Franklin’s Leaders, Cowering Behind and Under Their Desks Over New Sewer Tax?

The Daily Reporter notes “They  might be difficult to see, but those are Franklin’s leaders, behind their desks, cowering.”

City Adds Confusion To Sewer Tax Issue

The following article appeared in “The Daily Reporter” (subscription required), a sister publication of The Business Journal.

The story was emailed to us was sent to us by its reporter, Beth Kevit, who tells us she used a number of our stories on the Ryan Creek Interceptor for background.

Here is what is being handed-out at City Hall to property owner questioning the new sewer tax.

sewer tax by fFRANKLIN INDEPENDENT FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL

Look to THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL for further developments on this story.

Mayor Taylor’s $31 Million—Field of Dreams Gamble with Tax Payer Dollars

As the City of Franklin—in conclusion with an unelected  government body—MMSD adds a new $461.47 sewer tax to every Franklin  property owner’s 2012 tax bill, whether they are hooked up to the now infamous Ryan Creek Interceptor.   The Franklin common council and especially Mayor Tom Taylor believe “development would follow the pipes”—that’s a $31 million gamble I wouldn’t be willing to make with taxpayer dollars considering predictions of a 2013 recession.  Do the mayor and common council know something that the Wall Street Journal forecast panel—as well at The Wall Street Journal don’t and Forbes’ economists?

Have You Seen our Mama?

We just took a short nap and when we woke up our Mama was nowhere to be found. We’re very cold at night without her to keep us warm and we’re getting hungry, too!  Won’t you help us find our Mama?!

Opposition to Sewer Tax Growing

FRANKLIN MAYOR THOMAS TAYLORCity of Franklin officials are trying to sidestep a very heated issue. Franklin property owners with septic systems have recently been incorporated into the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) as a result of the Ryan Creek Interceptor Project. This means that they will now be billed for sewer services they don't have, along with the cost of maintaining their own septic system.  These Franklin residents are so upset they are forming a group to challenge the sewer tax in the court system. A letter was recently sent to all affected property owners. Years ago the same problem occurred. Franklin property owners were successful and had laws and policies put on the books. MMSD is apparently ignoring those statutes and policies. The Franklin Independent Journal is weighing in on this issue and will post additional updates. Our achieves are available for the general readership. You'll find numerous articles and links pertaining to this issue. We're in the process of also downloading open record request documents. That will take a bit longer to get posted.

Video of the Day: What is a Virtual Office?—From Boxers To The Boardroom

Here is a tip for the City's Lean Forward Franklin EDC

$50 Million FPS Referendum to Appear on November 6 Ballot

Here we go again.  Hmmm... What part of the word "NO" are the "usual suspects" (Traylor, Larson, Klein and superintendent Patz) having trouble understanding?

On November 6, voters residing in the Franklin Public Schools District will have a chance to have their voices heard, putting a $50 million facilities-related referendum to the taxpayer's test.  The referendum will appear on the presidential election ballot on November 6.

The three referendum questions are related to three Franklin Public School (FPS) facilities projects and each question will be voted on separately.  Here is the so-called Referendum Fact Sheet for the three questions which appears on the District’s website, including each project’s estimated cost impact on taxpayers.  Please take the time to become a well-informed voter by reading this information before voting on November 6 and contact any one of the Franklin School Board members with questions you may have pertaining to any of these projects.  Voters should also consider that with expanded facilities comes expanded maintenance costs, which are not included in FPS’ fact sheet.

If you are interested in knowing which school board members voted in favor of this $50 million referendum, click here and then proceed to the Meetings tab and then to the minutes of the July 11, 2012 School Board Meeting.

Mayor Taylor Throws Citizens Group Under the Bus

EDITORIAL--it was only a matter of time. Last Tuesday, Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor apparently has no more use for Greg Kowalski’s non-profit group; Citizens for Community Development which just over one year ago made this proposal to the City.  But that was then and this is now and this is now and the Mayor’s “flavor of the month” is Franklin resident and businessman Mike Zimmerman who presented an idea for a sports complex on county land currently being used by Crystal Ridge Ski Hill.

At the time, by all appearances Mayor Taylor seemed excited about the proposal Citizens for Community Development had put forth for the Milwaukee County Sports Complex located in Franklin just off Ryan road.

