Tom Schmitz

Tom Schmitz

1.) What is your background and why are you running for office?

I grew up in Saint Peter with my four siblings. My father Bob grew up in New Ulm, were we still have many relatives. He was the Saint Peter city attorney and had a private law practice. One of the many things he taught me was the importance of public service. My mother Lilo grew up near Ulm Germany, where we still have many relatives. She managed our family household and cared for us five children. One of the many things she taught me was the importance of international relations, including between our sister cities of New Ulm and Ulm/Nue-Ulm Germany. I met my wife Kim at Mankato State University, and we married in 1986 at Seven Mile Creek Park between Saint Peter and Mankato. We are very fortunate to have two adult sons, Dylan and Kelton, both of whom grew up in New Ulm and graduated from NUHS. Most of my 45-year career in the parks and recreation industry was in the public sector, working for various levels of government. My work taught me much about government operations and public service. Some of those past employers are City of Saint Peter, City of Mankato, Nicollet County, Salt Lake County, City of Bountiful Utah, National Park Service, State of Minnesota, and City of New Ulm. Some of my private sector past employers are Boy Scouts of America, Mount Kato Ski & Bike Area, Shoreland Country Club, and the Saint Peter Greenhouse. I am running for city council because I recently retired and have time to devote toward maintaining and improving the best small town in America, New Ulm.

2.) What is the top issue facing New Ulm?

I view employers (jobs) as the top issue to focus on for New Ulm. Employers, keeping employees working, are critical for a community to sustain itself and grow. The city needs to be actively involved in retaining existing employers and recruiting new employers.

3.) What is your goal for this term if elected?

My goal is to assist the city in continuing its budget balancing and financial stability. Focus needs to be on fiscal conservatism; controlling taxes; maintaining infrastructure; and reducing expenses or not adding expenses, without appropriate offsetting revenues.

4.) How should we address shortages in housing, workforce and day care in the community?

Selling Garden Terrace will assist with a portion of our rental housing situation and spark an increase of private development. Additional efforts should include working with developers to increase availability of both single family and multi-family housing.

Workforce improvement efforts should focus on areas of education and training, reeducation and retraining, assisting with employer’s needs, along with retention and recruitment of employees. When not in the workplace, employees seek and need quality of life. The city needs to be actively engaged in maintaining and improving quality of life in areas such as education, healthcare, retail commerce, arts and culture, recreation, and green space.

The city should partner with both public and private entities to improve our day care industry. Efforts should be in the follow areas: education; training; along with facility development, maintenance, and operations.

5.) Are there any areas of the city’s budget you would increase or decrease?

I do not think any areas of the city’s expense budget, needs significant increasing. Potential expense reductions and or revenue increases could possibly include: lengthening years of service for fleet vehicles between replacements; increase user fees where costs far outpace expenses; add user fees where no fees exist; eliminate or reduce subsidies to private organizations; aggressively solicit sponsorships and partnerships for programs, activities, and facilities.