Mayor remains goal-oriented, pursues perfection

Mayor Jeff Scrima likes to compare the City of Waukesha to a big family.

With his first full year as mayor coming to a close this week, how does he view this 'family' after an eventful 12 months in and out of City Hall?

Waukesha NOW talked with Scrima last week for a year-in-review questions-and-answer where he looked back at some of the key decisions that were made in 2011, the hot topics that had Common Council meetings packed and his outlook for 2012.

As the mayor, what are you most proud of from 2011?

The Waukesha family has much to be proud of and celebrate this year. We've reached out to businesses, we've grown jobs in the city, for the second year in a row we've produced a responsible budget. Our water evaluation is currently being evaluated by the DNR - the authority on that issue. We had a number of accomplishments this year. Waukesha was named in the 100 Best Communities for Young People, our Park and Rec won the prestigious Gold Medal award and our library was named the Library of the Year. It's been a good year and we have even better things to look forward to in 2012.

What does that say about the city when it wins awards like that?

The awards are an objective measure of how the city is doing compared to cities across the state and across the nation. None of these things would be possible without extremely dedicated department directors, staff and citizens who support these programs and work together for the common good of the city.

Are you confident the city can maintain this status?

Yeah, we're going to go above and beyond. It's amazing what we can accomplish when we put our petty differences aside, work together and treat each other like we would want to be treated.

This year was your first full year on the job. Do you feel that you accomplished your goals you set out for this year?

Yes and I'm going to frame this in a way I've spoken about before: Happy families are all alike. They have meaningful work, responsible finances, reliable systems and clear goals. In the same way, since cities are similar to larger families, happy cities have meaningful work, responsible finances, reliable systems and clear goals. My focus, as mayor, centers around those items providing meaningful work to our citizens, providing responsible finances through a responsible budget process, making sure we have reliable systems and infrastructure and then also laying out clear goals which are measurable and ongoing. We can always do a better job, and we need to relentlessly pursue perfection.

The water negotiations were a hot topic this year. What's the status of those negotiations?

It's a very comprehensive process. It will likely take several years before we reach the final outcome. The science shows there are a variety of solutions. The science shows there are Lake Michigan solutions and the science shows there are non-Lake Michigan solutions. Whatever our solution ends up being, it comes down to cost. What is it going to cost Waukesha families? What is it going to cost Waukesha businesses? If in years down the road, the City of Waukesha becomes the most expensive place to live, regarding property taxes and regarding water bills, will that be an incentive for families and businesses to remain here or move here? So that's our focus being as clear and direct in the cost part of it as possible.

You've already talked with Oak Creek and Racine. But what about Milwaukee?

Should the diversion request go through, we have identified three supply cities and we've been in communication with all three of them preparing and seeking the best possible deal for Waukesha families.

But you've had no formal talks with Milwaukee like the others?

Nothing formal.

You presented the convention center idea to the community and business owners during the summer. What were the results of the feasibility study?

The feasibility study is complete and the results have come back and look promising. The land owners have informed us that they want to move forward and further explore this opportunity. It is truly an opportunity for our city to utilize the previous investments this city has made with the beautiful River Walk, the Frame Park area, the Transit Center and the renaissance we have going on downtown with the number of fun events. We have a number of new businesses opening downtown, so we believe the synergy already exists for a successful midsize convention center and hotel. And the comprehensive feasibility study that was undertaken also shows that the opportunity exists, so we will be continuing those discussions into 2012.

So what's next then?

The ball is in the land owners' court. These projects need to be driven and primarily financed by the private sector. That is our requirement, and we are here to assist them in being successful. If we're able to bring that type of investment to our downtown and that type of activity there will be a huge economic boost to the city. We would be cycling in and out of our downtown hundreds and thousands of visitors every week that currently don't come to Waukesha and they're going to bring their families, they're going to bring their friends, they're going to buy gas in our gas stations, they're going to shop in our stores, they're going to visit our restaurants. It will be a great economic engine for us to add to Waukesha. It holds tremendous promise for the future prosperity of the city.

The city has lost more than 120 years of experience from various city jobs this year? Does losing all that experience/leadership worry you?

Well, we have been very blessed. We have some amazing public servants serving here in Waukesha. Certainly, our Fire Chief (Allen) LaConte and our Library Director (Jane) Ameel are two of our finest, and I had the privilege with presenting them with key to the city awards this last week to recognize their outstanding contributions to our community. So we're grateful to them and they'll be missed. At the same time, an organization the size of Waukesha, we have 527 full-time employees, it's always a revolving door. We have employees retire and then we have new employees coming in. Fortunately in both the cases of the fire department and the library, and actually all of our departments, the directors have done a good job in training people up under them to be able to fill the roles that they may be vacating.

The budget was what almost everyone was talking about at the end of the year. Describe what this year's budget process was like for you?

