Mayor Emily Berge | Mayor Emily Berge Official Website
Mayor Emily Berge | Mayor Emily Berge Official Website
CITY UPDATES:
State of the City: We completed an annual tradition of sharing updates from the City, as part of the Chamber-hosted “State of the City” event. Council President Emily Berge, Deputy City Manager Dave Solberg, and I shared some work the City has been doing to carry out our core mission and values, including in these areas:
- Growth: President Berge shared information about our rapid growth in population, development, and business. She talked about how we work hard to balance quality of life and growth, so that we can continue to be a place people love living.
- Stewardship: Deputy City Manager Dave Solberg talked about how we take seriously a mission of “stewardship”, which is the careful and responsible management of the City’s infrastructure, finances, safety, and community trust. Our focus on stewardship has involved maintaining our physical assets, but also making changes to increase our fiscal stability, shore up our core administrative systems, invest in our employees, and protect and preserve our ecosystem and climate. (Pictured below is a slide from the presentation that shows some of the trainings and events the CIty has undertaken to support staff.)
- Keeping our Community Safe and Healthy: I shared more information about how we work on our mission of ensuring each person in our community is safe, healthy, and happy. Our public safety staff are the ones who preserve our peace of mind, and we must also work to keep them safe and healthy as they do very difficult jobs. We try to take support roles (or, if needed, leadership roles) on other major challenges, such as addressing the crisis in mental health for teens.
- Community Services Operations Coordinator, Cory Tietz, shared how the City is building out an Asset Management tool that allows us to better manage all of the many different types of assets we have, from playground swing to parking ramp.
- Neighborhood Services Supervisor Phil Lubke talked about how we are building a division that focuses on enforcement of City ordinances related to quality of life, including trash and parking.
- Engineering Director Leah Ness shared how different Departments work to create state-of-the art trails and parks that people love to use.
- Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Team Lead Anoosheh Hamzehee, talked about how we are working to remove barriers that prevent people from feeling welcome in the community.
- Utilities Manager Ben Spanel explained how we are addressing and mitigating PFAS pollutants.
- Deputy Fire Chief Jon Schultz talked about our Emergency Medical Response in the region, including about how it has been impacted by the hospital closure.
- Billie Hufford talked about what we are trying to do to tackle housing challenges.
To view the full presentation, please see this link: State of the City - Eau Claire Visuals
New Fire Recruits: The most recent class of Fire Department recruits came through the City Manager’s Office this week, and we were delighted to see them! The Fire Department has been collaborating with CVTC to employ students who are still in paramedic training. They get on-the-job experience while also learning more about the technical aspects of being an emergency responder. The recruit class is pictured below with me and Deputy Chief Tony Biasi.
Neighborhood Leadership Summit: On Saturday, February 3rd, the Eau Claire Neighborhood Association (ECNA) hosted a Neighborhood Leadership Summit. Members of the JONAH organization were invited to share leadership skills with Eau Claire residents. Participants included existing Neighborhood Association (NA) leadership, members, people not currently active in their NA, and residents considering starting a NA. Participants were very engaged in the summit, and they provided ideas for future summits. To learn more about existing NAs or how to start a NA visit https://www.eauclairewi.gov/government/our-divisions/planning/neighborhoods. The group attending the summit is pictured in discussions below.
HSHS/Prevea Closure Impact Data: A Health Department Epidemiologist, Rachel Makai, has used publicly available data to create a visualization of the impact of the closures on residents’ access to care. She used data from the following sources: WHA Information Center (WHA Info Center - Data Sets), Wisconsin Department of Health Services (Home | Wisconsin Department of Health Services), and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Hospital Capacity Dataset (COVID-19 Reported Patient Impact and Hospital Capacity by Facility | HealthData.gov)
Key points from her analysis include:
- Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s accounted for approximately 30 percent of total hospitalizations in 2022 in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls.
- Sacred Heart and St. Joseph’s saw a larger proportion of hospitalizations of people receiving medical assistance or BadgerCare in 2022, indicating a potential for greater impact among populations with other barriers.
- Sacred Heart has been one of the larger birthing hospitals in the area, accounting for 44 percent (754) of births among Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls hospitals in 2022.
- St. Joseph’s has provided the majority of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse (AODA) care in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls, with 1,134 AODA discharges in 2022.
