Front Page
STEADY AS SHE GOES
The new ‘captain’ at the titular helm of Lake Geneva’s ‘ship of state is Todd Krause. He cannot, however, be in every place at once, nor does he have the power of a true ship’s captain. He must respect and be well aware of the city alderpersons and even some of the more powerful appointed members of the city government. He cannot command the police and fire commission nor fire any of its members. The personnel committee is being revived from the shadows it came to rest under the leadership of the former rulers of Lake Geneva.
The position Todd holds is that of what’s called a ‘weak’ mayor. The majority of the city council voting must approve most moves the mayor in such a situation makes or orders that he gives. Even the appointments he makes must be confirmed by the council. Who is on this council that gives any appearance of going along with Todd, at least until he’s in office for a while, and can either prove himself or…something else.
Sherri Ames beat the former Diner person and is a big fan of Todd. Mary Jo Fesenmaier won her re-election and is also a fan. The third council person seemingly leaning Todd’s way or in his corner would be Linda Frame who wasn’t running for office this time around. That leaves Joel ‘that really is my hair’ Hoiland, and Shari ‘I’m still hanging on’ Straube.
That is five of the eight sitting on the council. The other three alderpersons would be the ‘swing’ votes: Howell, Cindy Yager, and Peg Esposito, with all three mostly leaning toward Todd’s success. It would appear, that given that kind of support, even lacking much of anything from the city administrator, the building inspector, the city attorney, or the rest, would allow Todd the running row to right the ship, aim its new direction, set the course and ring down to the engine room: “steady as she goes, all ahead slow and easy.”
What’s coming at all of them?
Hillmoor and what to do with the huge tract of land, and then how to pay for what’s to be done? The new Symphony Bay phase (rumored to be 400 homes, or about ten percent of all the homes existing in the city), would bring great mounds of money in several forms but then also cost great mounds of money…not to ignore the fact that the local population would grow by another few thousand people. The big highway project is coming that will tear through the heart of Lake Geneva like an aortic dissection, and then a slow-coming resection with an attempt to resuscitate at the end.
Trouble this way comes in 2027, or even sooner. The highest wages for the people in the highest appointed positions in the city have gone up about ten percent per year for the last three years if not more in some cases. How is Todd to fix that mess of overpayment engineered by his former? He can’t exactly, council support or not, go backwards and pay these people less. The former leadership commissioned a bogus survey company to support outlandish pay rates, but it was done in such a fashion that it became a problem hard to draw back from.
Will the municipal building become less dark, dank, and waiting for the fall of night under Todd’s leadership? Will he be able to reel in public works so that place, resembling a prison yard, is based in the municipal building and not in a pillbox office down there in the bowels of the industrial portion of the city? Will Todd want to? These unknowns could be, with a little modification of wording and events, revealed and questioned following just about any change in city leadership.
This last change was a huge pivoting change, however, and the results of that change will trickle, rather than landslide in. One more, almost quiet so far, problem that is going to land on Todd’s plate is the problem of short-term rentals. All of Europe, like Hawaii in the U.S. is beginning to move against all short-term rental ownership with good reason, as property prices have skyrocketed and neighborhoods have ben decimated, losing all traditional character.