The budget process was more complex this year. Because of the significant changes in Madison, the gap we faced was larger. We immediately started throwing out alternative solutions. The solutions that were presented … none of them were perfect. However, through the process we were able to have open two-way communication, not only with our residents but also with the staff and the council. It was a collaborative effort and at the end of the process we were successful. We presented an extremely responsible budget to the Waukesha families. Most households will see zero or very little tax increase, which given the circumstances is a good outcome.

Had you hoped it went quicker and smoother with no veto?

In this case, as similar to last year I knew we could do a better job this year. I presented multiple solutions for us to bridge our gap and at the end of the process we came within $61,000 out of a $51 million operating budget in meeting our zero percent goal. We will never stop asking how can we deliver better value to our citizens next year by creating new efficiencies today. It's an ongoing effort. We have the determination to make sure that we continue to provide better value to the Waukesha families.

One of those initial solutions was the garbage fee. While that brought out a lot of negative feedback, do you still feel a Pay as You Throw system is best. Will you revisit that in 2012?

The Pay as you Throw program is used widely throughout Wisconsin and widely throughout the country. It does provide benefits in equity among the property classes; it provides benefits in the environment and provides benefits for the economy and long-term financial savings. So I believe it will be something we take a close look at in the coming years and that doesn't necessarily mean that there will be a change to people's tax bills or the amount that they pay to the city, because there are a number of things that go into our budget along with the garbage removal costs.

The city administrator position was debated before and after Lori Luther left in August. What's the future of that position?

Each part of city government has a role to play. The elected aldermen create policy for the city, the elected mayor oversees day-to-day operations of the city and the non-elected administrator carries out the policy. The checks and balances of this structure provides basis of accountability, continuity and collaboration. While the aldermen and mayor are directly accountable to the voters for their unique role, the mayor is the only elected full-time position. Therefore, the administrator would best be held accountable to the mayor for carrying out policy. Any conflict between the aldermen and the mayor on policy should be discussed in open session in full public view.

While Community Development Director Steve Crandell served as the interim administrator, did not having a full-time administrator affect the city in the budget process?

Our Interim City Administrator Steve Crandell did an exceptional job. He is a fair and balanced individual. He provided stability to our operations during this time. For a city of our size, all of the large cities have full-time mayors and most of them also have city administrators as well. The mayor's role under state statute is to oversee day-to-day operations on behalf of the citizen voters. The role of the administrator is to bring professional expertise and carry out policy. So both roles for a city of our size (are) important, unique and necessary.

Are you looking forward to working with a new city administrator in 2012?

Yes. As demonstrated by the good working relationship that Steve and I had we're very much looking forward to bringing someone new in to have that same type of positive relationship as we've had with Mr. Crandell. The hiring process will be a fully collaborative process involving the Council, the Human Resources Committee and the Mayor's Office, so this is something that we're going to work together on. We want to have an outcome that brings unity and that we all can be proud of.

What's your take on the business climate in the city?

Waukesha is a leader in the county for job growth as demonstrated by Waukesha Electric and Weldall both expanding in 2011 and together creating over 325 family-supporting jobs. These are well-paying jobs. We will be breaking ground in 2012 on Woodman's and that was a direct result of me reaching out to them over a year ago. Thankfully, they came to the conversation table. We are continuing to focus on new opportunities and currently reaching out to new businesses to expand and locate this year and that information will be forthcoming in 2012.

Do you have any regrets or decisions that you wish you could take back from this year?

We've had a good year and it's only going to get better. We are going to relentlessly pursue perfection. We are going to continue to set high goals for ourselves. At the end of the day our purpose is to create a better experience for our citizens, to create a higher quality of life and a better environment for them to raise their kids in at a better price. That's what we do and we can always find new ways to do a better job.

You mentioned giving out keys to the city. Why is this important and how did those individuals stand out to you?

The opportunity to recognize people and organizations through handing out keys to our city was truly a privilege. The people and organizations who received the key awards have clearly demonstrated the Waukesha family values of empathy, responsibility and creativity. We are a family in Waukesha. … It's important to celebrate and recognize what makes each of us unique, to recognize that by treating others the way we want to be treated and by working together, we can build a better future home and a better experience for our children in Waukesha. The whole is greater than the sum of our parts and this is the key to the city. Together, we can create a far better future by focusing on the good. That's the best part of Waukesha.

It's the choice that we make as individuals to work together towards the good (of the city) that will create the synergies and the unlimited power for Waukesha to do extraordinary things and to become the No.1-rated best small city in America. We have the ingredients to make that happen.

Looking forward, 2012 also marks your two-year anniversary as mayor. Are you satisfied about the job you have done?

Yes, upward and onward. We're just getting started. We have some great initiatives in the works that are going to follow in line with Waukesha Electric expanding, Woodman's (coming to Waukesha), the convention center. We have several other great things for the city lined up that we look forward to for our residents.

Is there anything you want to see change within the city for 2012?

We want to continue to be recognized as a progressive city that is committed to its youth and in doing so at a conservative price.

Are you happy to move on from 2011 and looking forward to the new year?

We have a lot to be grateful for in 2011, and I'm very optimistic for 2012.