FranklinNOW wrote this in its coverage of the June 19 meeting:

"We've got a proposal that needs to get backing, needs to get support and needs to become reality. This will put Franklin on the map," said Mayor Tom Taylor, who asked city officials to consider plans for a multi-sport complex at Crystal Ridge, 7900 W. Crystal Ridge Drive.

Typical POLITICAL GIBBERISH. 

Define: “…put Franklin on the map.”

"We've got a proposal that needs to get backing, needs to get support and needs to become reality.”

What Mayor Tom Taylor is really doing here is setting up Franklin taxpayers for him and the common council to deliver the city’s $1.5 million impact fee fund to this developer, which in reality will become $3 million since the city (taxpayers) must match the $1.5 million impact fee in order for it to be used.

We also have a politician who based on his “resume” on the City’s website has never held a job in the private sector,  but includes that Taylor  served as an Executive Board member of Milwaukee District Council 48, AFSCME that represented approximately 14,000 public employees and served as Vice President and Chief Steward of Local 882, AFSCME.

This is the same government sector union that was recently part of a broad coalition of worker rights organizations that filed a legal challenge to Gov. Walker’s Budget Repair Bill. The organizations included the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 24, AFSCME Council 40, AFSCME Council 48, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the Wisconsin State Employees Union, The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union – Health Care Wisconsin (SEIU).

Together the organizations are filing a federal law suit against Scott Walker’s bill which denies hundreds of thousands of public employees their right to collectively bargain for a better life. The groups challenged the constitutionality of the state’s Budget Repair Bill which would destroy collective bargaining rights for all but a select group of public sector workers.  We all know how that went.

I heard the mayor say he was a Republican!

One thing seems certain though, Mayor Taylor seems to have a very short attention span.  Here are some of his administration’s unfinished “needs:”

South 27^th Street Corridor Project—remember the infamous “BOOMGAARD?

Remember the unfinished mess over the Payne & Dolan quarry  enhancement/expansion and that company’s ignoring air quality monitoring ordinances for more than six years.

Refer to theses stories:  to bring yourself up to speed on the mayor and common council’s lackadaisical approach to ordering Payne & Dolan to comply with city ordinances.  This quarry operation is releasing crystalline silica dust into the atmosphere:

1. Is the Quarry Expanding? Well...yes and no
2. Who's Monitoring the Quarry?
3. “There is absolutely no expansion of the quarry with the approval of this project”
4. City’s Elected Officials and Payne & Dolan’s Dirty Little Secret
5. Quarry Draft Ordinance Too Dense for City Leaders

According to OSHA the disease Silicosis is caused by exposure to respirable crystalline silica dust. Crystalline silica is a basic component of soil, sand, granite, and most other types of rock, and it is used as an abrasive blasting agent. Silicosis is a progressive, disabling, and often fatal lung disease. Cigarette smoking adds to the lung damage caused by silica. Silica has been classified as a human lung carcinogen.  Silicosis makes an individual more susceptible to Tuberculosis (TB), Scleroderma – a disease affecting skin, blood vessels, joints and skeletal muscles, as well as possible kidney disease.

Also, the quarry is surrounded by residential areas and is in close proximity to Pleasant View Elementary, Clare Meadows Senior Apartments, Franklin High School and the City's very popular the walking trail.

Bring a Lawn Chair or Blanket and Enjoy!

Franklin Park Concerts, Inc., has announced its free annual Summer Concert Series featuring a variety of music genres to please nearly every music lover.

Concerts will take place at the Lions Legend Park Band Shell—Loomis and Legend Drive on Sundays at 1:30PM. Here are this summer’s concert dates and lineups.

Sunday, June 24: Vern & The Originals

A perennial favorite in the Franklin 4th of July parade, Vern & The Originals serve up a tasty helping of polkas and waltzes.

July 8: Above the Town

One of southeastern Wisconsin's premier Bluegrass bands, Above the Town provides a mix of the old with the new, performing music of the masters of bluegrass as well as original material.

 Sunday, July 22: Mood Swings

 This big band has been connecting Milwaukee area music lovers to the sounds of Swing and Jazz for many years.

Sunday, August 5 - The Concord Chamber Orchestra

Since 1975, the Concord Chamber Orchestra has offered talented, volunteer musicians the opportunity to create stimulating musical experiences for the enjoyment and inspiration of Milwaukee area audiences. Concord is an all-volunteer, non-paid group of approximately 50 musicians from a variety of professions and backgrounds.

