Job creation, retention dominates forum
JANESVILLE — Eight Janesville City Council candidates answered questions Thursday at a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters.
Nine candidates are running for four open seats in the April 3 election. A ninth candidate, Troy Zimdars, could not attend the forum because of a work commitment.
The forum was taped and will be played on JATV over the next several weeks.
Those who attended were Jim Farrell, Matthew Kealy, Billy McCoy, Andy Murray, DuWayne Severson, Angela Smillie, Michael Southers and Kathy Voskuil, incumbent.
Below is a sampling of the questions answered by the candidates:
Would you privatize city services to cut costs?
Farrell: Farrell does not favor privatization because he is concerned the quality of services would decrease if they were contracted out. He noted successes in other cities but said that is because those cities had inefficient or costly services or a lack of skilled people. That is not so in Janesville, he said.
Kealy: Kealy said some things can and should be outsourced, such as the management of the city's two golf courses. If the city can't provide an efficient service at a reasonable cost, it is the council's responsibility to look elsewhere and advocate for the taxpayer, he said. Kealy said he hopes the city is as efficient as the private sector, which would be his ultimate goal. But the council couldn't ignore savings found through privatization, he said.
McCoy: McCoy said he could support privatization and spoke at length about his two sons, who are volunteer firefighters.
Murray: Murray said he is against privatization. "The best way to find efficiencies is to talk to the 'boots on the streets,'" he said. "Our city employees know the best way." Murray said he wasn't an outsourcing type of guy.
Severson: Severson said the council couldn't ignore ways to reduce expenses, but the council should spend most of its time creating jobs and eliminating barriers to job creation. That would generate more revenue so privatization would not be an issue, he said.
Smillie: Smillie does not support privatization, saying it is "purely profit driven." Studies show the quality of the services provided by the contracted agencies is not guaranteed, she said. She believes savings are usually very limited, and taxpayers don't know how private companies spend their dollars. Smillie said though she works in the public sector, she has had experience with private contractors. She said it is harder to address problems with private contractors.
Southers: Southers noted that he is a Rock County employee and said the council must consider the job the city staff does. Residents' quality of life would be threatened by private companies that go bankrupt or by contracted services that do not offer quality services, he said.
Voskuil: Voskuil said the council should look to the private sector if it needs a skill set or specialty that is not available among city staff. Otherwise, if the skill set is in-house, it is important to treat workers fairly and keep those jobs in the public sector.
The council recently gave significant financial incentives to persuade SHINE Medical Technologies to locate here. Do you support such incentives?
Farrell: Farrell said he had significant reservations about the SHINE deal and continues to believe there are significant risks. He said he has been in business for many years and he was frustrated because he did not have access to the company's financial data. He said he also has a problem with guaranteeing $4 million in private loans for the company.
Kealy: Kealy said he supports financial incentives to bring businesses to Janesville. "The ugly truth is that Janesville is not the only city looking for jobs," he said. The incentives make the city competitive, he said. Kealy assumes the council and staff negotiated the best possible deal with SHINE. He said he also wishes the public better understood tax increment financing, which he said is a great tool to add to the tax base.
McCoy: The deal with SHINE was 95 percent done behind closed doors, he said, and the public had about a week to learn the specifics. "We have the right to know what is going on in our community," he said. McCoy said he would love to give TIF funds to homeowners who have lost their homes.
Murray: Murray said he supports financial incentives. People are unemployed and losing their homes. "We need to find ways to attract business," he said. Janesville is a great community, and the city should be marketing its great parks, teachers and public safety, he said.
Severson: Janesville needs jobs, and other communities use financial incentives to attract them, he said. The city must continue to identify appropriate milestones on which to hook the incentives and parameters to ensure the city gets very strong returns on its investments, he said.
Smillie: Smillie agreed financial incentives should be available. "When done appropriately, with limited risk and caution involved, financial incentives can work," she said.
Southers: Southers, who has a bachelor's degree in business management, said he wants to guarantee that the city has a business plan to calculate the return on its investments. He would personally look at ways to devise a system to determine that return, he said.
Voskuil: Voskuil voted in favor of the SHINE package. "I will continue to support incentives," she said. Incentives include other things besides money, such as shovel-ready sites. "We do need to create jobs in Janesville," she said. Each incentive package must be looked at individually to weigh the cost benefits and minimize the risks to the taxpayer. "It's a very competitive world we live in," she said. All the incentives must be connected to job creation.
Mar 10, 2012 at 8:33 p.m.
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Sandman--- Watch what you say!!!! The volunteer firefighter from the Colby Fire Department is a TRUE HERO for what he did. He is no better or worse then the Full time firefighter. They get the same training and have to be certified by the state. Please shut your mouth and use a different example. GOD BLESS Firefighter Jamison Kampmeyer!!!!!!!
Mar 10, 2012 at 3:47 p.m.
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Based on that limited text and in no particular order:
Farrell
Murray
Smillie
Voskuil
I look forward to watching the Forum on TV and hearing what Zimdars has to say.
Mar 10, 2012 at 2:47 p.m.
