Local News

Manitowoc County 2012 Budget

2012 Budget Message to Manitowoc County Board, October 18, 2011

2012 Budget Overview Powerpoint (using Microsoft Power Point Presentation), October 18, 2011

2012 Budget letter to Manitowoc County employees, October 18, 2011

 

 

Manitowoc County 2011 Budget

2011 Budget Signing Statement, November 19, 2010

2007-11 Wages on Manitowoc County Website, November 15, 2010

 

2010 Manitowoc County Executive's Proposed Annual Budget; 2010 Budget Message, and Excerpts from Executive's Proposed 2010 Annual Budget Book.

Economic Presentation to Manitowoc County Employees, July 2010

 

Roundabouts:

 

Information on Roundabouts:

  • Animation - "How to use a roundabout" Flash Player (2.5 MB) Interactive Flash animation demonstrating proper usage of roundabouts. (Click the arrows or symbols in the lower left corner of the animation window to view various roundabout maneuvers).

 

Manitowoc County 'Nativity Scene' lawsuit, April 2010

Court ruling

County Executive Ziegelbauer statement

 

 

 

6/16/09, Financial Overview of Manitowoc County with respect to the sale of the Health Care Center (HCC) and current operations.

 

 

Manitowoc County Employee Proposal

 

05/21/2009, Herald Times Reporter, "County workers asked to take 5% pay cut; Ziegelbauer says expenses need $1-2M reduction" 

 

05/20/2009, Managing Change Through Tough Economic Times

 

 

Health Savings Account (HSA) Plan for Manitowoc County Employees:

 

06/06/2009, Specific Procedure Incentive Network (SPIN)

 

03/03/2009, Patrick McIlheran: How's this health savings account working? Ask a union leader

 

2009, Health Savings Account Rate Comparisons

 

06/2008 Manitowoc County HSA Case Study

 

01/2008 Office of the County Executive, "Economic Impact of Manitowoc County Health Savings Accounts"

 

10/27/2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Another View: Lowering health care costs by empowering employees" by Bob Ziegelbauer

 

Link to Powerpoint detailing the new health plan for County AFSCME employees.

 

05/24/2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "For deputies, being in charge works"

 

 

 

 

02/22/2007 Americans for Prosperity's Health Care Web Cast; Section 4: Manitowoc County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer (from 82:00 - 93:00) (at this link, toggle down to the March 1st & 2nd blog entries.)

 

 

 

 

 

01/23/2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Madison bureau podcast

Madison -- Some state lawmakers are looking to Manitowoc County for the newest ideas in health care reform.   Listen here: TUESDAY, Jan. 23, 2007, 12:03 p.m.   http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=22

01/23/2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "State's Health Care Snit Costs a Week's Groceries"

01/13/2007 Herald Times Reporter, Editorial: Orchids & Onions

ORCHIDS to County Executive Bop Ziegelbauer for working hard on containing health care costs to the county and employees. The health savings account plan option he has proposed would save significant sums for covered employees and their families. There is no single answer to the health care issue, but each step helps.

01/09/2007 Oshkosh Northwestern editorial, "Manitowoc County may have Insurance Solution that Works"

01/05/2007 Wisconsin Public Television program Here and Now appearance.

12/23/2006 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "Health Care Savings Make a Fine Gift"

Plan for Manitowoc County Employees

* HSA Power Point Presentation

* HSA Proposal Savings

* HSA Savings Summary

* Health Insurance Premium History

* Detailed analysis which compares the current Blue Cross PPO plan to the Anthem    Lumenos plan

 

Manitowoc County Veteran Service Office:

"Patricia "Jane" Babcock was approved by unanimous voice vote as county Veterans Service Officer. Babcock begins her duties today." excerpt from 10/17/2007 Herald Times Reporter article

 

Herald Times Reporter Open Records Request

9/11/2007 Corp Counsel Letter; Released Records

Manitowoc County Veteran Service Office Staffing Plan, 8/30/2007

Statement by County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer -- Veteran's Service Office, 8/29/2007

 

 
Storm Water Runoff:

There has been discussion in Manitowoc regarding storm water runoff.  For your use and information, the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau has prepared the following 07/27/2006 memo on the federal EPA Phase II requirements: "Municipal Storm Water Permit Overview".  Further information can be found in the Fiscal Bureau's 05/11/2005 Budget Paper #554, "Storm Water Management" as well as from the rule itself, Chapter NR 216, "Storm Water Discharge Permits", which became effective August 1, 2004.

In regard to comments made by our Mayor in his May 2, 2007 article in the Lakeshore Chronicle, ("In another matter, please do not load the street gutter or curb apron with your yard waste. This causes suspended solids to get into our storm water .  Getting rid of these suspended solids will cost taxpayers lots of money as our assemblyman and senator voted to create even tougher rules than the EPA were going to require of city governments to clean up our rivers and lakes.") below please find a response from the Director of the Bureau of Watershed Management, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources:

"I would suppose he refers to NR 216, the rule which implements the federal storm water regulations and to NR 151, the nonpoint performance standard rule.  He is in error in that there was no vote on either rule by the Assembly or the Senate.  Committees of each legislative house considered each rule, and the Senate committee sent NR 151 back for requested modifications (which were resolved) but I don't think that even the committees actually voted on either of them (except to request modifications).  The federal regulations require municipalities of a certain size to implement 6 minimum management measures:  1. Public Information and Outreach to inform citizens of storm water impacts; 2. Public Involvement and Participation to allow the public input into their municipalities storm water activities; 3. Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination; 4.  Construction Site Pollution Control; 5.  Post-Construction Storm Water Management; and 6.  Pollution Prevention.  NR 216 is consistent with these federal requirements.
 
NR 151 was promulgated before NR 216 and was aimed at controlling nonpoint source pollution.  That rule requires municipalities to reduce total suspended solids by 20%, which increases to 40% by 2013 (as compared to no controls).  Both of these are limited to the maximum extent practicable which means that if reducing to these levels is prohibitively expensive, the municipality can reduce them to the extent that reasonably costed available technology will allow.  This could be the source of the claim that the state has gone beyond federal requirements.  As with many statutes, these regulations are silent on the specifics of how to implement a particular provision(s) (in this case numbers 5 and 6 above), and they leave it up to states to decide the processes and standards to adopt.  If we had not provided this standard in rule, we would be criticized for being to vague and that we had not provided enough guidance on what, for example, pollution prevention means.
 
One other error in the Mayors' statement is that yard waste is the cause of total suspended solids. It is not.  Yard waste, when it is deposited in gutters and washed down through storm sewers and other conveyances into lakes and rivers, contribute excess nutrients and organic matter that cause algae blooms -often blue-green algae which is toxic to humans and pets - which in turn make the local lakes and rivers undesirable to swim, boat, water ski, and otherwise recreate in.  When the excess algae, and for that matter, the yard waste itself, decomposes in the water, it depletes oxygen levels which results in decreasing the number and diversity of fish and other aquatic organisms, and can result in significant fish kills."

 updated: October 18, 2011