After being elected Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribal Chair, Robert (Bobby) Deschampe announced he was giving up his District 1 county commissioner position before his term was up. That left the seat open to a special election, which will take place in early February. The two candidates that made it through the fall primary are Paula Marie Powell and Robert Svaleson, and they will be on the ballot.
Powell grew up at her family’s fishing resort on Saganaga Lake. She was homeschooled, and moved into Grand Marais for high school. She is currently attending school online and will graduate this fall with an Associate degree in Graphic Communication. While she said she has enjoyed traveling and living in a few different states, Cook County is where she always comes home to.
Paula has a background in customer service, and for the last eight years, she has worked for Grand Portage Isle Royale Transportation Lines, currently as office manager and occasionally as a deckhand on Lake Superior.
Svaleson and his wife Kristie moved to Hovland in April 2018, following Bob’s retirement from an electric utility company in Illinois. He was born and raised in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Mount St. Clare College in Clinton, Iowa.
Following nine years in the US Navy as a nuclear reactor operator, Bob worked two years for General Electric in their nuclear division and then joined Exelon Generation for thirty years. He started as a Senior Reactor Operator and then moved into management of the nuclear stations and later into the corporate office. He retired as the Vice President of Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Q- If there were a shortfall in the general budget, what steps would you take to balance the budget?
Bob- Adjusting budgets is a necessary part of doing business each year. It is very important to set priorities for the available funding to facilitate making any changes.
Initially, I would seek to clarify what underlying assumptions are being made regarding the revenue the county relies on and the expenditures the county may or may not control. If a shortfall were to occur I will clearly communicate the issue with the staff, including the need to update department spending priorities. Then meet with the department heads to facilitate an overall spending prioritization for the county based on the needs of the public we serve. Through this intervention, we will collectively resolve the issue, ensuring that the essential activities for each department are met. Finally, we will determine how the general budget shortfall occurred and what actions are necessary to prevent a repeat occurrence.
Paula- My first step would be to work with the county administrator, department heads, and the budget advisory committee to understand the budget of each department to determine exactly where we went over, and why. Was this due to an unforeseeable emergency (like a government shutdown), or was it the result of a miscalculation during the budgeting or planning process?
Moving forward, we can look for other sources of income like programs or grants to apply for in order to offset small discrepancies. To correct a theoretical budget shortfall in the short term, I would do as much as possible to fix it within local government to avoid raising taxes. We currently have a robust unreserved fund balance, and I would support utilizing funds from that as a onetime emergency expense.
Q- Cook County Public Health and Human Services needs more space for its workers. Would you vote to build a new building, add to the current courthouse, or seek to have some employees work from home as they have done during the COVID-19 pandemic? There are a myriad of ways to approach this; what solutions would you seek to solve this dilemma?
Paula- This is a situation where we will need to be creative. If there is any way to utilize existing courthouse space for more offices we need to consider that. At the same time, COVID-19 has forced us to experiment with allowing employees to work from home, and this could be a good fit for some employees as a permanent option. We could also explore shared offices for workers who need only be on-site on certain days of the week. Multiple studies show that working remotely increases productivity, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t embrace that if it’s in the employees’ best interests, too.
Bob- We should begin with a thorough review of the experience we have gained during this past year with Public Health and Human Services employees working from home. Engaging the PHHS employees, we can determine what worked well and where there were gaps in meeting our commitment to the community. We want to preserve the areas that worked well and determine if there are ways that we can resolve any of the gaps while still working remotely. Then a review of available work and meeting spaces should be conducted to determine if a hybrid approach of delivering PHHS services would fully meet the needs of our community with the facilities that we currently have. Following these reviews, we should set out the options, along with a cost/benefit analysis, to make our final decision.
Q- Commissioners make policy and plan for long-range situations. Is there any policy (pick one) that you disagree with and if so, how would you like it changed so it affected a better long-term outcome?