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tiredofhearingit, so you're saying that permit fees (money), not regulations or policies are preventing business owners from doing business in Janesville? Why isn't Edgerton, Evansville and Milton exploding with business and construction if Janesville is such a fee monger? Janesville has also experienced quite a bit of sprawl, even more than some surrounding cities up until the recent housing collapse. How does that fit in? Plus, nearly every fee the city charges or raises is based on a comparison review with peer cities. That's another can of worms but it's true. Until you can come up with specific examples where a fee was responsibility for preventing construction or a business start-up - I don't buy it.
Mar 10, 2012 at 2:17 p.m.
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Yeah, privatizing and volunteers, huh? Check out the Gazette story from Abbotsford, WI, about the Abbot Theater fire: "A volunteer firefighter from the Colby Fire Department, Jamison Kampmeyer, died battling the blaze after part of the roof collapsed. Two other firefighters inside were injured and rescued from the building."
When's the last time a professional fire department in WI lost or nearly lost personnel? Yeah, sometimes it's expensive...but aside from cutting the grass and painting the walls and other rather menial tasks, sometimes public safety (fire & police & emergency services) and education is best served by trained professionals and not volunteers or privatized employees serving "at-will" and at low pay.
And other cities have had the experience that money savings by privatization is nebulous at best (Google and listen to recent "This American Life" WBEZ-Chicago radio episode for a whole show segment dedicated to the issue).
But then we could always try PIRATEization!
Mar 10, 2012 at 2:03 p.m.
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youkillme - start with the most basic, permit fees. You would be shocked to see what it actually costs just to construct a building in Jvl vs. surrounding towns / cities.
Mar 10, 2012 at 12:08 p.m.
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I would like to know what city regulations and policies prevent free market enterprise from setting up business in Janesville? Anybody know?
Mar 10, 2012 at 11:15 a.m.
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The one thing that was not talked about was jobs which the forum was supposed to be about. I heard no one ask how we can get people in Janesville back to work that should be the priority. The city needs to find a way to make Janesville a community where a business wants to come to Janesville and bring in jobs and expand and help Janesville get people back to work.
Mar 10, 2012 at 9:51 a.m.
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Privatization is theft of the public domain by the private.
Mar 10, 2012 at 9:08 a.m.
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steveknox - I agree with your statement. "We need to create jobs" and "we need to lower taxes" comes out of most everyone's mouth. How about they tell us how they intend to do this? The candidates with the realistic plans to accomplish this will get my vote.
Mar 10, 2012 at 8:48 a.m.
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http://www.localvisiontv.com/Channel/Gov...
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You can see all the candidates interviewed here.
Mar 10, 2012 at 8:04 a.m.
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Isn't it strange how most people don't trust the private employee to do a good job.What does that tell you about public employees ?
Mar 10, 2012 at 6:05 a.m.
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The one mistake that any politician makes is stating they will create jobs. I don't believe this. I think it's the role of our council to create and uphold policies and be fiscally prudent when reviewing and voting on budgets. If policies and regulations are properly written and supported then it makes the job of those who work for the city easier. It makes it easier for community development to develop and business creators to create.
If a councilperson believes they need to get into the details of the day-to-day, I will not support that person. We hire people to work the day-to-day. My council candidate needs to have a vision for the future, not just for the day.
I'm close to finding the candidates I will vote for.
Mar 10, 2012 at 5:50 a.m.
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Then enjoy your jobless community cause other communities are competing for those jobs with incentives. You are only hurting your community with that attitude. Pride doesn't fill your belly.
Mar 10, 2012 at 12:54 a.m.
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No_fascist: I totally agree with you. I cannot see giving millions in incentives to companies that bring 40 or so jobs. It is a lose-lose situation for the taxpayers. We are paying them to come here and give us jobs. These corporations make enough in huge profits. I also agree that these deals should NOT be made without our consent or votes. We should know all that is going on before we give away our money so freely.
Mar 9, 2012 at 11:19 p.m.
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@belman, I have worked with and for Matt Kealy for almost 13 years, and I'm wide AWAKE! You really need to do some research before you start slandering! I've always said Matt is probably one of the smartest businessmen I know. He knows how to make every penny count. He would be an asset to the city especially during times like these. You aren't just hurting his business by posting false information, you are hurting those of us that work there to support our families and love our jobs!
Mar 9, 2012 at 8:53 p.m.
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Angela Smilie is a sensible person who makes sound decisions....She will definetely get my vote.
Mar 9, 2012 at 6:10 p.m.
Mar 9, 2012 at 5:33 p.m.
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Obviously McCoy doesn't understand anything about public safety and what it takes to protect a "city" VS a smaller community where volunteers are appropriate. VOTE MURRAY
Mar 9, 2012 at 5:30 p.m.
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All city employees should walk off--fend for your self. Good luck with any problems you have. Idiots.
Mar 9, 2012 at 5:22 p.m.
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Privatization saves money because the employees get less compensation while owners still make a profit. I would rather see the city work with the city's union employees, and try to make them understand that unions have become harmful to them in this economy.
I support incentives for businesses to locate here only if it's unbiased, which I doubt will ever happen. Government shouldn't be in a position to pick and choose which businesses should get money. That's not a free economy. If you want to locate your medical isotope company here, or your adult toy factory it should make no difference.
I'm just sayin'...
Mar 9, 2012 at 5:10 p.m.
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