Racine Sun

Racine County issued the following announcement on May 25.

Mister Chairman, Mister Vice Chairman, Members of the County Board, Youth in Governance representatives, distinguished guests, and residents of Racine County.

Why are we here and not in the County Board chambers?

We gather this evening at the Racine County Fairgrounds, to recognize the Fair’s 100th anniversary. Tonight’s Board of Supervisors’ meeting is being held a short distance from Mercantile Hall, one of our county’s oldest buildings. Mercantile Hall is undergoing a tremendous renovation with the support of you, our County Board. I hope you have an opportunity to stop and see this building. To walk through it and experience its rich history.

In the fall of 1920, when the Racine County Agricultural Society was formed thus beginning our county fair, they couldn’t have imagined the legacy they left behind for our community. Mercantile Hall now stands as a time capsule memorializing the ingenuity and accomplishments of our ancestors.

As I stand here before you this evening, delivering the annual State of the County Address, as I have on seven previous occasions. I am struck by how far our County has come, and how far we have yet to go. We’ve had many accomplishments and we’ve faced many challenges!

Looking into this crowd I see the faces of our newest group of Youth in Governance representatives. These high schoolers are committing themselves to learn the process of local government. What a great thing! Some may one day sit in the chairs occupied by our own County Supervisors or stand before you as County Executive.

Tonight, I would like to reflect on Racine County’s successes and challenges; how they shaped or will shape the opportunities before us today, and how we can leverage these achievements for a brighter, better Racine County. I will also talk about hope; and how we as hopeful leaders can collectively tackle the impossible.

Three things go into carrying out a bold vision. The first two critical components are learning from our history and inspirational leadership, which is exemplified by our County Board. Does anyone know the third? The third, I believe, is resources. The American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funding will play a critical role as we plan transformational change in our county. Racine County was allocated approximately $38 million of the $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed by congress. I am thankful for the spectacular work of my staff, especially our finance department, and our County Board ARPA Committee, as we design a plan to maximize the impact of these one-time funds.

Finance Director Gwen Zimmer has played an important role as we practice exceptional financial stewardship of the County’s resources. I would like to acknowledge several noteworthy financial milestones from this past year including our General Fund increasing by approximately $1 million, a wise sale of County bonds before the war in Ukraine resulting in a savings of more than $660,000, and the unanimous passage of our County budget last fall in particular. Looking ahead we will continue to pay back the ARPA funds used to pay for raises for essential workers in order to remain fiscally prudent and avoid a fiscal cliff beginning in 2024. I would also like to recognize the work of our Finance and Human Resources Committee in guiding Racine County’s financial decision-making.

As County Executive, I’ve always prioritized mental health reform, and I will continue to do so until everyone who needs mental health services can get access to and receive quality mental health care. We want to create a robust, supportive County that erodes the stigma surrounding mental health. Mental health impacts more than just the individual, it challenges families, communities and employers as well. We must invest in building a strong infrastructure for mental health services in our county – from community-based prevention to in-patient psychiatric beds – to meet the needs of our residents.

Over the past 12 years, we have accomplished tremendous growth and expansion of valuable community services – a nearly 800% increase in the quality and access of services. In 2010, Racine County delivered its mental health initiatives primarily through contracted providers who did not have the same focus and vested interest in program commitment and sustainability. That same year we began a transformation process of bringing services under direct County oversight, a process that continues today. And something I and all of us should be proud of!

We are now at a point where, while we are again ready to expand and enhance our services, we are bound by physical constraints. Currently, we are operating in three different locations, unable to grow to meet the demands of our community.

Our ARPA committee had discussed the urgent need to accomplish a bold, multi-generational vision. We are currently identifying ways to unite and expand our services to ensure they are of high quality and fully integrated.

Under the outstanding leadership of Human Services Director Hope Otto and the tireless efforts of our Behavioral Services staff; we continue to consolidate, eliminate barriers between services and providers, and develop innovative solutions for our residents.

One of these innovative solutions is our novel approach to supporting our residents in crisis. CREW, or County of Racine Essential Workers, has begun a partnership between mental health professionals and first responders to aid residents on non-emergency calls. The expansion of the CREW model will facilitate the most appropriate response to crisis services on the front end. By early engagement with mental health professionals, CREW will expedite care through direct admissions to the SAIL program, our short-term crisis stabilization center, while reducing unnecessary law enforcement involvement.

