Field on Salt Supply: ‘So Far, So Good’
12/30/08 - The Dodge County Highway Department got a break on the costs of their second shipment of salt this winter. The county used to profit from operating outside the state contract, but this year had to pay a private contractor 150-dollars-a-ton for their first shipment, which is about three times what other counties paid. Highway Commissioner Brian Field says their most recent contract with Morton Salt was for $82 per ton. Field says they will go before the Finance Committee next month to ask for additional funding to pay for the overage. As far as the county’s stockpile is concerned, Field says “so far so good.” While the county typically used a 50-50 sand and salt mixture on most roadways, this year Field says they are holding the salt to about 33%.
Non-Candidacy Deadline Was Friday
12/30/08 - Mark Born is the only current Beaver Dam alderperson to file non-candidacy papers by last Friday’s deadline. On Monday, Lisa Davidson filed Declaration of Candidacy papers for his Ninth Ward seat. Davidson is associated with the anti-smoking group Breathe Free Beaver Dam. The only candidate to submit nomination papers is 11th Ward Alderman John Litscher, who is currently running unopposed. Incumbent Alderman Clancy Knaup could see opposition for his First Ward seat as Donna Fuhrman has taken out nomination papers. Kenneth Anderson is seeking to challenge Third Ward Alderman Glen Link for his Fifth Ward seat. Alderman Aaron Onsrud hasn’t submitted any paperwork as of yet. Assuming Onsrud does run, he could once again face former Alderman Mic Fischer, who is collecting signatures. And incumbent aldermen Robert Ballweg and Laine Meyer are circulating nomination papers.
In Mayville, all incumbent alderpersons plan on running again. Alderpersons Marge Nitschke, Alan Voss and Dottie Hoy have all submitted their necessary paperwork and currently face no opposition.
In Horicon, Doug Psenicka remains as the only alderperson to file non-candidacy. But no one else has filed for the two-year term in the First Ward. John Forester is running again for the two-year term in the Third Ward while Ted Pyrek is running again for the one-year term in the Third Ward. Jack Flouro has filed his Declaration of Candidacy papers for the two-year term in the Second Ward.
All Fox Lake city alderpersons are seeking re-election. First Ward Alderman John Mund, Second Ward Alderman Tom Bednarek and Third Ward Alderwoman Ann McCarthy currently face no opposition.
And there were no non-candidacy papers filed in Juneau. Second Ward Alderman John Schuster and Third Ward Alderwoman Joann Link could each face opposition but First Ward Alderman Jason Buske is currently running unopposed.
Monday, is the deadline to file paperwork to run in the April election.
CFD Staffing To Be Discussed
12/30/08 - Major questions on a Columbus Fire Chief and Department staffing could be decided at the Council of the Whole meeting tonight. Firefighters have asked the Council to expedite approval of a permanent Fire Chief. In addition, a related problem in staffing is also raising questions. The Mayor and Council are not in agreement on whether the “administrative assistant” position should be continued as full time.
Council Member Jenny Perkins told the Council she believes the Department’s administrative assistant’s duties should be determined by the Fire Chief the City is planning to hire. Due to recent budget decisions the job is scheduled to be reduced to 20 hours per week on January 1st.
Tonight’s decisions could be a long awaited first step toward filling the long-time
vacancy of the Fire Chief’s position with a permanent appointment. Discussion on Fire Department administrative positions and decisions on a “time table” for the Chief’s hiring procedure may also make the final Council session of 2008 a memorable one.
Wisconsin Teacher Salaries 21st Highest in Nation
12/30/08 - The average Wisconsin school teacher got a raise of two-point-four percent in the last school year. That’s according to the National Education Association. The average teacher salary in Wisconsin was just over 49-thousand dollars in the last term. That’s the 21st highest in the country, down one place from the year before. Union officials have said that teachers accepted smaller raises in recent years in exchange for keeping high-quality tax-funded health care. Dustin Beilke of WEAC, the state’s largest teachers’ union, says health care is eating up a lot of pay hikes, simply because it costs so much in the Badger State. But some legislators have said that teachers should accept less costly plans. And Chris Kleismet of the Citizens for Responsible Government says it costs less to live in Wisconsin than many other places – so our teachers are probably in the upper half in terms of real pay-and-benefits. The N-E-A said Wisconsin teacher salaries rose 24-point-six percent in the last decade – and only seven other states had smaller pay hikes. When inflation is taking into account, Wisconsin teachers have taken almost a six-percent pay cut over the decade, compared to a one-and-a-half percent cut nationally.
Minneapolis Is NOT The Capital of Wisconsin
12/30/08 - The capital of Wisconsin is … Minneapolis? A state government Web site that candidates are using to post their financial information has Madison’s Capitol dome on its home page, next to the skyline of Minnesota’s largest city. The Government Accountability Board paid a million dollars to have a Connecticut group develop the Web site. P-C-C vice president Joe Singh said the Minneapolis skyline was only something to start with. They’re looking for an image of Madison’s skyline that doesn’t have a copyright-fee. And Singh promises an update in January. Some candidates used the financial reporting site on a pilot basis this fall. Everyone will have to start using it next year, once some glitches are worked out. State Senate Democrat Jeff Plale of South Milwaukee discovered the Minneapolis skyline goof, and the Journal Sentinel broke the story yesterday. An aide to former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist joked that Wisconsin does not need to out-source its skyline. You can see it for yourself as CFIS-Dot-Wi-Dot-Gov.
