Janesville City Council Candidate Julie Backenkeller Answers Our 5 Questions

Note: Julie Backenheller is a write-in candidate.

I was born and raised in Janesville, and am a fifth generation small business owner in Rock County, employing 10 locally. I am a founding member of the Rock County Visioning Committee - the countywide group that brought the "Workshop to Protect Working Lands" to Janesville in February, and I continue to be very involved in the preservation of our most fertile farmlands that surround our City. I co-founded Rock Environmental Network, Inc, an environmental awareness group that has brought concerned citizens together. We host monthly "Environmental Cafe" events that are environmentally educational, and help promote local businesses. Through REN, I write a bi-monthly column on environmental issues for the Gazette on a voluntary basis. In addition, I have been very involved with recycling programs at Madison, Franklin and Parker Schools, and serve as the PTSA President this year for Franklin Middle School. Currently, I serve as the vice chair for the Janesville Sustainability Committee, and have been chosen as "One of the 50 Who Matter" for this year's Gazette feature.

Question 1: Rock County currently ranks #1 in the state for unemployment. Much of this is due to business closings and layoffs in the City of Janesville. What will you do to bring jobs back to the City of Janesville?

Most communities in the United States are suffering with job loss. Manufacturing jobs have gone to Mexico or China in many cases, so cities are competing for companies to relocate to their community. What makes Janesville unique? What makes us stand out from the rest, to attract companies to our City? Focusing on what makes Janesville a great place to work and live is key. More effective marketing of the City, based on our very unique and interesting history, natural resources, including the most fertile farmland on earth, our parks and trails, and our proximity to larger cities is needed. We need to work in unison with other communities in the area, and offer a "regional" vision for economic development. A sustainable community is one that is based in locally owned business. I would promote the support and expansion of our locally owned businesses, while we are looking into bringing new, green technology jobs to our area. We can also focus on using our unique assets to create or expand on eco-tourism, agri-tourism, and other job creating options that use our unique natural resources.

Question 2: Janesville is known for its automotive heritage, however, much of that industry is now gone. If you were to define Janesville’s heritage for the next 20 years, what would it be?

What do we have, right here, that is different from anywhere else in Northern America? The most fertile farmland on earth. To replace Janesville's automotive heritage, I would work with the County Ag Council, Towns Association and our local farmers and landowners to create a new heritage based in bio-fuels, and other sustainable industries. Rock County is poised to feed the Midwest. Farmers report that they can grow crops here that they can't grow elsewhere. We use what we have to recreate our community. We could also transform some of our vacant buildings into hydro-ponic facilities, to extend our growing season to year round. There are unlimited options available to us, and this is an exciting time to be involved in a new direction for the City!

Question 3: During the past year, several projects surfaced and were met with a great deal of public debate: the bike tunnel, the childrens' museum, the aquatics center, and the ice arena. Please explain what guidelines you will use to make decisions on projects such as these.

Common sense needs to guide our decisions on projects like the ones you mention. Paying for a bike tunnel, when the community is clearly set against it, defies common sense. I believe that Council members need to involve the community in decisions that will affect them, but using technology to allow residents to "vote". Web-polls, call in options (one number for yes, another for no) would allow the Council to get more feedback from a larger amount of residents, and allow the community to feel that they are a part of the decision making process. Concerning a Children's Museum: last summer, my family visited the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Different "rooms" within the museum were sponsored by different companies or groups within the community, offering ever-changing displays, at no cost to taxpayers. I have suggested combining this with a community center, that can be utilized for both youth and seniors. Indoor roller blading can be offered on Friday nights, while a fireman's dance or big band swing lessons could be offered on Saturday nights, to help support the Fire/EMT department's budgets. Children's museum displays could be offered 6 months out of the year, while roll-away skate board ramps could be put into place when areas were not being used for other groups. The options here are unlimited.

Question 4: What steps should the City of Janesville take, if any, in redeveloping the downtown area?

Downtown is the historic heart of our City, and makes Janesville unique! In order to re-develop this area, we have got to stop developing on the fringe of the City. Continually moving outward will do nothing for redevelopment at the heart of our City. More can and should be done to support downtown businesses and residents, and services like a grocery store and community/downtown center should be options. Our downtown could be a model "walking community", and revitalizing on our historic buildings would allow downtown to shine. Every city across America has McDonald's and Burger King, and strip malls with chain stores. We need to support locally owned businesses, art galleries, pubs, cafes, antique stores, etc. in our downtown, and make it a destination again.

Question 5: Explain your approach to budgeting and taxation: do you start with adding the expenses up and then setting taxes based on those expenses? Do you start with setting a cap on taxes and then working backwards? Do you strike a balance in between? Please explain.

As a small business owner, I understand the concept of budgeting, and not spending more than you make. The City needs to be run more like a business, and there is confusion by many on what services and opportunities the "City" should offer (paid for by residents), and what the "City of Janesville" has to offer (privately owned businesses). No one wants higher taxes. No one wants to give up City Services. As a Council Member, I would start with the basics - maintaining what we have, and work outward from there. Again, common sense decisions need to be made, and the residents of the City need to be involved in the decision making process.