This schedule can also be found on the City's website>

VOTE TODAY!

I was reminded by a close friend the other day to please vote on Tuesday and that “There’s a lot at stake in this year’s election...”   I could not agree more.

After reading a column that she sent with her plea to vote, I thought to myself, isn’t a lot at stake in every election?  If only every eligible voter looked at every election as a crucial election with a lot at stake, maybe we would not reach the point where one particular election is described as having “a lot at stake.”

Americans take their right to vote for their government representatives for granted and generally don't vet candidates themselves, accepting what the so-called mainstream media chooses to feed us. 

We should never forget that a lot of Americans have fought and died to protect our individual rights, but our freedoms are directly linked to our right to vote. And that includes your right to vote for local school board members and all the way up the political totem pole to President of the United States of America.

I’ll leave you with this quote attributed to who many historians consider the Father of the American Revolution.

SAMUEL ADAMS, Founding memberThe Sons of Liberty.“Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual — or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.”

—Samuel Adams, in the Boston Gazette, 1781

Quarry Draft Ordinance Too Dense for City Leaders

In its story covering last Tuesday’s Common Council Meeting FranklinNOW reported:

The limestone quarries on Rawson Avenue were at the center of debate at the city's Common Council meeting Tuesday, as alderman sought to create a citizen advisory board that would oversee monitoring of the sites.

To meet concerns of residents living near the quarries, the city has issued a request for proposals for a private contractor that would monitor blasting and air quality at the quarries. A draft ordinance tentatively defined a citizens [sic] panel that, together with the Plan Commission, would "check what they (the monitors) are doing," in the words of Common Council President Steve Taylor...  Read more.

In October of last year THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL (FIJ) ran a story asking Who's Monitoring the Quarry?  At that time we wrote that the City admitted quarry operations had gone unmonitored for the past six years.  Were it not for concerned Franklin citizens living across the street from the quarry and upset with the Payne & Dolan quarry "enhancement” (expansion), who knows how long the quarry's emissions would have gone unmonitored.

Residents Call for Neighborhood Meeting

In attendance and representing the City of Franklin at this neihborhood meeting was Mark Luberda, Director of Administration. Mr. Luberda told those in attendance that it appeared Franklin has been lax about monitoring quarry issues.  Those in attendance were particularly interested in discussing the limestone quarry’s operations and why the quarries were not being monitored. Mr. Luberda said the contract that Franklin had in place to monitor the quarry lapsed in 2005 and the City never took up the issue again. When one of the Franklin residents asked him "why," Luberda answered, “Maybe there were no complaints.” Another Franklin resident pointed out that “perhaps there were no complaints because the quarries were not being monitored.”

In the end, the citizens group agreed that the blasting, dust and berms are getting much worse and the whole situation is out of hand. If that is the case, we ask why would Franklin city leaders allow the quarries to expand without any independent monitoring?

As reported by FranklinNOW, here are some of the aldermen’s comments pertaining to the draft that was presented and debated during the Council meeting.

Alderwoman Kristen Wilhelm proposed that committee members be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the council, and that city staff support the committee. But a dense paragraph in the draft outlining the duties of the panel drew criticism.

Alderman Tim Solomon asked whether the committee would be "micromanaging the consultant." Alderman Doug Schmidt said he was "overwhelmed by the amount of verbiage" in the draft.

Finally, Aldermen Wilhelm and Olson said they would work together to produce a new draft, along with the city attorney and administrators.

In the end the Council decided not to take any action on the matter and the draft ordinance was set aside for more work.

Click here to listen to the audio of the May 15 Common Council meeting.

FIJ coverage of this story

• Is the Quarry Expanding? Well...yes and no
• Who's Monitoring the Quarry?
• “There is absolutely no expansion of the quarry with the approval of this project”
• City’s Elected Officials and Payne & Dolan’s Dirty Little Secret

Will the Last Business to Leave the City Please Turn Out the Lights

Canndace Romano at FranklinNOW is reporting that Steve Taylor can remain a City of Franklin Alderman while serving on the Milwaukee County Board.

That's the legal ruling of City Attorney Jesse Wesolowski, who pored over League of Wisconsin Municipality opinions and state statutes to determine whether serving both bodies would be a conflict of interest.  Read Romano's full story…

Meantime, JSOnline is reporting that Contract manufacturer Masteq LLC has purchased a 7,000-square-foot building in the Muskego Industrial Park for $300,000, and will move there from Franklin Industrial Park on June 1.

