Election Preview: Bayside Village Board

Eido Walny, Kelly Herda and Tom Noble are running for the three-year term on the board. (Click on link for biographical information on each candidate).

To provide residents with the most information about the election, Patch asked the candidates their views on the key issues facing the village.

Why are you running for Village Board? Michael Barth I feel it is important to contribute to the community we live in and I am proud of what I feel I have accomplished as a Trustee. While Bayside has long been recognized by its residents as a wonderful place to live, the governance and administration of Bayside has likewise been recognized by others. Awards our Village has recently received include recognition for good government and sound management in the areas of intergovernmental cooperation, budgeting, performance management, and community partnership. I would like to continue my service to the Village of Bayside.
Eido Walny Bayside is a great place to live. The community is safe. Our village services are excellent. Our community is exemplary, and has numerous awards to prove it. But Bayside is not what it is by mere happenstance. Behind the scenes we have a local government that works tirelessly - in partnership with our citizens - to make Bayside great. I am proud to be a part of that effort. I look back with pride at my five years as a Bayside Trustee knowing that I helped make Bayside a great place to live. But my job is not yet done. Kelly Herda I am running because Bayside needs a Village Trustee who is accessible and involved in our community. I have been actively engaged in our community as a past school board member, Vice President, and Legislative Chair at Nicolet High School and as a volunteer for numerous Village initiatives. My professional work and community service have helped me to develop strong skills in public policy, responsible stewardship, and communication. I believe these skills make me uniquely qualified to serve as Village Trustee, and I would be honored to earn your vote. Tom Noble I have a strong passion for our community and the quality of life we have in Bayside. I do feel that the current Board does an excellent job, however,I look to bring a fresh approach of more community involvement and increased transparency to our village. I bring great organizational and people skills that I can utilize for the betterment of our citizens. I think it is time for some "new blood" on our Board and I am 100% committed to serving the great citizens of Bayside! What is the biggest issue facing the village, and how would you address that issue, if elected? Michael Barth Our biggest challenge will be working to continue to provide a high level of service while holding the line on taxes. We have achieved this goal for the past three years, even in these challenging economic times. I will continue to make financial concerns my top priority while also working with our neighboring communities to provide improved services to residents at reduced cost.
Eido Walny A quick internet search is all it takes to see what can happen when a municipality is mismanaged and faces financial strife. Several of Bayside's sister villages around the country are facing the stark and devastating reality of bankruptcy. Our fiscal situation is easily the most important issue we face in Bayside. But Bayside is in excellent hands. I and my fellow Trustees have a proud track record of managing the village purse like fiduciaries. As an estate and asset protection attorney, and as a business owner, I believe my experience is critical to continuing to manage our budget. Kelly Herda The most challenging responsibility of a Village Trustee is to maintain quality services within a very restrictive budget. I will work to maintain quality services in fiscally responsible ways with our hard-earned tax dollars. One of the initiatives I will look into is merging the North Shore Police Departments. My focus would be on consolidating the top paying administrative positions while keeping the individual police departments to ensure rapid response to emergencies. Tom Noble I think that we need to maintain or increase the services and benefits in Bayside while being fiscally responsible. This means major review of all expenditures and compare to revenue base. We need to reduce spending and utilize assets that may be available from county, state and federal levels. There may be benefits to working with neighboring communities to merge certain functions that will reduce overall costs while maintaining the quality of life. How can the village hold the line on property taxes while continuing to provide the same level of services and programs to residents? Michael Barth As Chair of the Finance Committee, I have been responsible for the three most recent budgets – all of which have had a zero increase for the Village portion of the tax levy while maintaining a high level of service to our residents. This has been a cooperative effort of the Village Board and Staff.

I will continue to look at how we provide services, evaluating opportunities to work more efficiently or to use technology to reduce costs. The Consolidated Dispatch Center in Bayside is an example of this practice – improving services and saving money for all of the involved communities.

