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Your In-Depth Local News
Woodbury discloses
top paid employees
- Jan 30, 2019
The City Administrator, $176,390; Police Chief $154,828; and Community Development Director, $152,990 are top earners in Woodbury (Published Jan. 24, 2019.)
That is an increase from City Administrator, $172,000; Public Safety Director, $150,489; and Community Development Director, $148,651. (Published Jan. 11, 2018.)
Woodbury's highest paid employee's "Actual Gross Salary" is:
That information is public under Minnesota law.
This compares to the larger cities of:
- Duluth [~$86M budget] (June 8, 2018): Chief Administrative Officer $133,125
City Attorney $127,212 Director, Public Works & Utilities $127,212 or
- Bloomington: City Manager $172,730; Public Works Director $171,335; and Chief of Police $170,248 (2018 page CR8)
Historically the number was City Administrator, $161,600; Public Safety Director, $142,195; and Community Development Director, $140,459. (Jan. 4, 2016.)
https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/471.701
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Republicans Sweep
local council elections
Nov. 9, 2018
Despite Democrats winning all the elections for all federal and state offices in Woodbury, local Republicans were able to hold the three open city council seats up for election.
Burt, Santini, and Morris followed strong campaigning by Republican Mary to hold control of the majority of the Woodbury City Council.
.
It's about our families.
Woodbury mixes contaminated water with 'clean' water to make it less contaminated. Five (5) of nineteen (19) municipal drinking water wells are contaminated.
- You can vote to change that.
Children are at most risk. Many filters do not remove PFCs from drinking water. Reverse Osmos (RO) is the best way.
The 2040 Plan does not solve the problem.
How Do We do It?
We can:
- Change to one of our alternative Water Sources
- Filter at the Source
- Filter at the point of consumption.
Woodbury is great for families.
#GovernmentTransparency
The bad 2040 Plan was written by folks running for Woodbury City Council that refuse to deal with the problem:
- Anne Burt
- Rodger Splinter
- Jen Santini
- Steve Morris (planning)
Woodbury can be better.
Woodbury Needs
BETTER POLICING
It's about our families.
But Woodbury police only investigate 1 in 100 reports to police.
- We can change that.
We can have a better community.
How Do We pay for It?
We can:
- use our existing +$8,000,000 better.
Woodbury is great for families.
#GovernmentTransparency
Woodbury can be better.
Public Safety Director, (the police chief) is already the second highest paid employee in the City at a base compensation of $154,828.
City Administrator, $176,390 and Community Development Director, $152,990, are the other two highest paid employees. (Published Jan. 24, 2019.)
https://www.woodburymn.gov/government/finance/index.php
Woodbury Needs
MORE TRANSPARENCY
It's about our families.
Woodbury Council voted unanimously in 2018 to spend your tax money to try to change the law to prevent you from looking at Public documents.
Then overspent CIB by 100%.
- You can vote to change that.
We can have a better community.
The 2040 Plan does not solve the problem.
How Do We pay for It?
Our Current Council:
- Budgeted ~$15M but spent ~$30M.
That $15M is real money, taken from people and not spent on our designated priorities.
Woodbury is great for families.
#GovernmentTransparency
The bad 2040 Plan was written by folks running for Woodbury City Council that refuse to deal with the problem:
- Anne Burt
- Rodger Splinter
- Jen Santini
- Steve Morris (planning)
Woodbury can be better.
Woodbury Needs
RESTORE AMBULANCE CUTS
It's about our families.
Woodbury ambulances can 'legally' be idled but as a community do we want people who have called 911 to wait twenty or twenty-five minutes for an ambulance?
- You can vote to change that.
We can have a better community.
Put all four (4) Woodbury ambulances back in service.
How Do We pay for It?
The ambulance is an Enterprise fund that pays for itself through user fees.
#GovernmentTransparency
Woodbury can be better.
Woodbury Needs
Community Service
It's about our families.
Community Service isn't just for Veterans Day.
- You can vote to change that.
We can have a better community.
Lets support our community service orginazations with increased visibility in our community, increased access to facilities and increased resources.
Woodbury discloses PFC
How many pfc are ok?
- Mar 7, 2019
The City of Woodbury has some great news; the City of Woodbury pumps the cheapest water in the Twin Cities, oh and there are PFC molecules in that municipal water, pumped from underneath the derelict 3M chemical dump in Woodbury into the municipal water system.
Over 83,500,000,000 PFC molecules have been detected.*
How many PFC molecules are too many?
PFCs cause cancer and a range of other negative health effects, as they are Endocrine Disrupters; it's like the keys to a car. The keys themselves aren't dangerous but that the keys give you the ability to dangerously operate the car is the risk, a danger multiplier effect.
But wait, the problem is the PFC molecules go into your body and stay there, for years and years, in every practical sense, some stay in your body forever.
If today, you drink that PFC contaminated Woodbury water that is pumped into and absorb those 83,500,000,000 PFC molecules, in 2019, in 32 years or 2051, you will still have 5,218,750,000 of those very same molecules in your body, over five billion PFC molecules in your body, from 2019.+
If yesterday you also took a drink of 83,500,000,000 PFC molecules too, the in 2051, you will have over ten billion PFC molecules in your body. In fact, every day you drink water containing
So if there are only 3,340,000,000 PFC molecules in your Woodbury municipal drinking water, the City considers that number to be the same as zero, like there aren't any PFCs in your water at all, except that in 32 years, you will still have 208,750,000 PFC molecules, just from your drinking Woodbury municipal water today.
