since the 'newbies' who are also in the minority are not among the favored.  He said that he would qualify to have a single staff person and that he was already involved in the interview process and hoped to have made his decision by December 15th.  His choice will likely be made from among seasoned staff people who were working for a member that lost his or her re-election bid and were seeking a new position.

He said that he intended to spend a lot of time in the district so that he could keep himself abreast of its needs, and so that he didn't fall into the "trap" of being caught up in the position where people are all trying to make you feel good so that you'll support their position on this and that.  He is working now to identify issues that he can begin to work on hoping that this will help him establish his credibility even as a minority freshman assembly-person.

He professes to be a conservative.  He mentions his business experience and indicates that he is a 'property rights' believer.  He mentioned that he will remain a member of the Wisconsin Tavern League but will not be involved in leadership roles as he had been.  He understands that it will be very difficult for him to establish his credibility especially since the Republicans are in the minority in both the Assembly and the Senate.

He has developed a list of issues that he hopes to become involved with, and indicated that he was open to people's suggestions for additions to this list.  Among the items already on the list are spending reductions through things such as the sale of some state-owned property that could benefit both the state treasury and the communities that would acquire newly taxable property within their borders.

I would invite readers to offer their thoughts for Mr. Knodl as to issues that are important in this coming two-year period.  I'd also like to encourage his periodic contributions to this Blog as a guest writer if his schedule permits.  He was stung by some of the comments (relating to his family) that were posted to my earlier Blogs.  I indicated that I am not permitted to edit comments, but that, had I that opportunity again, I'd probably have decided to pull the offensive comment in its entirety, which I am permitted to do.

All in all, we had a good first visit.

Employee’s story spurs record-breaking drive

Sendik’s delivers 50 tons of food, $18,000 to Second Harvest

By JANE FORD-STEWART
jford@cninow.com

Posted: Nov. 25, 2008

The largest one-time retail donation in the 26-year history of America’s Second Harvest of Wisconsin food bank was made last week by the Balistreri-owned Sendik’s Food Markets, headquartered in Whitefish Bay.

More than 100,000 pounds of food, which nearly filled three semitrailers, and an $18,0000 donation were delivered Nov. 21 to Second Harvest headquarters at 1700 W. Fond du Lac Ave., Milwaukee.

The record-breaking donation was the result of a three-month drive supported by Sendik’s, its employees, its customers and its suppliers.

Those in need not anonymous

Margaret Harris and her three brothers, all owners of the eight Balistreri Sendik’s stores, had decided to give the proceeds from sales of the Sendik’s Real Food Magazine to Second Harvest, but then the idea of a bigger drive caught on.

“I was talking to one of the floor managers and she said, ‘I don’t think you realize how great this could be,’” Harris said.

The 24-year-old manager told Harris of growing up without enough food, even though her father worked and her mother had two jobs. They did not want to, but the family went to a local food pantry and were able to survive.

That story touched her heart, Harris said. Suddenly, families in need were not anonymous anymore. They could be anybody.

“I was dropping off my children and thought, what if it’s the person dropping her kids off at school,” Harris said.

Her brother, Nick Balistreri, agreed.

“When you hear about all the people having trouble in the news, lots of times, you don’t associate it with people you know,” he said. “You don’t realize people who need help could be your neighbor or people you see every day. So many things cause people to need help.”

Patron donations, purchases

The story was spread to the 1,500 Sendik’s employees, who, too, were inspired, Harris said. Many of them took up collections to buy food.

Their enthusiasm spread to Sendik’s patrons, she said.

They rounded up their receipt totals to the nearest dollar for Second Harvest. Occasionally a shopper rounded up $10, Balistreri said.

Patrons purchased $10, $20 or $100 bags of groceries, and they bought boxes of macaroni and cheese, with each box matched by Sendik’s and donated to Second Harvest.

Then Sendik’s owners gave their shopping list of items the food pantry needed most and money collected to their warehouse, Certco Inc., in Madison, with instructions to stretch the money as far as possible.

Also, the semitrailers used to transport the food were donated by Golden Guernsey Dairy.

Harris had an epiphany that something big and wonderful can happen if everyone does a little.

“For me, it was tons and tons of little things that added up to one giant difference,” she said.

Filling the shelves

“We are just delighted,” said Gina Styer, Second Harvest communications director. “We are at a 10-year low for food donations.

“Sendik’s (stores) and their customers can be very proud knowing they are giving the gift of food to hungry people,” she said.

Second Harvest Food Bank distributes nearly 11 million pounds of food annually to 1,100 food pantries, meal programs and shelters throughout eastern Wisconsin.

Balistreri-owned Sendik’s Food Markets are in Whitefish Bay, Mequon, Grafton, Wauwatosa, Germantown, Elm Grove, Greenfield and Franklin.

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If you answered yes to the "Would you like to round up for Second Harvest?" question that was periodically asked when you checked out of the Germantown Sendik's, this story helps you to understand the combined impact.

This is part of that "Attitude of Gratitude" thing that helps us to help others less fortunate than we...and there are always people who are less fortunate no matter what we find ourselves confronting.

Police dog Bosco undergoing surgery

The health of a beloved canine contributor to the community could be at risk.

Germantown Police Department police dog Bosco is having surgery this afternoon to remove a mass that may be cancerous.

Officer Bosco, used by the department for the last four years to detect a variety of drugs and search for suspects and endangered people, has been experiencing health problems, and doctors discovered the mass during an examination Nov. 26.

Germantown Police Chief Peter Hoell said the surgery, at an estimated cost of $2,000 to $3,000, could be the first step in saving the 6-year-old dog.

"We are going to hope for the best and prepare for the worst," Hoell said.

It is unknown whether additional treatment will be necessary, so the department is seeking any help the public is willing to offer to offset the cost of Bosco's medical bills. Checks made payable to the Germantown Police Department K-9 Fund can be mailed to the department, N112 W16877 Mequon Road, Germantown, WI 53022, or dropped off in person.

"At this point we'll take things day by day," Hoell said, adding that the department is committed to doing everything it can to cure Bosco.

For information, call the department at (262) 253-7788.

(Article courtesy of Ty Finke)

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Winter Wonderland...

Germantown has taken on the look of Christmas with the eight or so inches of snow that fell on us overnight.

Our snow plowers and salters appear to have been on the ball given the state of our roadways this morning.  I've heard the sirens that always seem to announce the first major snowfall of each season.  We can hope that the only injuries suffered were by fenders and bumpers.

Isn't global warming an amazing phenomenon?

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Village Board Reconsiders Hotel Tax...

The Village Board meets tonight and among the agenda items is the possible reconsideration of the 2% bump (a 33% increase from 6% to 8%) in the hotel room tax in Germantown.

Public comments had indicated that all the hotels in Germantown were in support when this was originally passed, however a storm of criticism erupted following the vote.  Apparently there wasn't the support thought at the time.

Today we'll explore the WEAC insurance companies called WEA Insurance Group.

The WEA Insurance Group is composed of five organizations:

• WEA Insurance Trust
• WEA Insurance Corporation
• WEA Tax Sheltered Annuity Trust
• WEAC Member Benefit Trust
• WEA Property & Casualty Insurance Company

These organizations are used to provide coverages such as health insurance, dental insurance, long term disability insurance, long term care insurance, automobile insurance, homeowners insurance and tax-sheltered annuities.

This is a spectacular picture from the WEA Trust that was created in 1970 with initial capitalization of $5,000 that was provided by WEAC.  By 1977, this Trust had become the thirteenth largest health insurer in Wisconsin.  By 1989, it employed 140 people, and now employs some 500 people and serves over 200,000 public school employees and family members.

It, as is its parent, is the 800 lb. gorilla so far as insurers providing coverage to school districts in Wisconsin.  It takes pride in the ways in which it developed new coverages for its members and in its record of few member complaints.

Among the breakthroughs it claims credit for are these:

• The trust was the first in the state to offer a disability plan that replaced 90% of a disabled employee's income.  (Typical insurance policies offer up to two-thirds of the employee's compensation to encourage those who are able to return to work as soon as possible, and to help hold insurance premium cost down for employers.)
• The Trust was the first insurer in Wisconsin to cover transplants as a standard benefit.  (Such breakthroughs have had to add costs to these plans that caused increases in premiums to employers.  Most insurers were hesitant to offer such coverage unless and until forced to do so by state mandate since they would've been priced uncompetitively with other insurers.)
• The Trust health plan covered psychiatric and chiropractic services "long before the law required insurance companies to offer such benefits".  (Again, we see marketplace differentiation that made it nearly impossible for other insurers to compete for school district business while it made the employers pay more due to these increased levels of service.)

We discussed Jane Doe's coverage cost to the district in a recent Blog.  Jane's cost to the district was $19,279 during the most recent school year, and she paid another 3% of the premium from her pocket as her contribution toward that cost.  Given the coming school year and plan changes that have been made by WEA Insurance Trust, the cost to the district for the most comparable program will go up to some $22,400 for an increase of about 16% in its cost.  (This is contrasted with an average increase in Wisconsin for other employers of about 4% this year according to a survey by the Mercer consulting firm released today.)

That same announcement based on the Mercer survey pointed out that $1,000 deductibles are now commonplace across America.  I would be amazed if a single school district in Wisconsin could be identified that has such a deductible in place.  Premium sharing by employees is often done on a 25%-75% or a 50%-50% basis in Wisconsin's workplaces, but in Jane's case there is a 3%-97% sharing arrangement.  It is not at all uncommon for employees of firms with fewer than 50 employees to have no health insurance coverage provided by their employer today.  That percentage is in the range of 50% to 60% in Wisconsin today.

WEA Insurance Trust points to its success with the following statistics:

• Health plan enrollment was 138,024 for 2007, or 71% of eligible school districts.
• Dental plan enrollment was 149,961 for 2007, or 78% of eligible school districts.
• Long term disability enrollment was 60,063 for 2007, or 75% of eligible school districts.
• Life plan enrollment was 36,237 for 2007, or 46% of eligible school districts.
• Long term care enrollment was 21,251 in 2007, or 23% of eligible school districts.

This is what the insurance industry calls "penetration" of a marketplace, and it points to the dominance that WEAC has in negotiating on behalf of its insurance companies.  I have spoken with people who have attempted to compete against the WEAC/WEA Insurance Trust insurance programs.  They have made presentations to Boards showing significant decreases with relatively little in the way of plan benefit reductions and few are ever successful in getting the business.  The union dominates this world.  Some question why the teachers would permit this to happen since the premium costs impact their pay due to the QEO rules, but I suspect any teacher who would voice his or her concern might feel uncomfortable in his or her peer group as the result.  And, it is great if you're in the cat bird's seat with the 'Cadillac' coverage.

If you read yesterday's piece, you may've noted that WEAC has universal health care as one of its legislative goals.  That would be great since they could then shift costs to all the state's citizens instead of just to those citizens in a district they provide coverage for.  And, most interesting of all is this overlooked fact:  WEAC had already obtained favorable treatment for its members in the Healthy Wisconsin program that was defeated last year.  Universal health care is great but they must still have better coverage for their members...and the party in control of state government was willing to cause that to happen.

Some have questioned the people costs of a school district but this kind of information helps us better understand where some of those costs originate. 

Surprise, Surprise...

I'm sure this must come as a great shock to us all.

The Wisconsin Technical College System Board voted 12-0 in favor of denying the petition request made by the Germantown School District to be permitted to leave the MATC district and move into the Moraine Park Technical College district.

We'll just have to shut up, pay our exorbitant MATC tax load and wait for another twenty years and try again.

In a very selfish way, I can at least look forward to many more opportunities to ridicule the MATC decision-making apparatus as well as the silly ways this group finds to divest themselves of our money.

When will we have a state government that wakes up to the folly of none-elected (appointed) boards that have taxing powers.  This is truly taxation without representation...and there seems not a thing we can do about it.

Maybe current MATC President Darnell Cole will eventually find another school that is willing to take him off our hands; I feel confident that he'll continue to look for more money and more people to tax.  After all, the goose that is called the MATC district is just about finished laying larger eggs.  I wonder if technical colleges also have powers of annexation?  That wouldn't come as too great a surprise, either.

I also wonder if we'll see more "free" laptops being donated to the library; and if we'll see that "splendid" cooperation between our industry and the MATC get even better.  We'd probably be wise to not hold our breath until that occurs.

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Knodl Konundrum - Chapter Two...

Dan Knodl has entered a plea of not guilty in Ozaukee County to the charges lodged against him over names published without the permission of those named.

I suspect that, at worst, he'll be fined a modest amount and life will go on.

I have to say, though, that I'd be very embarrassed if that were my campaign and I let that happen when I would've known I had a comfortable lead in such a dominant Republican stronghold.

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Mequon Road/Pilgrim Road Intersection Construction...

It seems that the construction in this main intersection in Germantown has gone on longer than had been expected.  I certainly hope this ends very soon so the roadway and traffic patterns can be restored prior to the Winter weather descending upon us.