Pulaski county board candidates face public's questions League of Women Voters hosted forum By Anna Krejci News-Chronicle County board candidates for District 26 debated issues such as the expansion of the county's Mental Health Center, insurance for county board supervisors, taxes and diversity in government at a forum Tuesday at the Weyers-Hillard Library in Howard. Current Brown County Sup. Steve Fewell and Ronald Kryger, former Village of Pulaski president for 10 years, attended the debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Greater Green Bay. Carlene Felmer, also a District 26 candidate, could not attend the debate because of a scheduling conflict, according to Joyce McCollum, public relations chairperson for the league. A debate official read questions that were submitted by the public, one inquiring about the candidates' position on the Mental Health Center and whether it should be remodeled or a new facility built. Fewell said he did not believe there was enough information to predict what the county's future demographics would be and not enough study about whether building a new center or renovating the old would be the most cost-effective. He called the center - with needed improvements in plumbing, ventilation and handicap accessibility - a "liability." He said improving the Mental Health Center will be costly, whether it is renovated or a new facility is built, and said he will not rule out either option without further study. "We do need to have an adequate facility to provide care," he said. Kryger said he believes the health center's needed improvements could be met with remodeling. "You don't have to build a new building every time you want to change things," Kryger said, and added that if remodeling the current building were to be less than building a new facility, then remodeling the facility should take place in order to save tax payers' money. Both candidates agreed that the part-time positions of Brown County supervisors do not warrant health insurance bought with tax payer money. "It's not a full-time job," Kryger said. "It should not carry the weight of benefits." Fewell said he voted to cut out supervisor health insurance and would do so again. The two candidates came to the same conclusion on whether more administrative personnel should be hired when services are being cut. They both said money should not be spent on hiring. "You don't need to add more personnel to give you more reports and to make things more confusing," Kryger said. Fewell cited cuts made to services, including day services for the developmentally disabled. "We've made serious cuts - its just not a time to hire more management to the county," he said. As for taxes, both candidates said they want to keep the tax burden manageable. "We've got to start looking for ways to economize," Kryger said, adding that he does not want to leave debt for future generations. "There are certain things you have to go into debt for," he said in his closing speech, but said financing roads is not one of them. Roads should be paid for on an annual basis, he said. Kryger said county residents are being taxed too much that they cannot pay for medicine and medical bills. Increasing taxes will not help them, he said. Like Kryger, Fewell said there are areas where tax payers money can be saved. Fewell said he has supported small tax increases in the past. He added that the recent budget held the line on taxes but that more could have been cut. He said there is too much money in the general fund and there was opportunity to save money by cutting insurance for supervisors. The two candidates brought different perspectives on diversity in government. Fewell said the problem with diversity issues in local government did not lie with the Diversity Affairs Council in itself, but in the tendency to always involve the council in issues at the last minute. Instead, Fewell said, the council and minorities should be involved in earlier stages of discussion. Kryger said concerns about diversity have been made into bigger problems than what actually exists. "When you look at diversity, all you're looking at is respect - respect for one another," he said. He said all ideas should be treated with equal respect. "To have special influence - then we've got a problem," he said. Village of Pulaski president, Craig Klatt, said both candidates presented themselves well at the forum. "They stuck to the issues - that's very important," he said. "They both did a great job at keeping it respectful towards each other."