What I will bring to the Grand Chute Town Board is respect for residents. I will:

• Work with residents to find better alternatives to using dangerously high special assessments to fund road reconstruction and improvement project.  Families can’t be expected to pay tens-of-thousands of dollars to fund road projects, and neither can small businesses.  In many cases, property owners are being charged special assessment levies that are more than 20 – 30 times higher than the Town portion of their annual property tax bills.  Appleton, Neenah and other area communities found solutions that protect their families and small businesses from dangerously high special assessments.  By involving residents in the process of finding solutions, we can also do a much better job for all concerned.

• Stop the practice of forced urbanization projects.  Property owners should not be forced to connect to a municipal water and sewer system if they don’t view it as a benefit.  Similarly, street lights, curb and gutter, and other municipal facilities should not be forced upon families where these facilities are not wanted, especially as it involves rural parts of the Town.  In too many cases existing urbanization is being forced on existing residents as a “stepping stone” to bring municipal services to future development areas.  In other words, existing residents are being ‘used’ to financially subsidize future development projects.  This practice is inappropriate and needs to be stopped.

• Address water and drainage problems.  Water and drainage problems have long been a problem in our Town, but the problem is getting worse because of inadequate planning and oversight connected with new development.  Homes in new subdivisions should not be experiencing wet basements and flooded yards.  Existing residents located nearby to new subdivisions are also experiencing water problems due to filling and grading practices that are raising the grade of new subdivisions well above the grade of existing homes.  This is occurring due to improper planning, and /or proper oversight. 
  
  Existing natural drain-ways also need to be properly maintained in order prevent drainage back-ups that are creating new wetlands in areas that were not previously wetlands.  And finally, we need to come to the realization that not all parts of our Town can be developed – at least not to the degree of density that is being allowed at present.  Density regulations that may be okay for one part of our Town are not proper for other parts of the Town.  Flooding problems are being experienced, in part, because this necessary distinction is not being honored.

• Support and encourage functions and activities we are doing well as a Town.  Grand Chute is blessed with a terrific public safety department.  Our police and fire departments are doing a great job in an increasingly difficult working environment.  Leadership in both departments have worked hard to develop and maintain high standards of professionalism.  Both our police department and fire department are accredited in their fields of service, which is a testimony to the excellence they aspire to in serving our citizenry.  Earning accreditation status places both departments among an elite group of public safety departments in our entire state of Wisconsin.  Our police department is accredited by the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Accreditation Group (WILEAG), and our fire department is accredited by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI).
  
  I have also had the pleasure of working with some of our Department of Public Works and Park Department field staff and have found them to be professional and good to work with.  We can be pleased with, and proud of, the work they are doing on behalf of our community.

Ron Wolff for Grand Chute, Supervisor #1
Paid for by Wolff for Grand Chute, Ron Wolff Treasurer