* PFC at 50ppt
+ PFC C-8 half life 4 years
Woodbury: Lier Lier
Pants on 'fire'
- Mar 1, 2019
The City of Woodbury published "96%" success for 2013.
So let's look at Woodbury's math.
Successes = 25
Confirmed Events = 47
Total = 26
WHAT!!!! How can 'Total' be
smaller than 'confirmed'?
So are 'success' really at 96%?
or more like 25/47= 53%
What other numbers are falsified?
We only found this out because the 2019 budget now included the historical number of "Confirmed" events; previously in 2018, only the 96% number was published without the "total" denominator number showing the higher "confirmed" total.
Woodbury discloses
Ancient Workings
- March 8, 2019
So in 2000, a postage stamp was 33 cents, gas cost $1.26 a gallon and the City of Woodbury wrote their procedure for data access.
Only one of those things hasn't changed.
The City of Woodbury public data access procedures hasn't changed.
The organization has "re-orged" several times, people have left, but the policy is the same. Only one problem, the policy is supposed to be updated annually, or whenever there is a change.
It's about our families.
Woodbury City Administrator Clint Gridley said we wouldn't be able to add an enclosed rink...
- You can vote to change that.
It's bad we have the lowest Ice to Children ratio in the area, so kids are either traveling way too far or staying up way too late, while we spend millions on other less vital projects.
Figure skating & hockey don't have enough sheets to host tournaments and bring visitors to town.
How Do We pay for It?
Woodbury just overspent their capital budget by $15M, to a total of $31M for 2018. At a cost of $7M for two (2) sheets, (~$6K/mo or $72K/yr plus $40k = $112K/yr) we could have built four (4) new sheets for just our 'over budget' costs this year. Ice sheet rentals are currently +$350,000/sheet/year, or ($350K - $112K) an ~$500K gross profit annually. Different assumptions can be made to get different results but projecting $650,000 (Conservative direct) to $1,800,000 (Total Sports Tourism) of positive economic impact annually of having 2 sheets free for hosting 7 tournaments annually (Two of the Tourneys use both sheets).
- You can vote for change.
Seasonal concrete slab ice sheets, for eight-month use (Sept-April below 55 degrees), cost $0.6M/sheet and operate at a cost of $5K/mo each, with a life of 15-30 years.
Temporary buildings can economically enclose the ice sheets (80' x 450') and provide additional off-season summer field house space.
The City can:
- Provide Land
- Provide Revenue Bonds
- Provide Permits
- Be a Limited Partner
The $0.5M/year profit x 30 years = $15M overspending of the current council.
#GovernmentTransparency
Dr. Hernandez is a
researcher working at
3M's laboratories in
the Twin Cities.
He also teaches one
night a week at
Dunwoody College of Technology in Minneapolis.
Hernandez, who ran for City Council in 2016, said that as mayor, he would "work to keep Woodbury a top city to raise a family in." As vice president of the Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) Parent Advisory Council and a youth baseball coach, he has focused his community service on family groups.
As an engineer, Hernandez said he would bring a unique understanding of technology and an affinity for making complex problems manageable.
If elected, Hernandez said some of his priorities would be water quality issues and expanding access to recreational areas. He also noted his goal to reverse the city's "disastrous plan to eliminate existing commercial and industrial businesses by 2040 and upholding Woodbury as a city that places families first."
Meet the Candidates:
Braun, who ran for
Council in 2014 and
2016, said he decided
to run again this year
because he doesn't
believe any other
candidate" has the
qualifications to talk about the real issues, let alone fix them."
Braun was a firefighter and EMT with Woodbury Public Safety for a decade, before he was injured in a rescue and medically retired in 2015. He said that through this work he gained intimate knowledge of city budgeting processes, and helped him build relationships with community organizations.
The council needs to focus on issues that have a long-term impact, especially the city's water, Braun said.
"Mixing bad water with good water can't be the only solution going forward," he said.
With a background in research
science, forensic scientist
Hemmingsen Jaeger said
she is trained in thinking
about things analytically.
Her work with the Minnesota
Association of Professional
Employees (MAPE) on the Government Relations Committee also taught her how to create and implement policy.
Hemmingsen Jaeger said she's always been interested in advocating for citizens. But she said she also "would love to see more involvement from WB citizens," as nearly 69,000 people is a lot for four city councilors to represent.
"The more dialogue we can engage in, the better," she said. "It's not my agenda, but the citizens' agenda."
Wilson said she has been following
City Council meetings, workshops,
and budgets for the past three years.
She is currently a stay-at-home mother
and homeschools her children. She
was previously a court reporter.
Wilson is interested in how residents'
tax dollars being spent, and she said
she's been questioning the integrity of local government.
Wilson, who is sometimes vocal in council meetings, said that city budgets aren't being adhered to, and that taxes and levies are constantly increasing
If elected, Wilson said infrastructure would be her priority.
"Fresh faces and fresh people would bring good things to the council," she said.
