"Pastor Jeff, do you own this town?" (or what does a mayor do?)

I only wear the Cat suit once a year

As many of you may be aware, I spend a good part of my Wednesday mornings at Roselawn Elementary every week reading to kids. It all started when our own children were at Roselawn “back in the day” and even though our kids have long since left that building as well as the district, you'll still find me there most Wednesday mornings of the school year.

From time to time I get questions. I recall one morning years ago while walking across the playground on my way back to my office a kid ran up to me and asked, “Hey mister, do you own that building [pointing to the church I serve as pastor] or are you just the boss of it?” Of course, the real answer is 'neither' but that was too much to explain.

Just the other day in Mrs. Lindberg's second grade class I was asked, “Pastor Jeff, do you own this town?” To wit I explained to them that the only part of real estate that I own in Chetek is the property at the corner of Fifth & Banks (where our home is) and technically I don't even own that yet as we still have a mortgage. Of course, what they really wanted to know is “If you're the mayor than what do you get to do?”

So, just in case you were wondering the same thing I thought I'd try and answer that to set the record straight:

For starters, it's probably easier to begin with what a mayor is not.

The phone on the real mayor's desk
looks like everyone elses

He's not the town boss. Sometimes people have concerns and because it's urgent to them they think the mayor can simply pick up the “red” phone and make whatever is their pressing issue go away. That may be true in cities like Chicago or Milwaukee but not in these here parts. I can (and have) looked into matters brought to my attention. Sometimes they have been resolved (probably in spite of my involvement). At others, my advocacy has gone for nought. But I can assure you that Mayor Daley (of Chicago fame) I am not.

It's true the mayor is the technical head of the police department. Chief Ambrozaitis and I have a good working relationship and while he recognizes how the flow chart reads my attitude in all things is to defer to the professionals until it's clear that something is amiss. I don't want to micro-manage anybody. I trust Chief to do the right thing by our community. Thankfully in my nearly four year tenure as mayor there has never been a time when I have had to “order” the Chief to look into a matter. Usually we see things the same way.

The mayor doesn't vote unless the council is dead-locked in a matter. In four years I've voted twice. The first time was at the end of 2016. Kwik Trip was seeking a liquor license and the council was evenly divided on the matter. I voted in favor of granting them one for a few good reasons: 1) they are a business that hires local individuals, 2) they have a good reputation in our community and 3) they were simply asking for a single display case behind the counter. It seemed like a reasonable request to me.

Remember this for your next trivia night at Gilligans

The second time I voted occurred this past November. We were finalizing the city's budget for 2020 and the council was evenly divided again on the matter of hangar lease fees. The budget committee was recommending increasing them by $42 a year (or $3.50 a month). My thinking was simple: it costs the city well north of $20,000 a year to maintain the airport. Asking the owners of these hangars to contribute less than $50 a year more was, I thought, reasonable as acrimonious as that was to certain pilots.

The long and short of it is if you want to “push” legislation and get things done you should run for a council seat the next time it's up for election (1^st & 3^rd Wards are on odd years; 2^nd and 4^th are on even.) They're the folk who are the real “movers and shakers” in this town.

But that's not to say the mayor is merely a figurehead. That would not be accurate either. While it's my signature on pretty much every official legal business matter that the city conducts, where the mayor does have some real power is on setting the agenda of the monthly council meetings. While it's the aldermen who approve or disapprove whatever we consider policy for our community, the mayor is the one who allows items on the agenda for approval or denial. Early on during my first term as mayor, Barron County Sheriff Chris

Fitzgerald approached me with a request to address the council regarding outsourcing our police services. I allowed it simply because I was interested in hearing what he had to say. If you were there or if you recall, it was a pretty heated meeting. Sheriff brought a lot of “brown shirts” (i.e., deputy county officers) along with him as well as a 25-page power point. Those of us on the council, however, were simply interested in Slide 17 which informed us of the bottom line. Ultimately the council ruled (I think correctly) that we would lose more than we would gain and politely declined his offer. I know of another municipality in our county where Sheriff Fitzgerald wanted to give the same presentation and the mayor of that town flat-out denied putting the matter on the agenda. That is his prerogative. But my thinking at the time was that we don't know what we don't know so what would it hurt to hear him out.

The mayor also has the power to appoint council members as well as local citizens to various committees. While the council chooses its own president, the mayor appoints the council members to the various committees that require council oversight – plan commission, housing authority, budget, personnel, parks, utility and a few others. I can't speak to how previous mayors have chosen their people but I usually have appointed people to positions I think they would do well in and that I am comfortable with them serving in that capacity. And in the case of community members it's whether or not they will serve. Our town is made up of a lot of good people but not all are able – or willing – to serve when called upon.

In many ways, the mayor is part of the “brand” of our community. He is to many the face of the franchise. He (or she) represents us and hopefully is someone who's character is such that we feel a certain sense of confidence that they are in office, even though at the end of the day 9 times out of 10 it will be the council who decides yea or nae on most matters. He sets the tone of the conversation for all things Chetek. In Star Trek: The Next

Generation Captain Jean Luc Picard could adroitly call out to Number One: “Make it so” and it was so. It doesn't work that way for the mayor of Chetek but just as with all leaders his attitude and demeanor does effect how people feel about our community.

No, I don't own this town, children. Tongue-in-cheek you could say I “run” it due to my habit of running the various streets of Chetek but that's just a corny joke. Ultimately, the mayor is a public servant whose job is to represent the city well, facilitate the many municipal meetings that occur during a given month and contribute to the ongoing conversation as to how we can continue to improve the town we all call home. Yes, he does receive a monthly stipend (as do the council members as well) but don't quit your day job as it won't pay the rent. Oh and contrary to what one of my friends truly believed until I set the matter straight with them, the mayor does not receive any health or pension benefits from the city. That's only for city employees which the mayor is not.

So, that's what the mayor does. He serves and represents the citizens of Chetek. Like everyone else on the council, he's got a few cents worth of opinions and ideas but they're not necessarily the final word on anything. One thing is for sure: I'm not a big wig. People have to remember that unlike others with deep history in our city, I'm a veritable newcomer having moved to town in 1991. I don't have people buried in Lake View Cemetery. I'm not wealthy by any standards that I know. I'm just a pastor of a small Christian congregation that truly loves this town and enjoys serving her as mayor. In 1993, we bought a 100-year old home here and fixed her up. We raised our children here and continue to make this city our home. Whether or not that qualifies me to continue to serve as mayor is up to the voters to decide a little over a month from now. But in the mean time service to our city is its own reward and something I'm happy to continue to do.