Bob- Often it is not clear to the citizens of Cook County what the county vision and goals are when creating the yearly budget. Working with our new county administrator, I will develop and implement a long-range financial strategy and vision to aid in the budget setting process. This provides transparency into the long-range budgeting process, allowing greater, more specific, public input into the process. Aligning the budgeting process to the county’s strategic plan also provides the department heads with focus and direction when developing annual budget requests. This process would control large variations in the property tax levy that we have seen in previous years.
Paula- In my opinion most areas of our county governance would benefit from a written strategic plan, something that our county administrator has proposed. I think there would be many benefits of strategic planning, including determining priorities and establishing goals that the local government entities can agree on. Having the plan as a blueprint would also provide a means to measure how well we are doing and how much progress is being made, as well as a way to hold ourselves accountable, over the long term.
Q- What would you do to strengthen the bond between the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the county?
Paula- The tribe and the county already work cooperatively in the areas of human services, and with the county sheriff, and the highway department. Of course, there is always room for improvement, and I believe this starts with the people of Grand Portage having a District 1 representative that is familiar with the Reservation. I have lived in Grand Portage, and worked there, both for a private company and for the Lodge and Casino enterprise. I have a strong working relationship with Chairman Deschampe, and that will be important as we work toward mutual respect between the band and the county.
Bob- Assure that the lines of communication are kept open and demonstrate an authentic commitment to nurture a trusting, reciprocal, and long-lasting relationship with the Grand Portage community. As a sovereign nation within Cook County District One, the relationship between the District One board member and the Tribal Council is key in representing the Tribal Council’s requests for services from the county. If elected to be their commissioner, I will request regular meetings with the Tribal Council to ensure that I am aware of any needs and requests from the council for county services and to provide updates on county board issues. Additionally, I would make myself readily available to the council members at any time to discuss how we can work together to support the unique needs of the Grand Portage community.
Q- There has been a discussion about making the Cook County Law Enforcement Center into a holding center that would allow inmates to be housed here in confinement for longer than three days. Are you in favor of adding onto the current facility and moving to make the law enforcement center larger?
Bob- It was determined that the previously planned expansion of the Cook County Law Enforcement Center to facilitate holding inmates for up to 365 days, was not economically appropriate at this time. This is due to the total combined cost of the building addition, programming, and staff needed to meet all of the requirements of that type of facility.
However, there are some important issues that still need to be resolved, such as, the need for a larger garage facility to safely bring inmates into the jail and for expanded office/ meeting space. These are examples of capital building expenses that will be planned, added to a prioritized strategic plan, communicated to the people of Cook County and supported by the commissioners to improve the safety and working conditions of our local law enforcement employees.
Paula- I’m in favor of exploring ways to save the county money in the long term. Upgrading our jail would save us the costs of transporting inmates to other facilities (which are significant) and include much-needed building renovations, but the study previously done by Wold Architects seemed to indicate that pursuing a Class III designation wasn’t financially feasible for us at the time.
However, the facts remain that the building will continue to require repairs, and that there is insufficient working space for the staff members the sheriff ’s office already employs. It’s worth noting that as of the last facility inspection, the MN Department of Corrections has recommended hiring additional staff for safety reasons. Inadequate space (including for our Emergency Operations Center) and impending replacement of obsolete systems are things that can’t be disregarded. The county will need to revisit these issues in the near future.
Q- Every year, the United States Forest Service allocates payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILT) funds to Cook, Lake, and Saint Louis Counties based on a formula established by the 1948 Thye-Blatnik Act. Funds paid to the counties are based on an appraisal done every ten years on lands within the BWCA. The USFS is currently re-doing the 2018 land appraisal because it resulted in potentially huge reductions of money sent to the counties. Would you like to see this process change so the counties can more readily rely on PILT for their budgets each year?
Paula- I would like the USFS to take into consideration the actual probable use of the land if it was opened up for private and commercial use. We know that the BWCA land’s actual value far exceeds its value as a resource for timber and mining. The new appraisal should reflect this more accurately, so I am in favor of the them re-doing it.
I support mandatory spending for PILT by the federal government at the full formula amount, which would give us relatively stable payments that we could depend on as revenue.
Bob- We need to work with the USFS and USDA to establish a fair and consistent process for appraising the lands associated with the Thye-Blatnik Act. In 2008, the appraisal included many more parcels with lakeshore then the 2018 appraisal, which focused more towards timber valuation.
Without the discipline and accountability of clear criteria, the potential for significant fluctuations in PILT contributions will likely continue; and, as has been recently demonstrated, Cook County cannot afford that.
Q- The question of unfunded mandates often comes up. An unfunded mandate refers to regulations or other requirements instituted by a higher level of government on a lower one, but without accompanying appropriations to cover the cost of compliance. County boards frequently complain that overly prescriptive mandates, imposed by state and federal agencies, often place an unfair burden on local taxpayers. What is your opinion regarding unfunded mandates and, if elected commissioner, how would you propose addressing this issue?
Bob – The question usually comes down to, does the cost of the mandate outweigh the benefit, and do we have any control in how the mandate is implemented? Depending on the cost to implement the mandate, the county board members will be required to choose between the following:
1. Increase the tax burden on taxpayers
2. Reduce the level of services provided
3. Borrow from the County Reserve Fund
4. Bond for the revenues to spread out the financial burden
5. Any combination of the above
In some cases, an unfunded mandate will have such a strong justification that we will move forward and enforce those, even if not fully funded. I would identify and challenge the agency that imposed the mandate. Clearly detail the cost to meet the mandate and request that agency to fund the requirement, or allow flexibility to explore less costly ways of meeting the public objective. At a minimum, a cost/benefit analysis should be provided, so that the taxpayer has as much transparency into the issue as possible.
Paula- Unfunded mandates take a “one size fits all” approach, assuming what works for one locality is the best option for all. They force counties into inefficient spending, essentially wasting our money, and leaving our taxpayers to pick up the costs of implementing and complying with them.
As a commissioner, I would work with our state legislators to support any legislation that helps control or reform unfunded state mandates, allowing counties more flexibility to do what they know is best for their communities. I would also reach out to other county representatives in our region to discuss how they are dealing with this same issue, and how we can work together to find solutions.
Q- Pick any county related topic you would like to see addressed and explain why it needs to be addressed and what you would propose to fix it.
Paula- I’ve said before, when I was younger I took local government for granted but never really felt like I had any place in it, personally. Because of that, I feel like there should be a purposeful effort to make local government more “user-friendly” and transparent, so more of our citizens feel like they have a spot at the table. As a commissioner, I would want to always be accessible to the people of the district I represent. The COVID-19 crisis has stopped us from interacting at town hall meetings, and temporarily halted the opportunity for citizens to attend County Board meetings face-to-face.
But again, we are forced to be creative in the face of difficulties, and are using video-conferencing and phone calls and working remotely to get our jobs done in this “new normal”.
I want to encourage constituents to use any technology they are comfortable with to connect with their local government, and myself as a candidate, whether that’s through social media, website forms, or just picking up the phone.
Paula can be reached at: paula.marie.powell@gmail.com
Bob- Before we consider county building additions, we should conduct an audit of the current buildings to determine the condition of the buildings and any needed repairs. Then we need to establish a “life cycle” management plan for these structures that includes the repair/ replacement costs for things such as windows and heating/air conditioning units that were not built to last as long as the buildings. These costs need to be projected into the yearly budget where we anticipate the replacement.
By doing this, we will predict and avoid large budget expenditure surprises. Once this is done, we need to set out a strategic capital building plan that is based on our current and projected needs. This will include cost estimates and life cycle management that allow us to incorporate these costs into future budget planning. Only by going to this depth of capital planning can we avoid the swings that we have seen in the property tax levy process.
Bob can be reached at svale1@aol.com.
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