While we tackle our community’s ongoing mental health needs, I have to talk about how Racine County played a big part in the ability to receive opioid funding. Just last December, you authorized the acceptance of approximately $7.2 million to help our community recover from this opioid epidemic. These funds will go a long way in this battle, but we can and have been doing more.

Our Behavioral Health Clinic is distributing thousands of fentanyl testing strips to help stop overdose deaths in Racine County. We’ve seen an alarming trend in our community, one that mirrors a national crisis, drugs have been laced with a synthetic opioid called Fentanyl that can be 80-100 times stronger than morphine. Earlier this spring I joined Representative Bryan Steil and our heroes in law enforcement to share Racine County’s efforts to curb this poison from entering our community.

Speaking of brave individuals making a difference in our community, I would like to shout out our 911 dispatch staff. I regularly visit the Ives Grove complex and observe these men and women hard at work answering calls and serving as an invaluable lifeline between our residents and first responders. I am glad to see the Racine County Communications Center serve as a beacon of hope in our community. We will continue to partner with our neighbors to enhance public safety services. They do an amazing job of making steak out of hamburger! What do I mean by this? Our 911 infrastructure is becoming a challenge. We have an analog system that needs to move to digital. Unfortunately, it is not going to be easy. It’s going to be about a $10 million project.

I would also like to give special thanks to our Racine County Sheriff’s Office under the leadership of Sheriff Chris Schmaling, our District Attorney Tricia Hanson, Chief Judge Timothy Boyle and Juvenile Court Judge David Paulson for their proactive and courageous leadership. Racine County has seen its lowest number of individuals staying in our jail and youth detention center. I attribute these low detention and jail population numbers to the great people on the front line and partners behind the scenes keeping our community safe. A low census is great for our community and great for the County’s pocketbook!

The safety and well-being of Racine County residents remain a top priority. As the seasons change, so do the potential dangers facing our community. Last year, Racine was shaken by several drownings along our beautiful Lake Michigan. We’re done with this! I can’t say there won’t ever be a drowning, but this is a call for action. We are coordinating with our Sheriff’s Office, taking a measured and proactive approach to preserving lives so families and community members can safely enjoy recreational lake activities this summer.

This approach includes:

• Remote-control buoys controlled by lifeguards

• Enhanced signage

• Life-saving drones

• Homing beacons to notify the public of water conditions

• Buoy barriers to create defined swimming areas

Experts again are warning about the probability of a violent summer with increasing gang violence. We have been working with law enforcement and community partners from across the county to come up with innovative solutions to do everything we can to curb violence. Under the advisement of our Chief Diversity Officer Melvin Hargrove and Community Violence Prevention Coordinator Maurice Horton, we are engaged with national experts in this work. I recently sat down with one of our valued partners, Sylvia Bennett-Stone, the President of Voices of Black Mothers United, a national organization focused on ending violence and healing communities divided by senseless violence. As temperatures rise entering the summer months, Racine County will proactively coordinate community-wide strategies to reduce senseless violence to the best of our ability. Ending violence will take our entire community, so if you have any ideas or thoughts, please share them with Pastor Hargrove. In addition, our major law enforcement agencies are working together and have come up with a proactive plan to mitigate violence as much as possible. We will share details of this plan in the weeks to come.

Cybersecurity is another topic that keeps me up at night, and IT Director Shuchi Wadhwa and her team are working to protect our County's digital infrastructure and data. The County’s investment in testing and monitoring, infrastructure security systems and devices, and other upgrades will better protect us from cybersecurity threats. If you haven't already, check out the April edition of the Wisconsin Counties magazine for the piece I wrote called "When, Not if..." for a glimpse into the ever-changing cybersecurity threats facing local governments. While you're at it, I recommend reading the entire issue dedicated to an in-depth look at cybersecurity. To give you some idea how important cybersecurity is, with our recent investments and upgrades we have stopped over 2,784 attacks within the last month alone.

As we strive to provide essential safety and health resources to Racine County residents, I will continue to look for opportunities to consolidate services to increase the quality of services and reduce the burden on our taxpayers. Last year, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic this board made the bold and courageous decision to consolidate public health. In January, the Central Racine County Health Department moved under Human Services as a new Division of Public Health. Public Health Officer Jeff Langlieb and his team have been essential in guiding us through this COVID-19 pandemic. They have finally been able to transition back some of their time to focus on the amazing prevention-based services, including the nationally recognized Family Connects universal home visitation program. And you think you had a crazy last two years? The stress they were under and what they did to mitigate COVID while keeping our community open is truly heroic. Thank you, Jeff and your staff!