According to Steven Horvath, co-owner, the new location, in the Muskego Industrial Park will double the company's capacity.  The company, with seven employees, plans to double its workforce once the new plant is fully operational.

Franklin taxpayers must question the effectiveness and leadership of the Forward Franklin Economic Development Committee which is the “brain-child” of Alderman Steve Taylor, who also chairs the recently reorganized committee. 

This group of citizen volunteers appointed by the mayor and approved by the common council is tasked with assisting the Community Development Authority chaired by Mayor Taylor, to determine types and locations of commercial and manufacturing zoning throughout the City and to actively pursue, within the goals and guidelines of the Common Council including:

• Develop and implement a retention program to retain existing businesses in the City.
• Develop and implement a plan to solicit businesses for relocation to the City.
• Develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to include promotional materials, public relations efforts, surveys and the enhancement of the City's existing web site from a marketing perspective.

March's most read article: Dear School Board Candidate Don Petre…

 

I am not a teacher in the Franklin Public school District but thanks to local blogger Bryan Maersch’s Wag the Dog blog I was able to read the pathetic email you reportedly sent to Franklin public school teachers attempting to garner support for your candidacy while belittling your opponents’ education.

Is this an example of how you intend to—in your words—“bring our community together.” You're nothing more than a hypoctitcal elitist that Franklin voters, including those who never graduated from college, will see through.

I see from your email that you have a BS in Education from UW-Madison, MS in Educational Administration and Supervision from UW-Milwaukee, and 23 years of experience working in the education field, along with ten years of teaching a graduate level college course.

As for your opponents you write.

Janet – HS diploma only

Aimee— Degree in Psychology but NO experience in the field.

History is littered with successful private and public sector leaders who do not hold college degrees and yet, have managed to change the course of mankind and the world. 

President Abraham Lincoln did not attend college and President Harry S. Truman attended law school but did not graduate.  George Washington did not attend college per se however he did earn a surveyor’s license from the College of William and Mary.  Henry Ford never attended college.   Steve Jobs was a college dropout and Bill Gates another college dropout received an honorary degree from Harvard in 2007.

You also write that “Neither of them [Evans or Schlueter] would ever get any consideration for a Board position at any multi-million dollar company."  How would you know?   Based on the resume you provided in your email you’ve never worked a day in your adult life in the private sector.

Please tell us the names of the corporations where you have served on the board of directors.

You also complain “They are trying to use my union membership against me.  I believe it enhances my credentials and resume.  I will be able to use this experience in labor and in management to bring both sides together and see issues from both perspectives.  In order to see progress in our district, we need the School Board members to be on the same page.”

I’m not convinced Petre understands who he will represent if he were elected.  But then again I never graduated from college.

Franklin School Board Deserves Close Scrutiny During Run-up to Likely School Referendum

I see from Bryan Maersch’s “Wag the Dog” blog that our untrustworthy school board is gearing up again for a possible school building referendum for the November, 2012 general election.

With the exception of now-school board President Debbie Larson and Jeff Traylor the current school board has no members remaining from the 2007 board which placed the $78-million school referenda on the April 2007 ballot.

After the referendum failed, rumors persisted that the then-school board had ignored, manipulated and mislead voters into believing a pre-referendum voter survey called for a new high school, when in fact, the new high school reflected the personal agendas of certain board members, completely dismissing the input and wishes of Franklin voters.

There were also rumors that voting-age high school students were taken out of class to attend a propaganda assembly concerning the referendum.  Around the district a pro-referendum group had convinced some school administrations and teachers to include pro-referendum materials in student take-home literature provided by the group, while the school board remained clueless to what was happening under their noses.

Catching wind of all this, Franklin citizen Janet  Evans made an open records request to the school district for email between school board members. To determine whether there was any truth to the rumors or among other accusations, culpability between the board, teachers the pro-referendum group concerning the growing scandal.

Now a school board member, Janet Evans has been kind enough loan THE FRANKLIN INDEPENDENT JOURNAL 132 pages of these emails between board members and then-District Superintendent Bill Szakacs, particularly emails from April, 2007.

Look for these emails here tomorrow.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Update on Monday, January 2, 2012 at 9:13 AM by Basil Ryan

Due to a glitch with our scanner, the 2007 referendum school board emails scheduled for publishing today, will be postponed  until Wednesday, January 4 at the lastest.