- The following are the reported net incomes for the major providers in 2022:
- Sacred Heart: -$61,738,326
- St. Joseph’s: -$6,236,672
- Mayo: $186,419
- Marshfield: -$44,303,697
- Oakleaf Surgical: $37,177,134
- Staffed inpatient hospital beds at Sacred Heart were at 95 percent usage in 2022 and 84 percent usage in 2022-2023, as indicated in the chart below.
At the meeting, speakers shared information and answered questions about:
- The history of the Refugee Admissions Program;
- How people participating in the program are selected for resettlement and vetted prior to moving;
- What countries people are coming from and where they are placed in the United States;
- How employers are working with refugees and immigrants; and
- How World Relief can continue to work with area leaders and the community to provide regular updates.
- USRAP Overview Presentation
- US Refugee Admissions Program
Urban Forests Programs: The City’s forester, Matthew Staudenmaier, will be a featured presenter at one of two events related to trees that the Library will be hosting in April as part of its One Book, One Community program. The events are as follows, and you can register for them here: www.ecpubliclibrary.info/onebook.
- Urban Forests: The Forest Outside of Your Door, Thursday, April 11th, 6 to 7PM: Most trees in the urban forest are growing in people’s yards, yet the services they provide are shared by the whole community. The event will explore an overview of exactly what urban forestry is and the benefits trees have to offer.
- Who Tends the Trees? An Essential Conversation with Our City Forester, Saturday, April 27th, 10 to 11:30AM: Join bestselling author Nickolas Butler for an engaging conversation with the City of Eau Claire’s Forester and ISA Certified Arborist Matt Staudenmaier about one of our community’s most precious assets: our trees.
SHOUT-OUT
Council Meeting Creative Problem Solving: The City Manager’s Office wants to give a shout out to our friends in the IT Department. We have been struggling to figure out how to handle Council meetings when we expect that we may need overflow space. That occurs when the Chamber fills up, and there’s not enough room for more attendees. When this has happened in the past, we have to set up the North Conference Room, which has taken quite a bit of effort by both the Custodial Staff and the IT Department. Sometimes we do this work, but then we don’t end up needing to use the room, which is demoralizing. Matt and Nate from the IT Department did some exceptional problem solving for us. They figured out a way to have the monitors in both the lobby and the North Conference room simulcast the Council Meetings with the flip of a switch. This set up makes accommodating overflow much easier. This kind of problem solving makes all of our lives easier. Thank you, Matt and Nate! Matt is pictured here in front of the lobby monitor.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Library Hours
Question: “Before the pandemic, the Library had Sunday hours from 1 to 5PM during the school year. Is there any chance of reviving the Sunday hours?”
Answer: Library Director Nancy Kerr shared this response: “Because of the different service areas that need to be covered, it takes significant staffing to open the Library. At most libraries, Sundays are the busiest day, so while we know there’s a demand, we also know that we would need to fully staff the hours open. The Library is wrapping up a Strategic Planning process, though, and it’s a good time to consider hours. We have just completed a study of how staff spend their time. Next, we’re going to carry out a space usage study to see what our traffic looks like at specific times of days. Hypothetically, if it looks like there are four hours during the week that we could cut, we could then look at using those hours instead on Sunday afternoons. All that is to say, we are open to considering Sundays and are doing some research to see how that might work without spending more money in a tight budget environment.”
Wild Turkeys
Question: “I walk in my neighborhood, and have been chased three times by three male turkeys that have been chasing people on North Eddy Street. I understand they have even bitten a person and have chased a biker for a couple of blocks. Isn’t there something that can be done to protect our neighborhood for these aggressive birds?”
Answer: City staff responded: “The DNR handles issues related to wild animals and animals with a hunting season. Referral to the DNR and a warden is the correct call. All the City can advise is avoidance. Turkeys are notoriously stubborn and will not always move for you, or even a car.” A group of Eau Claire turkeys is pictured below.
Funding for Non-Profits
Question: “Is the City able to help non-profits who need funding, such as the recent requests from the Wellness Shack, the Children’s Museum, and others?”
Answer: Staff responded: “The City budgets for City service delivery on an annual basis, and that funding covers expenses such as salaries, supplies, equipment, and fleet maintenance. We don’t have any easy mechanism to fund organizations that come to us with needs. It would require us to cut service in another area, which is very challenging. We are also looking for funding for needs that have already been identified, such as help for a Day Resource Center and funding for a Library Security Guard or Resource/Referral person. A very limited amount of money is given out in the form of Community Development Block Grant funding, and applications for this funding are due this spring (see: Community Development Block Grant | City of Eau Claire, Wisconsin (eauclairewi.gov). The City’s extreme fiscal constraints, caused largely by the limits that municipalities have in Wisconsin to raise revenue, generally prevent the City from providing help in areas beyond our core functions.”
