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Money for repairs among issues for Brown County Commission candidates [American News, Aberdeen, S.D.](Aberdeen American News (SD) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 31--In Tuesday's election for three available spots on the Brown County Commission, all roads lead to, well, roads. Among listed concerns from the three incumbents and three challengers, all pointed to ongoing county roadway improvements, though other issues were also discussed. Current commissioners Mike Wiese, R-Aberdeen; Tom Fischbach, D-Warner and Nancy Hansen, R-Aberdeen, will attempt to stave off commission hopefuls Doug Fjeldheim, R-Westport; Paul Dennert, D-Columbia, and Louis Liebig, D-Aberdeen. "The roads have been the issue for quite a few years," Dennert said. "We haven't gotten much money the past couple of years to fix them, but Mother Nature has helped us to a great degree. The water table has been going down so the roads are holding firmer on their own, but that doesn't mean that there aren't roads that need to be fixed." A 20-year veteran of the commission, Hansen said one of the issues she hears most about from her constituents pertains to Brown County's roads and the fact that they need updating. "In my time as a commissioner, we have seen our roads suffer from damage due to floods as well as heavier traffic," said Hansen, who classifies herself as a hybrid Republican-Democrat. "With budget constraints due to Legislature restrictions and the needed repair to county roads and other departments to perform their duties in a competent manner, I feel one of my accomplishments has been in the budgeting process." Wiese said funding for roads, and most other causes, has been a never-ending topic since he took office. "We had limited funds 20 years ago when I first became a commissioner," Wiese said. "We had just come under a property tax mill levy cap as part of the state's reaction to people's concern about property taxes and so forth. Our mill levies were lower than they probably should have been at the time. We've lived with limited funding ever since, and it's been difficult. I appreciate what our highway superintendent Dirk Rogers has said, which is that we know we have limited resources, but we need to do as much good with what we have as possible." He was referring to state lawmakers imposing caps on the amount local governments can collect in property taxes form one year to the next. The total is limited to the amount of growth plus the rate of inflation or 3 percent, whichever is less. Wiese added that experts he has talked to have indicated that corn -- a heavier product that other grains, such as wheat -- will continue to be a popular crop in the future. It other words, county roads will continue to be strained by the heavy loads resulting from higher yields. That's in addition, he said, to the competition nowadays for rail space, which could ultimately add to highways and roads needing more repairs more often. Like Hansen, Fischbach said he hears a lot of feedback from constituents about roads and bridges. But he's also being asked about the county's information technology contract with Sivertsen Technology of Aberdeen. That, Fischbach said, has become the biggest issue of the election. Since 2011, Sivertsen Technology has contracted with the county to provide technology and computer services. A state audit revealed that the company double-billed the county for a computer. One of the resulting steps is that the county no longer purchases equipment from Sivertsen Technology. Duane Sutton, commission chairman, called the double-billing an honest mistake. Fischbach, though, understands the public's interest. "The attention of our IT department by the press and some others is warranted," Fischbach said. "I had been questioning for months the contracting of a private firm instead of a IT department head person that would be an employee of the county. That would be mostly for the cost, not the service. After the results of the audit were presented, I made a motion at that same meeting to advertise for such an employee and that motion passed." Fjeldheim, Liebig and Dennert have pressed on the Sivertsen controversy. Each feels that change on the veteran-laden commission would be a good outcome in Tuesday's election. "So many things are just rubber-stamped," said Liebig, a longtime letter-carrier in Aberdeen. "I'm not a rubber-stamper. The commission needs some new blood and some fire. Rarely does the commission get into a discussion. I was a steward for the letter-carriers union for 35 years, I'm used to having differences and being able to work through them to help management and the person. That's an ability that not everybody has and I think I have it." Fjeldheim took it a step further, saying that the current commission is downright complacent. "I think a lot of that is because of the longevity," Fjeldheim said. "I question whether commissioners are communicating with the various department heads very much at all. There's an attitude of 'this is how it's always been done,' and I think a change would be good. There are a lot of concerns, from budgetary concerns like why we're paying so much for an IT person, to concerns about the need to repair and improve our roads." The incumbents might hold an edge over the challengers in the commission race, a fact that Dennert, a former state lawmaker, freely admitted. But the current climate could open the door for the challengers. "In this case," Dennert said. "I don't think that turnover would be a bad thing." Follow @bryan_horwath on Twitter. Meet the candidates Paul Dennert, 77 -- Democrat -- Columbia -- Semi-retired farmer, attended South Dakota State University, former state legislator. Tom Fischbach, 68 -- Democrat -- Warner -- Farmer, attended Northern State University, commissioner since 1991. Louis Liebig, 69 -- Democrat -- Aberdeen -- Attended South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Retired mail carrier, avid hunter and fisherman. Mike Wiese, 58 --Republican -- Aberdeen -- Attended Augustana College, salesman for Dex Media, completing fifth term as county commissioner. Doug Fjeldheim, 60 -- Republican -- Westport -- Graduated from Lake Area Technical Institute where he studied advanced mechanics, retired businessman, small operation farmer. Nancy Hansen, 67 -- Republican -- Aberdeen -- Attended St. Cloud State University and Northern State University, tax preparer/appraiser, county commissioner since 1994. ___ (c)2014 the American News (Aberdeen, S.D.) Visit the American News (Aberdeen, S.D.) at www.aberdeennews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |