Another Success

I wanted to highlight another success on our reform agenda. For years the City Council has leased City property for farming with no competitive bid process. I moved last year to change this but unfortunately staff did not get the bidding process prepared in time for 2008. I personally dogged the issue this year and the bid package was prepared. The results are even better than I could have hoped for.

The previous payment was $2898 or $35 per acre. The high bid for 2009 was $7,310.50 or $89 per acre. This is a success and helps add revenue to the City in a time it is desperately needed. We need to change the mentality of doing business as usual. This is the real benefit beyond the dollars gained.

We can add this to our long record of achievements in just 20 months in office. To learn more goto:

http://georgewimmer.com/record.html

We are making great progress moving Isanti forward into a better tomorrow. In 41 days we will be asked to keep progress going or vote to return to the dark days of the past. The days when City debt grew per person from $400 to $2,5000 - when City taxes grew by 87% - when developer friends were subsidized at the expense of taxpayers - when in the face of rising crime a $56k administrative assistant was chosen over a police officer - when a 70 year old couple could be robbed through the use of eminent domain of their lifelong nest egg - when the public trust is shattered by my opponent by the use of a City credit card for personal use and the filing of a mileage reimbursement for a trip that was never driven.

This is the record of my opponent. The 10 years my opponent has served on the City Council has been marred by these poor decisions as well as voting to keep an ineffectual city administrator and City engineering firm that was not full filling the needs of our community.

Thankfully we have been able to move our City forward. We were able to hire a great City Administrator and City Engineer. We have been able to correct a number of the past failings in the last 20 months but much more needs to be done.

We have an opportunity to continue to improve the Council and City Government. Our track record speaks for itself. What part of my record does Ms. Larson not like:

• 14% Tax Cut
• First time in modern history cut in city spending
• Ending their years of exploding budgets
• Making residential development finally pay for itself
• Long Term Financial Plan
• Stronger ethics and conflict of interest policy
• My vote to replace our former City Engineer
• My repeated votes to protect Distinct Isanti Neighborhoods
• My fight against their use of Eminent Domain to hurt a 74 year old couple by taking their property rights and using them to help their friend Brian Iverson.
• Challenging Mr. Johnson for a conflict of interest when he was voting on Brian Iverson issues even though he had been working for Iverson.
• Catching Ms. Larson filing a bogus expense report to be paid for a trip she never drove.
• My votes to block wasteful spending
• My votes blocking the needless spending of $2,000,000 to replace the existing liquor store, adding debt and having the harmful affect of raising taxes to fund this construction because the liquor store fund would have been completely drained except for operational funds.
• My vote to add police protection and the 17% cut in crime
• My vote to protect our Citizens from cancer causing water
• My push to lower our water rates
• My work to bring in high paying jobs
• The over 300 new Jobs in Isanti since my swearing in. Isanti had 1132 at the end of 2006 and as of June 2008 we had over 1460, a 29% increase in 18 months. This number will only grow with Isanti Retail Meats and the High paying jobs of Ever Cat Fuels
• Working along with Landmark Bank and City staff to bring Ever Cat Fuels to Isanti and our being awarded the Economic Development Association of Minnesota's Business Recruitment Award. Raising Isanti's profile throughout the state as a City where businesses want to go.
• My work to market our city
• Tax Abatement and Revolving Loan Fund to promote business growth
• My work on the Isanti Retail Meats as a future lynch pin for Downtown
• My creation of the Mayor's Great Yard Award to honor our Citizens great work
• My creation of the Mayor's Employer Recognition Award and Lunch
• My development of the new Isantian
• Transparency in government so the rich and powerful do not rule the City but each Citizen has an equal voice
• and on and on and on

We have accomplished so much in such a short period of time. We need to make sure we continue our reforms and do not allow the mistakes of the past to darken our brighter tomorrow.