Financial Well Being Debt Policy
Question: After our recent State of the City, a local banker wrote us these questions: “What is our current and projected budget and financial situation – in light of growth we have seen in both expenses and services, in light of the public safety referendum financing, and in light of current debt load and debt service? What will we do if growth slows or falls, given how tight the budget is? What is our current debt service?” Pictured below is a slide from the presentation that outlines some of the fiscal stability steps we are taking.
Answer: Our Finance Director shared this response: “From an operational perspective, if the construction growth stopped in our city, we have a targeted approach that would have to be prioritized by Council to scale down services and eliminate programs. When there is no growth, we do not receive a cost-of-living increase for our budget, yet the expenditures continue to rise. We have been austere for multiple years, which has helped.
On the capital side, if growth stops, that impacts our equalized value and borrowing capacity. Reduced borrowing capacity means a reduction in streets we can pave, equipment we can replace, etc. Other avenues have to be looked at to pay for repairs, such as increasing paid parking to pay for the parking structure repairs.
Both of these areas can also be combated with a referendum, consolidating services with other municipalities, reducing levels of service, or a combination of the above. We continually look for grants and areas to save money while still having amazing growth.
This is a very broad and direct overview, as a municipal budget is complex, and multiple adjustments can be made internally to minimize impacts to services. We are evaluating this in an updated long-term fiscal strategy that will identify other levers that can be pulled in these scenarios. I have inherited a strong fiscal picture. We have fared better than other municipalities, and I am confident in our direction.
Our debt service is currently at 13.31 percent of our revenues, so at a good target. The interest costs were larger in 2023, and I forecast this year’s to be high as well. We will see a steady increase in debt service with our larger capital maintenance items over the next five years. This year, PFAS was a big expense, and soon we will incur a large expense for replacement of parking structures. We move other smaller items to accommodate big projects and to keep this percentage lower. I look more towards a five-year average of debt issuance and look to provide the City Manager and Council with an average spending target, all while looking at capacity and planning for larger-ticket items and keeping the mill rate as low as possible for the taxpayers over a 10- to 20-year plan.
The Local Vehicle Registration Fee is one item that assisted the City with the increasing costs of street repairs and cost of debt issuance. We also work with legislative offices. Council President Emily Berge is also the President of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, so with a strong staff and leaders, we advocate at the State level for fiscal reform.”
EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHTS: We have the best employees! Get to know one of them this week. (And submit your suggestion for an employee to spotlight here…)
We are pleased to announce Telecommunicator Brittany Bowe has been promoted to Communications Center Supervisor. Brittany joined the Eau Claire Police Department in October 2020 after serving as a Correctional Officer for the Eau Claire County Sheriff’s Office. Brittany is a member of the Certified Training Officer program and serves as the Co-Coordinator of the Department’s Peer Support program.
A co-worker shared this quote about Brittany:
“Brittany is a natural leader for her team that displays a great understanding of the telecommunicator position, while demonstrating pride in her work through providing the best customer service to callers and all agencies served. She has become instrumental to the Department’s success by her involvement with the Comm Center training program, as well as the Department’s peer support team. She is a person her team can approach at any time to receive genuine assistance, compassion, and guidance.”
- Your Job: “I have been with the Communications Center as a Dispatcher since October 2020. I am member of the CTO program, the Co-Coordinator of the Department Peer Support Team and most recently, the newest member of the Supervisor team.”
- What People May Not Know: “I am expecting my second daughter in about four weeks (due date March 11th).”
- Favorite Activities: “Volleyball, crafting, making chocolate covered strawberries.”
- Best Part about Working for the City: “Helping others in their time of need, and the unpredictable nature of the job. Also, no two days are ever the same.”
- Life Philosophy: “Be the change you wish to see in the world” “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted”
- Monday, February 19th, 4PM, Library River Room: ZPAC Meeting – Districts & Uses
- Monday, February 26th, 7PM, Council Chambers: Council Public Hearing/Discussion Night
- Tuesday, February 27th, 4PM, Council Chambers: Council Meeting
- Monday, March 11th, 7PM, Council Chambers: Council Public Hearing/Discussion Night
- Tuesday, March 12th, 4PM, Council Chambers: Council Meeting
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