Eido Walny Bayside has consistently been recognized for its budget. I am extremely proud of the fact that Bayside has not raised its tax levy for three years running, even in the face of increasing costs and a poor economy. We accomplished this feat by being proactive and forward-thinking about our budget. We continuously look for areas where we can become more efficient. Bayside has also embraced technology and looked for new ways to save money through innovation. Simply put, we need to keep doing what has worked for us. Kelly Herda It takes skill to balance the diverse services of a community with limited funds. Listening to constituents will help me prioritize the needs of the Village. The key is to maximize our revenue by researching the alternatives and meet as many needs as possible. As a past school board member, I was able to maintain our district’s standard of excellence in education, despite the constraints of revenue limits and record-breaking cuts in state aid. We worked together, within the same budget constraints that the village faces, and we met those challenges with the lowest tax increases since the 1970’s. Tom Noble

Basically my statement above.

Two-way communication is a major priority with many Bayside residents. How will you seek resident input on issues facing the board and continue that conversation?
Michael Barth Bayside has been a leader in open communication with our residents through the Village Website, the Bayside Buzz e-mail, Facebook, Twitter and the Bayside Scene. My contact information is on the website and newsletter. I have always welcomed the opportunity to discuss any issue or concern with the Village Residents and encourage residents to contact me.
Eido Walny Bayside has won several awards for our transparency and open communication with citizens. We do a printed community outreach newsletter that is mailed monthly. The Bayside Buzz is our e-newsletter and email updates are sent frequently. We have a fantastic village website. And we have ample opportunities to attend and join various village committees. Most importantly, every member of the Bayside Board of Trustees is a friendly, outgoing, accessible neighbor. I, for one, am easy to find and welcome citizen input. I return every citizen phone call within mere hours and I always follow-up. Kelly Herda An open village government implies that the Village Trustee's, and village staff, have a role in communicating accurate information in a respectful manner to the people we serve. To seek input, residents need to know the dates/times for committee meetings and their agenda and they should be posted, not only on the Village website, but through all social media sites. Minutes from those meetings need to be posted in a timely manner and accessible in multiple locations. In order to be accessible and converse one-on-one with constituents, Trustee’s should have their contact and term information on the village website. Tom Noble I think Andy Pederson has done an excellent job in this area especially of social media BUT I have never seen any communication from any Trustee. More open forums and community functions to solicit imput from everyone. Coyotes are a contentious issue in Bayside. How will you balance environmental factors against residents' concerns? Michael Barth As the owner of a small dog, I am concerned about coyotes. The very things that make Bayside attractive to people - our ravines, open space, and lake front - are also attractive habitats for coyotes. While we cannot eliminate them, we can take steps to maintain their fear of humans as well as to keep them away from our residences. We have worked with the DNR and Humane Society to educate residents and Village Staff on how we can make the areas around our homes less welcoming to coyotes. The most recent educational session was just last month.
Eido Walny Citizen education is the key to the coyote issue in Bayside. As the chair of the Public Safety Committee, I have been involved in several meetings with representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to discuss Bayside's coyotes. Bayside has also hosted open community meetings to disseminate information about the coyotes. Armed with proper education, our citizens should know what to do (and what not to do) when coyotes are present. It's an issue that is not going to go away, so education is our best solution. Kelly Herda

Informational meetings hosted by the Village have been very helpful in advising residents on how to handle coyote encounters. However, despite the measures we have taken to deter them, coyotes have become more brazen and less fearful of us over the years. An overhaul of the Villages municipal code on fences would allow residents to create an attractive, safe space on their property for their young children and pets to play. I think this change would protect our children and pets and is far more effective than “yelling and throwing a rock” at a coyote that is in preying mode.

Tom Noble Major issue facing several residents that needs to be addressed. We need to investigate how other communities have faced this problem and expedite a fiscally responsible manner to eradicate them safely.