12/30/08 - The Dodge County Highway Department got a break on the costs of their second shipment of salt this winter. The county used to profit from operating outside the state contract, but this year had to pay a private contractor 150-dollars-a-ton for their first shipment, which is about three times what other counties paid. Highway Commissioner Brian Field says their most recent contract with Morton Salt was for $82 per ton. Field says they will go before the Finance Committee next month to ask for additional funding to pay for the overage. As far as the county’s stockpile is concerned, Field says “so far so good.” While the county typically used a 50-50 sand and salt mixture on most roadways, this year Field says they are holding the salt to about 33%.
Non-Candidacy Deadline Was Friday
12/30/08 - Mark Born is the only current Beaver Dam alderperson to file non-candidacy papers by last Friday’s deadline. On Monday, Lisa Davidson filed Declaration of Candidacy papers for his Ninth Ward seat. Davidson is associated with the anti-smoking group Breathe Free Beaver Dam. The only candidate to submit nomination papers is 11th Ward Alderman John Litscher, who is currently running unopposed. Incumbent Alderman Clancy Knaup could see opposition for his First Ward seat as Donna Fuhrman has taken out nomination papers. Kenneth Anderson is seeking to challenge Third Ward Alderman Glen Link for his Fifth Ward seat. Alderman Aaron Onsrud hasn’t submitted any paperwork as of yet. Assuming Onsrud does run, he could once again face former Alderman Mic Fischer, who is collecting signatures. And incumbent aldermen Robert Ballweg and Laine Meyer are circulating nomination papers.
In Mayville, all incumbent alderpersons plan on running again. Alderpersons Marge Nitschke, Alan Voss and Dottie Hoy have all submitted their necessary paperwork and currently face no opposition.
In Horicon, Doug Psenicka remains as the only alderperson to file non-candidacy. But no one else has filed for the two-year term in the First Ward. John Forester is running again for the two-year term in the Third Ward while Ted Pyrek is running again for the one-year term in the Third Ward. Jack Flouro has filed his Declaration of Candidacy papers for the two-year term in the Second Ward.
All Fox Lake city alderpersons are seeking re-election. First Ward Alderman John Mund, Second Ward Alderman Tom Bednarek and Third Ward Alderwoman Ann McCarthy currently face no opposition.
And there were no non-candidacy papers filed in Juneau. Second Ward Alderman John Schuster and Third Ward Alderwoman Joann Link could each face opposition but First Ward Alderman Jason Buske is currently running unopposed.
Monday, is the deadline to file paperwork to run in the April election.
CFD Staffing To Be Discussed
12/30/08 - Major questions on a Columbus Fire Chief and Department staffing could be decided at the Council of the Whole meeting tonight. Firefighters have asked the Council to expedite approval of a permanent Fire Chief. In addition, a related problem in staffing is also raising questions. The Mayor and Council are not in agreement on whether the “administrative assistant” position should be continued as full time.
Council Member Jenny Perkins told the Council she believes the Department’s administrative assistant’s duties should be determined by the Fire Chief the City is planning to hire. Due to recent budget decisions the job is scheduled to be reduced to 20 hours per week on January 1st.
Tonight’s decisions could be a long awaited first step toward filling the long-time
vacancy of the Fire Chief’s position with a permanent appointment. Discussion on Fire Department administrative positions and decisions on a “time table” for the Chief’s hiring procedure may also make the final Council session of 2008 a memorable one.
Wisconsin Teacher Salaries 21st Highest in Nation
12/30/08 - The average Wisconsin school teacher got a raise of two-point-four percent in the last school year. That’s according to the National Education Association. The average teacher salary in Wisconsin was just over 49-thousand dollars in the last term. That’s the 21st highest in the country, down one place from the year before. Union officials have said that teachers accepted smaller raises in recent years in exchange for keeping high-quality tax-funded health care. Dustin Beilke of WEAC, the state’s largest teachers’ union, says health care is eating up a lot of pay hikes, simply because it costs so much in the Badger State. But some legislators have said that teachers should accept less costly plans. And Chris Kleismet of the Citizens for Responsible Government says it costs less to live in Wisconsin than many other places – so our teachers are probably in the upper half in terms of real pay-and-benefits. The N-E-A said Wisconsin teacher salaries rose 24-point-six percent in the last decade – and only seven other states had smaller pay hikes. When inflation is taking into account, Wisconsin teachers have taken almost a six-percent pay cut over the decade, compared to a one-and-a-half percent cut nationally.
Minneapolis Is NOT The Capital of Wisconsin
12/30/08 - The capital of Wisconsin is … Minneapolis? A state government Web site that candidates are using to post their financial information has Madison’s Capitol dome on its home page, next to the skyline of Minnesota’s largest city. The Government Accountability Board paid a million dollars to have a Connecticut group develop the Web site. P-C-C vice president Joe Singh said the Minneapolis skyline was only something to start with. They’re looking for an image of Madison’s skyline that doesn’t have a copyright-fee. And Singh promises an update in January. Some candidates used the financial reporting site on a pilot basis this fall. Everyone will have to start using it next year, once some glitches are worked out. State Senate Democrat Jeff Plale of South Milwaukee discovered the Minneapolis skyline goof, and the Journal Sentinel broke the story yesterday. An aide to former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist joked that Wisconsin does not need to out-source its skyline. You can see it for yourself as CFIS-Dot-Wi-Dot-Gov.
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