I am Supervisor Baker and I represent the residents of the northwest corner of the Village of Kronenwetter on the Marathon County Board. District 23 extends from the Wisconsin River on the west, Village Way and County XX on the north, County X and XX on the East, and Happy Hollow Road and Bull Junior Creek on the South.
When we moved our family back to Central Wisconsin in 1993, after 7 years in the Chicago area, we chose to live in Kronenwetter, send our children to the Mosinee school system, and start our business in Wausau. We love it here in Marathon County and have never regretted the decision to live here.
This is my first term as a County Board Supervisor, being elected to the Board in April 2022 when a significant number of new Supervisors were elected, many of whom had more conservative views than the Supervisors that they replaced. During my campaign, I promised to work hard for my constituents and I believe that I have kept and am keeping that promise.
I have been a leader in our efforts to stop the recent dramatic increase in our County’s debt and to reduce the substantial property tax increases that were proposed this year and last year. I have supported my fellow Supervisors’ recent successful efforts to pass the Opposition to COVID Mandates resolution. As a member of the EEED committee, I have been following and providing support to our citizen’s grass roots efforts to ensure that our County Libraries are a safe space for our children. I have also worked on the effort to define the County’s proper role in solving our current child care shortage and was the author of the Childcare resolution currently under consideration.
Our efforts have resulted in a significant amount of recent press coverage, include coverage of my efforts to reduce the proposed 2024 property tax increase of 5.7% to down to around 2.9% (October 17th Tribune Phonograph), coverage of the proposed childcare resolution (October 18th Record Review, WPR, and WPR), and coverage (WPR, WAOW, and WSAU) of my request to delay funding of the HVAC system at the MCPL Headquarters to give us time to consider options. It is my opinion that much of this coverage was reasonably fair and accurate, but, in my opinion, the initial coverage of my library HVAC email was very misleading and lacked context. An upcoming article on this site will provide background information including my original email and some of the internal responses and discussion which apparently led to the initial library article so that you have the information to decide for yourself if the initial article provided fair and accurate reporting.
With the vast array of County Boards, Standing Committees, Subcommittees, Commissions, Task Forces, and Workgroups, it can be overwhelming for citizens (and Board members) to stay informed of the many issues and proposals that impact our County residents. It is my intent that this blog will provide a concise summary of these issues and proposals with links to relevant agenda, packets, and video to provide an accurate view of our County Government. My articles will provide analysis and insights focused primarily on Marathon County and specifically on Marathon County Government.
I have plans for a short “Words Matter” series, as well as multiple articles on the County’s use of debt, the County Budget and Financial Statements, and the County’s desire and efforts to raise taxes. My plans also include articles on the County’s work to update the Big Eau Pleine aeration system and the efforts to provide a new ice rink. I supported the aeration project and am continuing to provide my technical expertise to the project on a volunteer basis. I have expressed my support for the proposed ice rink – as long as the County’s contribution is limited to 15% of the project construction and operational costs.
Due to Wisconsin Open Meeting Laws and Public Records Laws, I am not providing an option to leave comments on this blog. Please feel free to contact me with questions, ideas, or feedback using the contact information provided on the County website. The opinions expressed in this blog are my opinions and do not represent the opinions of the Board as a whole and of other individual Supervisors.