Politics & Government

Mayor Neitzke Looks Back, Ahead

Pleased with redevelopment of city, fears economic recovery won't happen fast enough.

Editor's note: Greenfield Patch editor David Cotey sat down with Greenfield Mayor Michael Neitzke to discuss the city's successes of 2010 and the challenges that 2011 could bring.

Greenfield Patch: Looking back at 2010, what would you define as the city's biggest success. What were some highlights the city enjoyed?

Michael Neitzke: Since 2008, things have been extremely challenging for the city. Just as most people are adversely affected by the economy, so is the city. But last year was the first year that the tax base in the city declined. That's not any different than any other community. We still have aggressively looked for new business. The big Pick N' Save is going in on 76th and Coldspring. The new (Wal-Mart) super center is planned for Highway 100 and Layton. Froedtert is looking at building on Highway 100.  Ultimate Electronics picked Greenfield for its first Wisconsin location.

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You see other things happening that show that Greenfield is a good place to do business, which is a good thing long run for the tax base. Highway 100 is going to scrape and rebuild. The old Solid Gold McDonald's is going to scrape and rebuild. And those are positive things. The days of development happening in a cornfield and waiting for houses to go up around it are tempered for at least the foreseeable immediate and long-term future.

Greenfield Patch: What was the biggest challenge the city faced during the last year?

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Neitzke: It's money. It's always money, but it was really money last year. I come from the private sector – that's what I did before I was mayor. When our sales were down, or when money was tight, we had certain luxuries, whether it was laying off people or reorganizing or whatever it was. The public sector is very much different. The services that you provide are vital. Of the roughly 200 employees that we have, roughly 80 are police related and roughly 60 are fire related. Those are services that have to be there seven days a week, 24 hours a day. You can't just say I'm not going to have a third shift of police officers. We still have elections that we have to do by state law. Certain clerks' offices are required – you have to have those folks. You still have to have people in the health department making sure your restaurants are safe. You still have to have people in the finance department making sure the money is going where it's supposed to go. You still have to have folks that take care of the infrastructure and plow your streets so you can get to work. All those things, you have to provide. In respect to that, we have worked very, very hard to run the city like a business, but it's tough.

Greenfield Patch: What do you foresee as the major issues facing the city in 2011?

Neitzke: This year, this budget, it was again money, focusing on what we have to do and getting it done with more limited resources than we ever had. Beginning in 2011, in January and February, we'll immediately begin looking at the 2012 budgets because when you make changes and you make cuts, you don't do them overnight. It takes careful planning to make sure that services aren't interrupted, to make sure contingencies are met, so people continue to get the kinds of services they expect.

Greenfield Patch: What are some of the things you hope to see the city accomplish in 2011?

Neitzke: From a big picture, you really hope that things start to stabilize. The city isn't in a vacuum. All the other cities and villages are going through the same kinds of things, but if the economy could start to stabilize, job creation, all the big issues you hear about – if those things start turning around, that's a good thing for us; that's a good thing for everybody. My fear is that those things won't happen quickly enough. It seems like it will be a long process to try to recover. Locally, we want to make sure that the tax base is secure, that good services continue to be provided, which enhances the values of the properties here, that we continue to aggressively look at new development and redevelopment, because that's the best way to assure that the tax base will be stabilized.

Greenfield Patch: Over the last few years, the city has seen a lot of revitalization. Your term does not expire until 2013, so what are some long-term goals you'd like to see tackled in that time?

Neitzke: We don't have any more long-term (building) projects or goals. Many things, for instance, the library, our old library was one of the busiest libraries in the system, but the day it was put in the ground it was undersized (no basement). It was obsolete the moment it was built. We managed to recycle the old police department into a library for about $4 million, which is less than most other communities are looking at for additions to their libraries. … But since we've done it, just like the other buildings we've done in the city, that stuff is done and it's done for a very long time. We managed to do it at interest rates that were in the twos and threes. We were extremely conservative. We managed to basically have all our bricks and mortar needs done at extremely low interest rates and extremely low prices.


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