Candidate Mike Streiff's Announcement

Mike Streiff – Isanti City Council Candidate 2012

“The Better Choice in 2012”

Friends in Isanti,

I would like the opportunity to continue serving the City of Isanti as a Council Member due to the different perspectives I am able to provide as a small business / commercial banker, small business owner, husband/father, and several year resident of Isanti.  In representing the people of Isanti as a council member, I am able to carry the voices of 99% of the citizens in each piece of legislation.  It would be an honor to continue as a participant in providing the blue print of Isanti for many generations to come.

In continuing as an Isanti Council Member, I would work very hard to carry the will of all residents in each piece of legislation that enters the council chambers.  I do not seek this office due to any hidden agendas or personal opinions that do not look out for the best interest of all citizens.  I plan to use good common sense in approaching all the work that is accomplished by the Isanti City Council.  My idea of common sense is rooted in long-term financial planning/budgeting and policies that make actual sense to the common person.  I believe that in order for the future direction of Isanti to continue to be bright for many years to come, the City Council will need to use good common sense and ideas that are fresh and new.  For example, I believe the Isanti Public Works Department could share many resources with surrounding communities as well as Isanti County.  The sharing of common resources could provide several cost cutting measures to the city in both the short and long term.

I feel the biggest issue facing the City of Isanti is the current uncertainty in the amount of revenues the city receives annually from the State of Minnesota as well as the city’s stagnant commercial and residential tax base. 

The State of Minnesota continues to hand over fewer and fewer of our tax dollars to local municipalities, thus causing cities such as Isanti to take a hard look at what core services are essential necessity to it’s residents.  I feel it is very important that the voices of all businesses and residents are represented at the Isanti City Council in deciding what city services are essential long-term to the city.  The City of Isanti will need to work toward little-to-no dependence on funding from the State of Minnesota.

The business tax base continues to remain stagnant due to businesses that are forced to close down operations and leave town, as well as a lack of businesses spending capital on expansion and growth into the Isanti area.  The city continues to experience high levels of residential foreclosures, thus plaguing the revenues that the city receives from the residential tax base.  The City Council will need to work very hard to continue to build up the business tax base as well as continued work in reducing residential foreclosures.  The current citizens cannot afford to pay any more in additional taxes, thus the Council will need to work hard to attract additional tax payers to the City of Isanti.  I will not support any legislation that will increase taxes to the citizens of Isanti, thus I will pledge to work very hard personally to bring in additional business to the city, increase the commercial tax base, and fine tune any unnecessary spending of all our tax dollars.  I have many years experience working with all types of businesses, thus I am up to the challenge of working as an active council member to attract additional businesses and residents to the Isanti area.

I feel I am most qualified, and the better choice for Isanti Council Member, due primarily to my extensive background and the perspectives it provides.  I grew up on a farm, which provided a solid background in common sense, the meaning of hard work, and personal pride in a job done correctly.  I have a college degree in business administration, which offered me the opportunity to take the everyday real-life experiences of operating my father’s farm and reinforce these principles with the knowledge I gained in a college degree program.  I have worked for a St. Paul based bank for the past 10 years, currently serving as Vice President, Credit Risk Manager.  In my current position, I am in charge of creating financial solutions for business lending customers in the bank’s footprint ranging from Lakeville, MN to Minot ND.  In the past, I also owned and operated my own landscaping company in Isanti.  Currently, I have had the opportunity at the will of the current Isanti City Council, to serve as a member of the Isanti Planning Commission as well as a current member of the Isanti City Council.  It has been an honor to help guide the direction of our city as well as the planning and zoning of this great city for the past five years.  On top of all of this, my most important responsibility is that my wife and I are currently raising 6 children here in Isanti, MN.  I feel my background as listed above provides me with a good perspective on what the majority of Isanti residents and businesses are experiencing on a daily basis.  My background will aid in keeping my hand on the pulse of both the short term and long-term needs of residents and businesses in Isanti.

I appreciate your support and look forward to continuing to serve you, the residents and businesses that call Isanti home.

- Mike Streiff