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Candidate Viewpoint of the Day: March 25, 2019

Welcome to our “Candidate Viewpoint of the Day” series, showcasing the Fond du Lac City Council Candidates and their viewpoints on important issues in our community. Each day through April 1, we’ll feature a different question along with the candidate’s responses. All six City Council candidates have been invited to participate. For more information on the candidate and their viewpoints, please click on their name to visit their social media site.

Question 1: What do you see as potential hurdles/obstacles for growth in our community and how will you approach these situations?

Daniel DegnerSafety concerns along with consistent property tax increases. By making Fond du Lac a safer community through placing restrictions on where convicted sex offenders of minors can live in proximity to schools we will encourage families to move to our city. When families look at moving to a community they often look at the property taxes. By maintaining and decreasing our property taxes we will incentivize families to move to our city.

Brian Kolstad: Our biggest challenge is workforce development. While many of our local manufacturers are expanding, we will be facing a significant employee turnover as skilled workers reach retirement age. Giving people a reason to stay in or move to Fond du Lac involves just about every aspect of local government, from public safety to revitalizing our downtown. I will continue to support our downtown’s Business Improvement Grants, park development, and expanding pedestrian/bike path as well as ensuring that our police, fire/rescue and public works departments have the resources they need to provide necessary services and grow a safe community.

Derek TerBeestWhile low unemployment is great for citizens looking for a job, it’s hard for local employers to find enough workers. More low-wage jobs aren’t what will bring in the workers we need. Economic development priorities and incentives must be shifted to attract medium and high income employers if we want to see growth. We also need to utilize our state and county resources for job training for our current workforce. As a City Council Representative, I’d make sure that we align our economic development priorities towards high-impact employers and necessary local services.

Jim Lorrigan: Right now in Fond du Lac we have a labor shortage. While we keep having an excess of jobs in the area, we are struggling to keep them staffed. This problem is stifling many businesses ability to grow. I think it is is important for our city to partner with different organizations and find ways to bring in more young skilled workers to our community.