SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
November 30, 2022
Sullivan’s Salvos 12/6/22
In this edition:
*Buy Local!
*Thank You Pat Heiden!
*Thank You Janet Lyness!
*Thank You Tom Kriz!
*New Blood!
*Did You Know?
*Buy Local!
The holiday shopping season is upon us, and before you spend too much money, I’d like to exhort you to buy locally. It will be better for you, better for those for whom you are buying, and better for our community.
I have a long history with “Buy Local” policies. I helped get the County policy in place shortly after I was elected, and I helped convince the Chamber of Commerce to adopt their policy shortly thereafter. Both have been pretty successful.
Think about it – would you rather line the pockets of Jeff Bezos, or your neighbor? It is an easy decision. Personally, I have never purchased anything from Amazon. And other than needing to buy diapers for my granddaughter when out of state, I haven’t spent money at a Wal-Mart since 1985. I haven’t missed out. You will not miss out. This can be done!
Again, buying local is better for all of us. So please – buy local this holiday season!
*Thank You Pat Heiden!
Supervisor Pat Heiden is retiring after serving one term on the Board. I really didn’t know Pat until her unsuccessful run for Supervisor in 2016. Pat ran again – successfully this time – in 2018, and I have really enjoyed serving with her.
Pat has a great temperament for being an elected official. Far too many elected officials take every disagreement personally. Others make disagreements personal when they need not be. Not Pat. Pat is always professional, calm, and cool. Her public statements are almost always positive; if she has something negative to say, the person who needs to hear it will hear it privately. Pat always errs on the side of more public discussion, not less. This sounds like pretty common-sense stuff, but it is actually quite rare.
I have really grown to like and admire Pat. I now consider her a good friend. I will miss her both personally and professionally.
Thank you for your service, Pat! Congratulations on your retirement!
*Thank you Janet Lyness!
County Attorney Janet Lyness is retiring after serving for 30 years in the County Attorney’s Office, including the last 16 years as County Attorney. I got to know Janet when I started at Johnson County in January 2005. I have really enjoyed serving with her.
County Attorney is a hard job. I would argue that it is the single most important job in County government. Especially in our current world of Monday morning quarterbacks. You see, most of the things that get resolved by the County Attorney’s Office are negotiated. It is very easy to be on the outside and say, “I can’t believe they let that guy off with manslaughter!” It is very easy to be on the outside and say, “I can’t believe they settled with that disgruntled former employee!” It is very easy to be on the outside and say, “I can’t believe they settled with the company that did that!”
It is REALLY easy to be on the outside, puff out your chest, be a big tough guy, and say, “I would never let any of those things happen!” Because in reality, you would be a fool, and you would not serve the public well. You would also lose a lot, and cost the county untold millions.
What’s more, the County Attorney’s Office does not get to explain most settlements. So they rarely get to defend their actions. They just have to take the slings and arrows – usually fired from people who have zero idea what they are talking about.
We have been very lucky to have Janet Lyness as our County Attorney. Janet is unbelievably kind, caring, and thoughtful. She really cares about victims and their families. On the other hand, she also knows that more punishment for offenders is usually not the answer. We have been fortunate to have a County Attorney who cares so deeply.
Janet has led the way in many important areas, from jail diversion, to drug court, to mental health court, to marijuana diversion, to creating GuideLink, to working with victims of domestic violence, to helping people get their driver’s licenses reinstated, to investigating racial disparities in the system… Janet has made Johnson County a better, safer, more just, more decent place to live.
I will miss serving with Janet. She’s a really good human being, but also very fun and funny. I am glad she is going to have the opportunity to relax. I hope we will stay in touch.
Thank you for your service, Janet! Congratulations on your retirement!
*Thank You Tom Kriz!
County Treasurer Tom Kriz is retiring after serving for 24 years. I got to know Tom when he first ran for office in ’98, as I was the Chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party at the time. Little known fact - Tom won the 1998 Treasurer primary election by just 28 votes! And to prove how well he does the job, no one has ever challenged him since!
I have tremendous respect for Tom Kriz. For starters, I don’t know if I have ever met a harder worker. Tom is always the first to arrive and last to leave. It is not unusual to see him at work on a weekend. He routinely outworks people a third of his age.
In addition, Tom is honest, fair, and consistent. County government is decentralized by design. Things go much more smoothly when the various officeholders have a relationship built on trust and respect. Tom definitely sets that tone.
There are certainly times where I think, “I wish Kriz would change the way he does that.” I am sure there are times that he feels the same way about me. But Tom is a very wise man. I know I would be a fool not to seek his advice and counsel. So whenever we are faced with a unique issue, I advocate for having Tom at the table. Some examples include securing the land for the HHS and Ambulance/Medical Examiner buildings, parking policies, and emergency closure policies, just to name a few. We always get a better product when Tom is involved.
County residents know how well-run the Treasurer’s Office is. Waits are much shorter than those in comparable counties, and the customer service is outstanding. It is not unusual to see Tom or one of his staff members out in the parking lot with a pair of pliers, taking off a plate for a customer.
Another thing county residents may not realize is how wonderfully Tom has managed their money! Several years ago I worked with Tom and others to create a series of financial reserve policies. Tom ran them by the ratings agencies (Moody’s, Standard and Poor, and Fitch) to get their thumbs up, so we have a very solid set of policies. Johnson County has an AA+ bond rating, just below the best-possible AAA status. Ratings agencies have told us that the only reason we do not have AAA status is that Coralville still has some work to do.
In addition, Tom came up with a brilliant move about 16 years ago. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) was absolutely ravaging the County budget, costing us millions every year. Tom realized that properties in TIF Districts were required to pay for debt. So Johnson County began borrowing large amounts of money for very short periods. We borrowed for insurance, vehicles, and all sorts of things for which we really didn’t need to borrow. Then we would pay the loan back almost immediately. Though there were some small interest costs to this scheme, it spread the taxes over hundreds of millions of dollars more valuation. That process saves every residential taxpayer in Johnson County almost $100 annually on property taxes.
He has been an innovator, but Tom is also old school. Work hard, be honest, and treat people right. It is a formula that still works!
I am going to miss having Tom’s steady presence in the building. My big regret is that I never got Tom to tell more stories about his football and baseball exploits. Tom was quite an athlete at University High School in Iowa City, was a member of the Hawkeye football team, and even played some minor league baseball! But Tom is very modest; he is probably bothered that I said this much!
Thank you for your service, Tom! You are a good man! Congratulations on your retirement!
*New Blood!
Beginning in January, V Fixmer Oraiz will be taking Pat Heiden’s seat on the Board. Rachel Zimmerman Smith will be replacing Janet Lyness as the County Attorney. Scott Finlayson will be replacing Tom Kriz as the County Treasurer.
Johnson County? You did well! I am very confident that these three people will do a great job of leading Johnson County into the future!
*DID YOU KNOW? Johnson County has only had three Treasurers in 58 years: Don Krall from ’65 until ’84, Cletus Redlinger from ’84 until ’98, and Tom Kriz from ’98 until present.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 8:33 PM
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