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Tom Wheeler becomes board chairman Jan. 5

Brian Wilkinson

(Updated: Thursday, December 31, 2009, 12:00 AM)

Fifth District Supervisor Tom Wheeler, who will become chairman of the Madera County Board of Supervisors in a swearing-in ceremony Jan. 5, thinks 2010 will be a challenging year.

Wheeler took office in January 2007 after defeating Tony Ward of Ahwahnee.

Before running for office, Wheeler worked as the ranch manager on North Fork's Circle W Ranch in North Fork for 41 years. During that time he also ran small businesses, including an antiques store, a window-shades store and an upholstery shop. He now sells collectible die-cast miniature race cars.

Wheeler, 67, recently took time to reflect on his first three years in office and on the year ahead.

Star: Looking over the past three years, what were some of your accomplishments, specifically in eastern Madera County?

Wheeler: Projects that have taken years to happen in the area finally got off the ground in the past couple (of) years, like the new Mountain Government Center off Highway 49 that includes the sheriff substation and fire station No. 12, the soon-to-be-built North Fork Fire Station, the Ahwahnee Regional Park and attaining the SPICA building site at the Ahwahnee Park.

The priority list for road improvements voted on 20 years ago (Measure A) was never completed because some people in the road department were not doing their jobs.

But now we are getting things done with Johannes Hoevertsz, our new road commissioner. He's doing a great job.

We are now spending that $23 million on projects the people voted on 20 years ago. We have our own paving machine now to get more road work done throughout the county.

A lot of the work has been done in the Mountain Area, and we will be doing a lot more. The county received more than $1 million in stimulus funds from the federal government, and that has helped.

We recently finalized the road-impact fee schedule for road improvements that will go into effect Jan. 1. These fees have not been increased since 1996 when the fee was $400 for a single-family residence.

They are now $6,400 for a residence. The fees were proposed at $10,400 for a home, and I fought to get that reduced.

Another accomplishment was the Chukchansi settlement that got $1 million a year for 10 years in grants for county nonprofit organizations.

Star: What projects do you hope to see started or completed in 2010?

Wheeler: I'm working with a lot of people, including the chamber of commerce, the visitors bureau, the community college district and property owners, on the Oakhurst Civic Center Project.

This project will clean up the eyesore in the middle of town and replace it with new retail stores, restaurants, a new chamber office, a new visitor center and a museum.

Kiosks will also be installed showing all the attractions in Madera County.

The community college has already out grown its current site, and I'm looking for a site to expand to a permanent campus. I hope to see that plan developed by the end of 2010.

I would also like to investigate the idea of a countywide service district to raise funds for fire and police through a quarter- or half-a-cent sales tax dedicated to those two areas. I have brought it up to the board, but for now there is little support for it.

I would like to bring it to a vote of all the citizens of the county. We get lots of complaints for not enough fire or police protection.

We'd be much better off if we had a service district to fund more of these much-needed services as the county continues to grow.

Star: Will the board be able to balance the budget by the end of the fiscal year in June?

Wheeler: These are tough economic times for the county. It's frustrating when the state takes money from counties and cities to help their budgets, and we have had to cut $10.5 million.

We have cut over 150 county positions and not refilled an additional 50 positions through attrition.

We have cut fire protection, libraries, the visitors bureau, along with many other departments, and have now started staff work furloughs.

We received 19% less sales tax this year and we are down $1.5 million in unsecured taxes.

The county re-evaluated property tax on more than 20,000 parcels throughout the county this year, and those new calculations will result in a healthy loss of property taxes. We have also experienced a higher number of delinquent property-tax bills than we have had in years.

We had a budget deficit of about $10.5 million back in June. We borrowed that from road department Measure A funds to get us through the first six months of the fiscal year. By making cuts in August, the $10.5 million is now down to $8.2 million. We will still be short for the next six months (by) about $4.5 million. We hope to make up the difference by June 30.

We hope to save $1.5 million with work furloughs that we just voted on, and we will have to cut some more salaried positions, a lot of travel expenses and start charging new fees and increasing current fees for county services such as animal services, zoning fees, health inspections, new business license fees and building permits.

We are currently meeting with four unions out of 13 to cut salary cost-of-living increases for county staff that are due in January.

Cutting the cost-of-living increases would give us a savings of close to $2 million.

We will still have to cut more programs. We have no choice. We will not be like the state and spend more than we have coming in.

I don't see this turning around in the near future. Building in the county is down about 40%, so the permit fees are down 40%.

We have to make these tough budget cuts that are required for us to balance the budget and still be able to give our citizens the services that they require in these tough economic times.

The year ahead will be one of the toughest budget years Madera County has ever seen, but with team work and dedication we will make it through.

Star: How important is the passage of the proposed Tourism Business Improvement District, which will come before the board Jan. 5?

Wheeler: This is a really important decision for the board to make to help the county grow our tourism business worldwide.

It is so important for our businesses in the county to have those visitors come to visit our county. The money these visitors leave trickles down and multiplies seven times in our communities.

Having the increased funding for the bureau through the (district) will not only support the bureau and increase tourism in the county, it will increase the funds to the county's general fund through increased transient occupancy tax and sales tax.

If it does not pass, the bureau would be defunct and Madera County would be left off the map as a tourism destination.

Star: Will the satellite building department remain at Bass Lake or will it be shut down?

Wheeler: The final decision is on hold, but we reduced staff, and that was the smart thing to do. That office is running economically and should pay for itself.

I hope to keep it there. It is important for the people of Eastern Madera County.

Although we are working on a computer system that will allow people to do their permits from their home or business, that is still hard to do for many people.

Star: The public is generally unhappy about the Jan. 10 seasonal closing of the Raymond and Ahwahnee Cal Fire departments. Is there any chance they can be saved?

Wheeler: I want to get that issue back on the board's agenda for discussion and to rescind the original vote to close the stations.

County staff will be looking at our budget during a midyear review around the first of February. I hope they can find some funds to reopen those two stations.

The Ahwahnee community has been coming before the board every week for two months. They have 1,100 signatures of residents that are asking to have that station open for the safety of the public.

People getting involved is one of the strengths of our county. People want to know what's going on in government. This is important to our county and country to make sure government does what's right for the people.

Star: What frustrations have you had since taking office?

Wheeler: How slow government works. Projects move fast in the real world, but government doesn't work that way. You have to jump through every hoop and blockade that people put up to get something done.

Star: What are some changes you would like to see as board chairman during 2010?

Wheeler: I will do my best to steer the county in the right direction. We will have to explore new, innovative and cost-saving alternatives to operating government.

I realize a lot of people do not like change, but change is going to be necessary this next year to save jobs and to continue to operate Madera County like a well-oiled machine.

I want to start team meetings with key staff to curtail any potential problems and make sure we are all on the same page.

I also want to stress the idea of customer service within the county departments. I want to change the mindset that we are not doing people a favor by serving them. Citizens are doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to serve them.

I am working 24-7 trying to make Madera County a better place for us all to live in and enjoy, like I have since 1958 when I first moved here.

Star: Do you plan to run for re-election in June?

Wheeler: I want to run again. I need to run again. Four years is not enough time to get everything done I wanted to do to help the citizens of the county.

I'm really looking forward to running again next year and being a full-time supervisor representing the Mountain Area.