Good Cop—Bad Cop

Alderman Steve Taylor’s stance on the 2012 City budget posted last month on his FranklinNOW blog “From the Fourth” read like a  “good cop—bad cop” scene from NBC’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," with Alderman Steve Taylor taking one for Mayor Tom Taylor while simultaneously throwing himself and fellow aldermen and Finance Committee members Tim Solomon and Kristen Wilhelm under the proverbial bus.  Political ambitions take no prisoners.

Alderman Taylor writes:

[All emphasis added.]

The Finance Committee’s proposed budget which the Mayor has vetoed had a levy increase of 2.3% but savings of $35 on a home assessed at $235,000. Unlike the “shell game” which the Mayor boasts as a levy decrease the approved budget is extremely transparent with actual savings.

Common Council president Steve Taylor—as noted earlier— also serves on the City Finance Committee.  It strikes me as rather odd that Steve Taylor would boast that a committee he serves on, and has served on for several years, would openly “boast” that the Finance Committee proposed a budget with a tax levy increase of 2.3 percent; taking care to note in the same paragraph that the mayor vetoed the Finance Committee’s proposal, adding “Unlike the ‘shell game’ which the Mayor boasts as a levy decrease the approved budget is extremely transparent with actual savings.  Again, Finance Committee: BAD—Mayor Tom Taylor: GOOD.

Common sense would dictate that none of the current members of the Finance Committee should be renominated by Mayor Tom Taylor for appointment to this committee when their term is up, considering the fact that Mayor Taylor vetoed their proposed budget increase.

We also found it interesting that Alderman Taylor found it necessary to printout that the “… approved budget is extremely transparent...,” begging the question: Why wouldn’t it be?

Alderman Taylor continues:

The Mayor proposed a budget in September which lowered the tax levy but placed a separate fee for garbage pickup on your tax bill. The levy decreased by 2.4% which resulted in $101 savings on a home assessed at $235,000. However, a $104 dollar fee, also known as a tax, for garbage pickup would be added to your tax bill and it is also not tax deductible. There may be a time when the City of Franklin has no choice and has to separate the garbage service cost from the tax levy but now is not the time.  Shout it from the roof tops with me..."Finance Committee: BAD—Mayor Tom Taylor: GOOD."

Three months or so later, it was time to add a NEW garbage pick-up tax, which Alderman Taylor fails to explain what exactly has changed in the previous few months to make it necessary to create a new tax on Franklin homeowners.

Being a cynic of government and particularly Mayor Tom Taylor's arguably long-time corrupt administration, I ask you to consider this question: Is it possible that the Mayor’s proposed budget which, Alderman Taylor claims, lowered the tax levy by 2.4 percent, amounts to the City’s annual cost for garbage pick-up and in a budget shell game the 2.4 percent "savings" was appropriated somewhere else, necessitating the a separate fee for garbage pickup on your tax bill?

Is the Forward Franklin Economic Development Committee Spinning its Wheels?

We humbly submit this multiple-source REALITY CHECK for the citizens of Franklin, Mayor Tom Taylor and the Forward Franklin Economic Development Committee members and ask that you remember what you see and read here when our bloviating, misleading City leaders declare "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED" and claim that Franklin’s economic climate is improving thanks to this committee which,  since its creation on June 21, 2011, has held five meetings and one workshop.  A look at the committee’s meeting minute’s reveals little to no substantive progress in achieving the primary goals of this new committee, other than considering whether to reappropriate funds and spend $110,484 for marketing materials and possibly a website.  Here are the meeting minutes for “Forward Franklin’s” October 24 meeting; providing readers with a glimpse of its work.

Basically, according to the City's website, the purpose of the Forward Franklin Economic Development Committee is to promote and enhance the City of Franklin; to actively pursue commercial and industrial business development/investment for relocation into the City of Franklin to achieve a balanced tax base; to work with the business community in the retention and expansion of the businesses already within the City; and to promote the City in various manners as an excellent place to live and do business.  Read More...

Here is the REALITY CHECK we promised earlier.

FBC’s Neil Cavuto discusses job creation in America with Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus.

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Occupy Wall Street Movement and Capitalism: One Professor’s Response

A free market response to OWS, Revealing both common ground and differences.

