Jon Duckstad, Candidate for Eden Prairie City Council

General Information

Name : Mr. Jon Duckstad
Age : 78
Place of residence : Eden Prairie

Education

College

Attended college : Yes
College : Luther College, Decorah, IA
Degree : Business Administration/Math minor
Year of graduation : 1956

Grad school

Ph D.

University : William Mitchell College of Law
Area of research : Law
Year of graduation : 1962

Military service

Has served in the military: Yes
Rank : Sergeant SB5
Date when discharged from duty : 29 August 1958

Employment Information

Job titles held : Real Estate Appraiser, Lawyer, Professor of Law
Employers : J. Bettendorf Real Estate Appraisers, MAI, City of St. Paul, William Mitchell College of Law

Political Information

Party affiliation : Republican
Running for a: Local office
Running for position: Eden Prairie City Council
Chamber/district: Senate District 48
Incumbent: No
Previous elective offices : President, MN State Bar Assn. 2002 EP City Council 2006-2010
Unsuccessful bids for elective offices : 2010 - EP Mayoral

Party HQ

Address 8066 Timber Lake Drive
Eden Prairie
MN
55347

Campaign Manager

Name : Carole Jean Duckstad

URLs

Website : jonduckstad.org

Other facts

Jon's Record: Budget Advisory Commission- Voted to establish in 2007 believing we need direct citizen involvement and transparency in how the city spends your tax dollars. Successfully promoted and passed three years of 0% budget increases while maintaining essential city services. During his tenure the City received award in 2010 from CNN Money rating Eden Praire as #1 city in nation in our population category. Right-sized city government by reducing city staff with no adverse affect on city services. Opened bidding for city legal counsel which resulted in reduced retainer costs by $60,000 per year.

Why are you running: I am running again to serve the City for several reasons including: ensuring your tax dollars are spent by our Council providing necessary services to all residents through efficient and effective city government; preserving safe, friendly neighborhoods, maintaining and improving parks, trails and open spaces and supporting City policies that foster business expansion and job growth. Also, I believe the Council needs another strong voice supporting fiscal responsibility while remaining focused on essential services provided efficiently and my record shows that I've been successful in doing this. I respectfully ask for your vote on November 6th.

What expertise, talents and character traits would you bring to the City Council? I bring to the Council a wide range of city and municipal experience spanning more than a decade including: prior service on the Eden Prairie City Council, 2007-10; the Eden Prairie Planning Commission, 2006; the Eden Prairie School Joint Task Force, 2007-10; the SW Transit Commission, 2007-10; the St. Paul City Charter Commission, 2000-3; the St. Paul Zoning Board of Appeals, 2000-3; and the St. Paul City Attorney Staff, 1963-70. I also served as a retained legal counsel for the Village of Mendota in the early 1970(s). I bring 50 years experience working with groups to solved problems of all kinds. What is the biggest issue facing the city of Eden Prairie right now? The biggest issue is determining what is needed versus what is wanted in City spending. City plans should take into account the general economy.

In a down economy the City should focus on providing essential services like maintaining roads and bridges, first responders, public utilities and other core government services. It should reconsider spending tax dollars on maintaining things like heritage properties and postpone or spread out the costs of upgrades to recreational facilities until the economy improves. Also, bringing city employee benefits in line with their private sector equivalents is imperative to the long-term fiscal sustainability of the city.

Essay: Dear Friends, believing the Council needs another strong voice supporting fiscal responsibility while remaining focused on essential services, I am running again for the Eden Prairie City Council. During my last tenure on the Council I helped create the Budget Advisory Commission (BAC) whose purpose was to add transparency to the budget process and provide taxpayer input on the financial decisions of the city.

One reason I am running again is because the current BAC has been changed so it no longer is the taxpayer watchdog on the Council's actions as it was meant to be. If elected, I will work to restore the Commission to its proper purpose and restore your right to have a say in how your tax dollars are spent. I reviewed and right-sized city government staff resulting in cost savings to the taxpayer with no adverse affect on city services. This included opening up the bidding for city legal counsel which resulted in a cost savings of $60,000 annually to the City. I also promoted and helped pass 3 years of 0% budget increases while maintaining all essential city services. During which time Eden Prairie received a prestigious award from CNN Money magazine as the #1 City in the Nation for our population size.

If elected I will work, as I have done before, to continue holding the line on spending and focus on providing the services our city needs to grow and prosper. I will work to implement ideas and policies that would support my goals of reducing spending while maintaining essential services. One way to reduce spending is by consolidating operations through cost sharing with neighboring cities. Some examples are: centralize the 911 dispatch center with Hennepin County, utilize Hennepin County assessor service instead of maintaining our own, sharing first responder costs with surrounding cities which have established facilities near our borders which could improve response time and save tax dollars. This "sharing of services" will let us provide the city lower-cost services while maintaining local control.

We could also consolidate purchasing and human resource services to gain volume discounts. Another way to save money is by privatizing services to commercial ventures which can provide them more cost-effectively. As a customer, rather than a provider of the service, we can increase or decrease the amount of service provided, or change providers, in response to changing needs of the city or the state of the economy. We would not be saddled with maintaining facilities, personnel and equipment that increase overhead costs. City staff payroll and benefits constitutes 70% of the budget. By right-sizing our staff through service sharing, using part-time employees or contractors for certain positions and using commercial vendors in a competitive market will help to reduce costs and give us more flexibility and choice to provide the best services possible to the taxpayer.

It is also important to maintain an open door policy at city hall where we invite city businesses to discuss their needs and find solutions which will help them grow and prosper. I have always believed that Eden Prairie deserved a strong advocate for fiscal discipline with a focus on essential services provided efficiently to all residents and my record shows that I have been successful in doing this. If you elect me to the Council, I will continue to be the good steward of your tax dollars as I have been in the past. I would be honored to serve Eden Prairie for four more years as a dedicated public servant and I respectfully ask for your vote on November 6th.