Reconvened at 8:58 a.m.
Interview: NORM BICKFORD
County Treasurer Tom Kriz said he would be asking the questions in this interview, and introduced the members of the Committee to Bickford and asked for his opening statement.
Bickford thanked the Committee for the opportunity to speak. He said he lived in the area his entire life and lived near the edge of Johnson County near West Branch the past 14 years, and lived in Cedar County for 30 years before that. Bickford continued by saying he has been married over 30 years, has 2 daughters and 2 granddaughters. He said he has devoted his time to the West Branch community, girl scouts, coaching high school softball, volunteering on the fire department, and served on the Planning and Zoning Committee and the West Branch City Council for 3 years before moving into Johnson County. Bickford said he is a self-motivator, which was essential to be self-employed as he has been for over 20 years. He concluded by saying he hoped his characteristics would be something the Board was seeking.
Kriz asked Bickford what County government's strengths and weaknesses were and how he would enhance the strengths and address the weaknesses. Bickford said County business should be available to the public and at it's disposal and exposure. He said he can help with that because he can dedicate whatever time is necessary. He said that he did not perceive any weaknesses, though he views County government through the lens of an outsider.
Kriz asked Bickford if he was in favor of restructuring County government and/or hiring a County manager. He replied by saying, based on his experience with Supervisors and department heads, that he saw no need to restructure. Bickford said as long as good, educated and qualified people continue to serve in government then there is no need for a County manager form of government.
Kriz asked Bickford if he thought the County had additional space needs and if so how he would address them. Bickford replied that every department will have space needs in the future and that space needs will always be an issue. He said he would handle it by attempting to work within their respective budgets to fund expansion, and if that was not possible capital would be set aside. Bickford said projects would need to be ranked on priority.
Kriz asked Bickford how he would go about selecting from a pool of applicants to serve on various boards and commissions. He answered by saying personal interviews and contact was effective, based on his own experience as a plant manager in North Liberty. Bickford said he would be concerned about what motivated applicants to serve on the Board to ensure there was no hidden agenda. He continued by saying he would attempt to have a representative cross section of the community on the boards and committees, since more variety leads to different ideas.
Kriz asked Bickford what his long range vision was for Johnson County. Bickford said he though Johnson County was in an ideal location, between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids. He continued by saying there was no reason why Johnson County could not always be sound financially and economically. Bickford concluded by saying that the quality of living we have now must be maintained.
Kriz asked Bickford what criteria he would use in making land use decisions and on what basis would he make decisions concerning road improvements, maintenance, construction and roadside weed eradication. Bickford replied by saying he gained a good understanding of zoning's purpose when he served on the Planning and Zoning Board in West Branch. He said the rights of property owners must be taken into account, as well as environmental concerns. Bickford continued by saying caution must be used when zoning agricultural ground so the family farm can be maintained but the 2 large developing areas needs should be treated somewhat differently than the vast majority of the County. He said possible subdivisions should be judged on what possible impact it would have, would it generate future growth, could it overpopulate and compromise road safety. As for road improvements, possible future population density and the amount of revenue generated from a particular area must be considered when changing routine road maintenance, Bickford said. He continued, when considering major road improvements such as converting gravel to paved roadways the impact these roads have on the County as a whole must be used as criteria.
Kriz asked Bickford what he thought the County's role should be in protecting the environment. Bickford replied that the role of the County was to watch the growth of the County to ensure environmental protection. He said that even if a development might have satisfactory sewage disposal at the present, what would happen if the development grew, how would that impact the area. He concluded that the County has an important role to play in protecting the environment and environmental standards are maintained.
Kriz asked Bickford to describe his approach to balancing economic and business interests with the interests, health and well-being of the citizens and environmental concerns. Bickford answered by saying that there was not a level balance. He said the first priority must be the well-being of citizens and the environment. Bickford said economic growth and business was necessary but those businesses need to be selected with a very tight set of standards. He continued by saying the environment and standard of living did not need to be sacrificed to attract any business, since Johnson County has a low unemployment rate.
Kriz asked Bickford what his opinion was of the Johnson County Comprehensive Land Use Plan. He replied by saying he had reviewed the plan, and had worked with the City of West Branch when they were revising their comprehensive plan. Bickford said the Johnson County plan was well written, that it provided continuity with the county and surrounding communities by providing a primary goal, but it let newcomers know what previous officials wanted. He continued by saying that the plan might change over time. Bickford concluded by saying it was important to follow the Johnson County Comprehensive Land Use plan as closely as possible.
Kriz asked Bickford what he knew about and what his opinion was regarding the impact and incidence of Johnson County taxes. Bickford answered by saying that a majority of the citizens accept that taxes are a way of life and felt the tax system as it was set up now was fair. He said he would have reservations about changing the structure in any way since it might have a large impact on one individual facet. Bickford concluded by cautioning that any change in the tax code does not affect a particular group more severely than another, saying a general across the Board raise is easier to absorb than adjusting the millage in a particular area.
Kriz asked Bickford how he would weigh requests for spending that require tax dollars versus increasing taxes. Bickford replied by saying tax dollars are for spending on requests, that the government must provide as balanced a budget as possible. He said he was against the tax increases if at all possible. Bickford continued by saying some projects must be budgeted over a period of several years and capital set aside, such as a County jail, but as a rule there is no reason we couldn't function on revenue we have because Johnson County has an economically stable environment.