I would also like to recognize the efforts of Human Resources Director Sarah Street as she continues to enhance the benefits for our Racine County employees. I would like to specifically call out the County's new Employee Assistance Program (EAP). As a County, we are not only focused on improving the well-being and quality of life of our residents, but we are simultaneously working to support our vital, hardworking Racine County employees. This new and improved benefit provides confidential cost-free resources such as counseling, financial assistance, and legal consultation to support employees and their loved ones through a variety of life’s challenges.

Every County Executive looks at this role differently. I pride myself on being a convener and collaborator – focused on driving forward initiatives and accomplishing heavy lifts surrounding our common goals. I have always worked to build partnerships while being accessible and compassionate to all people and ideas to make our County the best in the State. One such idea that has taken root and been put into action is the RCICC or Racine County Intergovernmental Cooperation Council. This compact is modeled after other successful cooperatives around the country and will allow us to leverage partnerships across our 17 municipalities to create the best outcomes for our residents. I look forward to seeing where this innovative new partnership within our county leads. We are in a time in which we must take on huge challenges and accomplish hard to reach goals. It will take all municipalities to do this.

I recently toured Johnson Wax and I was struck by a quote from Sam Johnson, one of our nation’s great businessmen and philanthropists. A challenge that remains timely in 2022:

“We should not worry about whether we have lived up to the expectations of our fathers, but whether we, as fathers, have lived up to the expectations of our children.”

I believe our Youth Development and Care Center embodies the true spirit of our county! It showcases our commitment to youth justice reform and dedication to successful outcomes for our young people. This project was approved by a courageous Caledonia Village Board in February and will help us live up to those expectations. Advancing this project to where it stands today has been an extraordinarily heavy lift, but I am proud of the support I received from our County Board. And I will never take that for granted. This state-of-the-art, trauma-informed Youth Development and Care Center will have a transformative impact on our community: strengthening families and keeping our young people out of adult corrections. I look forward to seeing this project break ground in early 2023.

Investing in the young people of our county has been and will continue to be a priority. Racine County youth are the future parents, educators, and leaders of our community and we must give them the tools to grow and succeed. Our Summer Youth Jobs program provides real-world employment opportunities – good pay, for hard work -- along with mentorship, life skills training and supportive services to ensure successful program completion. That program will expand from an inaugural cohort consisting of 20 youth to nearly 75 this year. I believe these opportunities will yield amazing outcomes for our community.

We cannot forget about the more than 4,000 Wisconsin children who are removed from their homes each year. These children have not been forgotten in Racine County. In fact, they have become the face of our Foster Care program’s Keep Them Home initiative. Through the determined efforts of our Youth and Family Division, Racine County has seen a 60 percent reduction in out-of-home placements over the last four years. A reduction from more than 100 kids placed outside of Racine County to just 30. These numbers, on their face, may not resonate with you. But keeping a child in their home has been proven to reduce the emotional and psychological trauma a child suffers while saving our taxpayers the cost of providing intensive in-home services. As I said, young people are the future of our county, and this initiative provides well-earned hope that we can transform the lives of at-risk youth for the better.

Last month, I served as keynote speaker at the Tri-county Latino Unsummit hosted by the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Southeastern Wisconsin. I was honored to join the hundreds of business leaders, entrepreneurs and community leaders to showcase the economic resiliency of Racine County.

Our businesses continue to rebound from the lingering impacts of COVID-19, but with the help of partners like RCEDC, we are beginning to see our local economy return to pre-pandemic conditions. In just the past six months we have seen the groundbreaking of a $2.9 million expansion of the Mount Pleasant Business Park and a 60,000 square foot Homes2 Suites by Hilton in Sturtevant’s Renaissance Business Park. I would also like to remind you how lucky we are that Racine County remains fertile ground for economic development, and we will continue to work with our partners to attract businesses and high-earning potential job opportunities to our region. Future economic development is ripe with opportunities due to the bold investments both RCEDC and the County made in years past.

From Pritchard Park to the ongoing improvements at Quarry Lake Park and the acquisition of the Franksville Park in Caledonia; our County Parks are undergoing a renaissance. For the first time ever, we have a dedicated and staffed Parks Department. We have and will continue to make necessary investments in our parks. Reallocating funds for this purpose will have numerous benefits. By voting for these much-needed amenities, you’ve committed to a legacy, and invested in our community for generations to come.

