In our world, government is almost always equated with politics. Politics today are inflammatory. Local government should not be. Elected officials at the city and county level are non-partisan, meaning that we are independent of political affiliation, and none of us want to get caught up in state or national level controversies because we are busy enough doing the actual work of keeping the City running. Every member of your City Council ran for office and puts in the time and effort required of that office because they care about Winthrop. We were elected by a majority of voters in Winthrop to make decisions about what is best for our city and to conduct the business of running the City.

City Council meetings are business meetings, required to complete necessary items like approving bills, setting and reviewing budgets, directing staff, authorizing grant applications, and planning future projects. They are not forums for residents to air every grievance with what the city is or is not doing. We have opportunities for residents to brings concerns to Council. Conversations are a great place to start. Residents are welcomed and encouraged to contact Council members or City staff with questions any time. We are willing to listen to a resident’s concerns, and a lot can be accomplished with simple conversation and sharing of information. Council emails are available on the City website, and residents can reach me at 507-722-4189. There is also a form for individuals to bring a concern to Council and request being placed on a Council agenda. Not every request is appropriate for Council level discussion. Some requests are simple questions that are easily answered by City staff or some are more appropriate for a committee meeting.

At the June Council meeting, I approved requests from individuals who wished to have items placed on the agenda. In retrospect, each of them should have been sent to a committee or dealt with outside of a regular Council meeting, but because the Council has been told that we “don’t listen”, I placed them on the agenda. The start of that meeting was anything but a business meeting; obscenities were shouted at Council, we felt threatened, and a recess had to be called. It was a most unexpected departure from the common decency, respect and decorum which is normally assumed and necessary for an effective business meeting. My job as mayor is to make sure that the Council accomplishes city business, and I will not allow future meetings to proceed without basic respect and decorum.

Establishing priorities for the city is not very different than setting them for a family. One spouse might focus on money for groceries, taking care of the house, and keeping the kids in clothes and shoes that fit. The other might want to spend more on a reliable car, insurance, and saving for retirement. The kids would probably advocate for better phone plans and faster Wi-Fi. All those things are important, and in the end, there is compromise and the family finds a balance that keeps them safe and fed and doing all the things that families need to do.

The same is true for the City of Winthrop as a community. We all want healthy, well-run, functioning city services. While we may disagree about exactly how to balance everything, I believe every resident wants good things for Winthrop and for the city to provide safe and reliable services. If a Council decision is not the one that an individual or group wants, it does not mean that the Council has not listened or that we wish to create conflict. It simply means that we see a different plan of how to balance City priorities, often supported by a majority of our community, and since we were elected to make decisions, we are responsible to make those choices.

One of the most controversial issues is always the budget and City spending priorities. Budget workshop meetings start in July, on the third Monday of each month, which are public meetings. Council encourages residents to get involved and give input. City spending, contrary to the comments of residents at the Council meeting, is not out of control. The Council spends your tax dollars very carefully and we spend extended time going through each budget category. From 2015 to 2025, adjusting for inflation, the City’s tax levy only increased by $3,700, or .6%. For comparison, the average cost of a new car during the same time increased 43%, a pound of ground beef was up by 40%, and average employer-sponsored family health insurance increased by more than 50%. During the last ten years, the City of Winthrop has continued to provide safe and reliable services to our residents while maintaining a tax levy that has not increased much more than the rate of inflation. Your property tax dollars do not all go to the City; they also go to the county and the school district levies. We strive to be good stewards of the tax dollars we manage.

I started with the statement that politics is inflammatory and local government should not be. Respectfully, I would ask everyone in Winthrop do what they can to lower the level of conflict in discussions regarding City services, spending and budgets. Remember that the people elected to your Council are people who live in Winthrop and pay the same taxes you do. They might be business owners, community volunteers, your neighbors, or the people you sit next to at church, school or community events. Different perspectives and discussions are critical and important, but productive discussions cannot happen without a basic level of respect and decorum. We all want success for Winthrop and we can do better when we work together.

 

Mayor Julie Trebelhorn