One could say that the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) crowd has some valid frustrations, but are these misguided protesters aiming their anger and accusations in the wrong direction?

Economics Professor Chris Coyne draws the clear cut distinctions between crony capitalism, which has infested, thanks to city learders, the City of Franklin for years and years and years, through companies like GRAEF, O’Malley Development, LLC, The Carstensen Group (which recently made headlines in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), to name just a few.  Crony capitalism is government favoritism fueled by handouts and is responsible for the so-called "plight" of the 99%. Legitimate capitalism, on the other hand, uses competition to align consumer and producer interests and serves to improve everyone's standard of living.

RELATED STORY

• Franklin’s Public Hunting Grounds and what You Have Been Told—or Not (Up-Dated)

Franklin School District Taxpayers Footing Bill For Non-District Residents

In a recent post, one of Franklin’s more contentious and hard-working School Board members and FranklinNOW blogger, Janet Evans, discusses some probably little-known facts and asks some compelling questions about the Franklin Recreation Department‘s fee structure and policies, as well as its funding which, if you were not aware, is under the taxing jurisdiction of the Franklin Public School District and therefore governed by the Franklin School Board.  I gathered from Mrs. Evans’ post that the school district views the Franklin Recreation Department as a pseudo-"wellness program" for district employees living outside of the district, thereby charging these government employees an in-district fee for classes in the Recreation Department’s program.

Defining the Franklin Recreation Department programs as "wellness programs" is simply asinine and ridiculous.  As Mrs. Evans rightly notes in her piece, health insurers generally have a wellness program in their coverage.

The 2009-10 the Recreation Fund budget was $ 411,716 and was increased $42,201 in 2011-12 to $453,917.  That's nearly one half million dollars that should go directly to classroom education versus yoga classes, etc.

Some members of the school board, more specifically, board vice president Jeff Traylor, do not seem to understand the meaning of fiscal responsibility.

School Board Members Respond to November 30 Board Meeting Comments by Union Rep

See up-date at the end of this story.

To- date we have received responses from Franklin School Board Members Mr. Tim Nielson and Mrs. Janet Evans concerning our December 6 story “Did Franklin School Teacher and Union Rep Threaten School Board Member's Kids?”  This was the first time we have offered any elected officials an opportunity to comment before a story involving them was published and in hindsight we realized that board members have day jobs and it was not  fair of us to ask members to respond by a 500PM publishing deadline.  Therefore, School Superintendent Dr. Steve Patz and those elected school board members who have not responded to the story are welcome to comment.  Ms. Marquerite Dargiewicz a teacher’s union representative and Art teacher at Ben Franklin and Country Dale Elementary Schools was also given the opportunity to respond to our story.   At this writing we have not heard from Ms. Dargiewicz.

Here are the emails we received from Evans and Nielson.

From: Evans, Janet (Janet.Evans@Franklin.k12.wi.us)

Dear Mr. Keller,

Regarding your reference to what went on in the audience, Board members sit in the front of the room and I did not hear the conversation your parent said transpired, so I will not comment on it.

As far as the discussion on the Employee Handbook and benefits, I have studied the handbook. Dr. Mueller (Human Resources Director) was not present at this meeting as she was at a conference. Health insurance is due to be reviewed in January. I would prefer changes would occur prior to January. I believe we should have implemented changes last July.

I am of the opinion some of the remarks made directly to Mr. Nielson by Mrs. Bialk regarding the fact that he has not been on the Board long enough to address insurance were condescending. I also brought up the topic with Dr. Patz that he had given the impression to the Board that it is "punitive" to make some of the changes to benefits that other districts have been making, and I didn't feel it was right as leader of the district for him to do this. The Board is going to need to consider making changes and if he is saying it is punitive it doesn't help the situation.  He insisted it was punitive and that some districts are just making change because they "can."  I maintain changes to insurance benefits are something we "can" do to save money.

There was some discussion about including staff in discussions on benefits.  I'm curious as to whether Board members might be included in a discussion or two on benefits. What I do know is no "negotiating" is allowed regarding benefits since Act 10.

This process (or lack thereof) has been painfully long, and in the end, painful for the taxpayer.  After the meeting on the 30th I am left wondering if some would rather consider cutting staff and programs rather than what some might consider perks. Certain Board members consistently state they are there for the students, yet appear to not want to make the hard decisions when it comes to benefits so more funding can go where it belongs - to education.  Keep in mind, there hasn't been a vote on "benefits."