Kriz asked Bickford what, if anything, should be done about the nature of County tax options. He answered by saying he was not familiar with the total options available to the County and he knew the millage could be adjusted to tax urban or rural areas more severely. Bickford said he was not in favor of making any drastic changes with the tax code unless a good deal of information gathering is undertaken to gauge its probable impact. He mentioned the sales tax option, that Johnson County residents were not provided with enough information to base a solid opinion on the issue. He concluded by advising that all options are carefully explored before judgements are made regarding taxes.
Kriz asked Bickford if he was in favor of implementing a local option sales tax, and if so, for what use. Bickford replied that he did not have enough information on the issue, that the previous day was the first time that he had heard a good, though incomplete, breakdown of what the local option sales tax would do. He continued by saying that the public does not know what expectations and dollar amounts would come from the tax. Bickford said that a good portion of the funds generated from the local option sales tax should be used for tax relief for the county. He said much of the tax revenue will come from outside the county so the county residents should benefit. Bickford also favored using some of the funds on a large capital type improvement in the county.
Kriz asked Bickford if he had experience putting a budget together and how he felt about performance based budgeting. Bickford answered that he had experience putting budgets together from his service on the West Branch City Council. He said performance based budgeting was an excellent idea since the departments were larger than those in West Branch, where Bickford said the small number of government employees made it easier to allocate funds. Bickford continued by saying performance based budgeting provided a tool to ascertain the impact of budget changes and what can be expected of departmental improvements. He concluded by saying performance based budgeting would be a good tool for Supervisors in Johnson County.
Kriz asked Bickford if he was appointed and an election called would he seek his party's nomination and would he run for re-election if appointed. Kriz continued by asking Bickford if he was not appointed would he petition or run for as the nominee in an election that was petitioned for. Bickford replied that he would seek the party's nomination if he was appointed and an election called. He continued by saying he ran for Supervisor 8 years ago and feels he has much to offer. Bickford said he would seek re-election if he was appointed. He said he would not seek an election by petition if he was not appointed. Bickford concluded by saying he hoped an election would not be called when there were so many qualified candidates already applying for the job.
Kriz asked Bickford how long he would intend to be a Supervisor. Bickford answered by saying as long as the people were satisfied with his performance he would serve. He mentioned his continued interest with West Branch government as evidence of his commitment.
Kriz asked Bickford if he was appointed when he could start the job. Bickford replied that he could start at any time since he was a self-employed contractor.
Kriz asked Bickford if he had any questions for the Board Appointment Committee. Bickford said he was familiar with everything in the Johnson County government and its respective departments, so he had no questions. Bickford offered to answer any more questions.
Kriz said Bickford could begin his closing statement. Bickford said he felt his experience with the West Branch city government and Planning and Zoning, his understanding of the comprehensive plan, and his math degree gave him the qualifications and expertise to serve on the Board of Supervisors and do a fine job. He said he hoped for fair consideration and appreciated their time. Kriz said he appreciated their interest and appreciated their input. He said there was never anything that couldn't be improved and people often made great sacrifices to serve the community. Kriz said he appreciated all of the good quality people that had applied. Painter said thank you. Slockett thanked Bickford and said he was impressed that he actually read the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Bickford said he was interested in it and was impressed with the wording of it. Kriz said that Cedar County's loss was Johnson County's gain.
Reverend Bob Welsh asked how the Committee could make a decision without offending people and making comparisons between the candidates. Welsh said that each of the candidates should write down their first and second choices on paper and then see if there are 2 people who picked the same person or if there is a unanimous vote. Slockett said the last thing they want to do is rank them but he doesn't like the idea with the paper because it doesn't seem like an open process. Slockett said they could just say who their first choice is. Slockett said no one would have to speak against anyone. Welsh said that the first name mentioned could sway people's opinion. Slockett said he would reinforce that point because the first name mentioned is powerful because no one wants to be against someone. He said there was also another thing called a free vote. Slockett said a free vote is where you nominate someone you know isn't going to get selected and is a friend to reinforce ties with the individual and then you make the other people vote them down. He said if they started voting for them you might withdraw your suggestion because you don't think that should be the person. Slockett said he hoped that could be avoided. Slockett suggested going through the list of candidates, each Committee member comments on each one, so it can be predetermined if a candidate had consensus. Slockett said he admired every candidate and it would be tough but that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to make a decision. Kriz agreed with commenting on each candidate in order to discuss viewpoints, suggestions or opinions brought forward by the candidates. Kriz said he didn't think a free vote would happen, that they would come up with a person they felt would be the best person for the job. Reverend Bob Welsh asked if discussing the candidates beforehand would change the Supervisors' first or second choice. Welsh said if not, then the pre-meeting before the vote was unnecessary. Welsh also said discussing their relative strengths and weaknesses could create some negativeness and could offend candidates. Welsh said since only one candidate said they might petition if they were not appointed, the Supervisors were on solid ground in terms of possibly offending a candidate so much that they petition for a special election. Slockett said he got the sense from most people that they didn't want an election. He said he some people have a desire to know why they weren't chosen and they could possibly get this from reading the minutes of the interviews. Slockett said he would like to talk about the strengths of everyone. Kriz said the candidates all had such strengths that weaknesses would end up in the open meeting very little. Welsh said they should only talk about the strengths. Kriz said they should dwell on the positive side of the interviews. Slockett said going through the strengths might refresh them on the candidates. Painter said they could be accused of having a feel good festival but if that was the worst thing that happened she was willing to deal with that. Slockett said one of the candidates talked about turning weaknesses into strengths and gave the example that a candidate who hadn't read the Comprehensive Land Use Plan before the interview could be considered having different leadership styles where they aren't concerned with details but have strengths in forming coalitions.
Recessed at 9:53 a.m.; reconvened at 9:58 a.m.