One of our upcoming priorities will be Reefpoint Marina. Not for lack of upkeep, Reefpoint Marina needs significant investments to embrace the changing landscape of boating and boater needs. I welcome ideas and potential solutions to keep Reefpoint Marina -- Lake Michigan and Racine County's gem -- a relevant and recession-proof asset for our community for generations to come.

In 2017, I started the tradition of presenting the County Executive Community Impact Awards, because we have so many great people in our community who make Racine County a better place. We have two special guests with us this evening; each has made a profound impact on our county in their unique way.

The first award goes to an individual who has made an impact as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly before serving as an official in the Department of Natural Resources. He runs the Waterford Fourth of July Parade and the oldest Memorial Day parade in the U.S. right here in Rochester, Racine County. But we are also honoring him because he facilitates the best county fair in the State of Wisconsin. His immeasurable impact over the decades is one of the reasons we have the best county and county fair in the State. I would like to honor my friend Scott Gunderson.

Scott, why don’t you come up here and say a few words? We all want to hear from you!

Some of you may know that it’s always been a goal of mine to have 100,000 people at the Racine County Fair. Scott, I think that would be a pretty special milestone for the 100th fair. Don’t you think? I hope everyone in attendance brings five people to the fair that have never experienced it before. It’s a great Racine County tradition.

As many of you know, I am an executive board member of what I feel is the most influential lobbying organization in the State of Wisconsin. And the next award goes to the head of that organization, an individual who has a profound impact on the State, but also right here in Racine County. Whether it’s receiving millions of dollars in the opioid settlement, increasing funding to Racine County for child welfare, facilitating easy ways for Racine County to take advantage of road and bridge projects, and many more – actually, I could go on for the next hour. But I would be remiss not to mention just how the Wisconsin Counties Association positively impacts the residents of Racine County. Mark, I know you get a lot of awards. And this one will mean a lot to you, but I think it will mean even more to me to give this award to you. Thanks for making the trip down and giving your time. This award goes to my dear friend and mentor, Mark O’Connell. Remember it costs nothing to be nice.

Mark, please come up and say a few words.

Let’s give Scott and Mark a round of applause for their contributions to Racine County.

Earlier I referred to the Mercantile Hall as a time capsule. If you’ve walked inside that building, one of the oldest buildings in our county, you can feel the history. Think of what it must have been like for local vendors to buy and sell goods. Mercantile Hall is a community treasure.

But what will we leave for our communities, our children, or our grandchildren? What will be our legacy? How can we better rise to the expectations of the children of Racine County?

I am committed, with your help, to leave future Racine County residents the tools they need to succeed and thrive. We must leverage these American Rescue Plan Act dollars, this once-in-a-generation funding, to bring about transformational change. That is why we have been deliberate and calculated with our approach, not spending the remaining $27.5 million here and there without a long-term plan. Improving outcomes for disadvantaged communities, improving outdated water and sewer infrastructure, enhancing mental health services, and closing the digital divide. With your continued partnership we can leave a legacy we will be proud of for this community.

Finally, it wouldn't be a State of the County if there wasn't a homework assignment or a challenge. I’d like to share with you a book that inspired me.

With the services we deliver, how do we promote and develop a sustainable and resilient community? How do we help our residents realize their potential? I recently read an amazing book called Hope Rising. It's about the science of hope – not the emotion – and it will challenge your confirmation bias (as an aside- we all have it and we need to get more comfortable in the uncomfortable and look outside our bubbles) this book has no partisan slant – it’s a proven science on how we can and should improve our work culture, our services and, most importantly, those who we serve. I challenge you to read this; Maybe we could be as cool as Aaron Rodgers and start a book club to hear your ideas on how we can implement the science of hope.

I believe there is much cause for hope as we move forward into 2023 and beyond. I have shared some of our many accomplishments, highlights and initiatives from this last year, but there remains much more that didn’t make tonight’s address. Our Data & Performance Analytics Department, led by the brilliant Travis Richardson, captured more information and detailed outcomes in the State of the County booklet we’ve shared with you this evening. I encourage you to read this document and visit our State of the County website linked inside.

I’ll leave you this quote from Hope Rising.

“You are optimistic if you think the future will be better than the past. You are hopeful if you believe the future will be better than the past and you believe you have a role in making it so.”

Each of us has an important role to play in making Racine County the best county in our great state. Now let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work!

Thank you. May God bless you and may God bless Racine County.

Original source can be found here.