Regards,

Janet Evans

School Board Member

* * * *

From: Nielson, Tim (Tim.Nielson@Franklin.k12.wi.us)

Fred:

I am compelled to explain myself a little bit here...While the situation may have been personally uncomfortable for me (who wants to be the center of negative attention?) I can't go so far as to concur with the comments I was shut down. I had plenty fo time to state my case. Judith had an opinion to express and she got the chance to do so. It wasn't argumentative. It was civil. Her and I may disagree on how many sick days per year is enough but that's OK.

Dr. Patz also expressed his opinion at the meeting and to the Board in that we (the Board) should be careful before implementing any policies that will take away benefits "just to take them away". I can appreciate that position and I can assure you and anyone who will read this that this has never been my intent.

I spent hours reviewing the Distict's handbook and wanted to have a substantive conversation about some options that may need to be explored in the upcoming budget. I used the word "proposal" with my Board colleagues which I feel was taken as an action word so I think they, as well as the people in the audience, were expecting a whole host of motions to be made for Board consideration. I recognized this while I was speaking and even addressed this in the meeting.

The benefits topic of discussion is one that strikes to the core for District employees and I completely understand that. I am not spending my free time trying to find creative ways to limit the benefits the District offers. I am merely attempting to take my business background and infuse that kind of budgetary thinking into how we can best run the District financially. It doesn't all have to do with cuts but rather efficiencies. I am not even suggesting the District is inefficient but how else can we continue to improve on how the District is run if conversations like these are not taking place? Uncomfortable, sure. But people that know me also know I can be reasonble too. I absolutely want to retain the best talent we can to teach our kids as I feel we have wonderful programs in place. The District's future is bright.

With regard to the comment if I have children in the district...I do. My two daughters are wonderful, bright, & get excellent grades. I have never had a negative comment from teachers or other staff made towards them...at least that got back to me. They volunteer and are leaders. I am not sure why an inquiry like that was made (if it was made) and I do not have a comment with regard to it.

Regards,

Tim Nielson

 School Board Member

Franklin Public Schools

Update on Friday, December 9, 2011 at 9:03 AM by Basil Ryan

To-date we have not heard from Superintendent Steve Patz, School Board president Debbie Larson, Vice president, Jeff Traylor or the balance of the Franklin School Board members or Ms. Marquerite Dargiewicz a teacher’s union representative and Art teacher at Ben Franklin and Country Dale Elementary Schools.

For those of you interested in a response from your elected representatives, as-well-as Franklin Public Schools teacher Marquerite Dargiewicz,  Patz can be reached at 529-8230 and Marquerite Dargiewicz at 525-5042. Click here for a list of school board members’ email addresses.  Disrespectful?

Did Franklin School Teacher and Union Rep Threaten School Board Member's Kids?

We received this information via email yesterday from a Franklin parent and taxpayer who attended the November 30 Franklin School Board Meeting:

I attended the last Franklin School Board Meeting and happened to sit near “Margaret” who I understood to be the local union president representing Franklin teachers.  [further research by this publication revealed this individual to be Marquerite Dargiewicz an Art teacher at Ben Franklin and Country Dale Elementary Schools].

During school board member Tim Nielson’s presentation concerning the update to the Teacher’s Handbook, I learned that Franklin teachers accrue 12 paid sick days per year.  I also learned that up to 120 days of unused paid sick days can be “banked” and paid-out at retirement.

Mr. Nielson,  who I understand is a small businessman, mentioned that no one [I assumed he meant in the private sector] gets that sort of benefit, and suggested a number of alternatives before being shut down by both School  Superintendent Steve Patz and board member Judith (anything for our teachers) Bialk.  I then heard “Margaret” ask a Franklin teacher “Does he[Neilson] have any kids in our school system?”  When the teacher replied “Yes,” they both chuckled.

As the meeting continued, I felt that both [Ms.] Bialk and [Dr.] Patz were trying to intimidate [Mr. Nielson] by suggesting, how do you expect to keep good teachers?  [Like those teaching the kids in this video?]

Bialk was definately trolling for the teacher votes.

Thanks to the McIver Institute for this video.

Dr. Patz, Marquerite  Dargiewicz and each school board member were offered the opportunity to comment on this story prior to its Tuesday, December 6, 5:00PM publishing.