Home – Why serve?

Last update: Feb 24, 2026

Topics: Summary of my positions, Three focus areas, Challenges, The case for change – a four-part strategy.

Collaboration. My position on issues is to work to identify the best solutions for the county. This requires communication, public meetings, and the application of collaborative decision-making processes. A summary of this approach as it applies to the management of revenue from the innkeeper’s tax and tourism marketing is provided in the following post: Management – Revenue from the Innkeepers Tax.

Commissioners Office Actions and Accomplishments

Quality of Life and Cost of Living

Why serve?  In short, I want to contribute to improving the quality of county government services that improve our overall quality of life and support an affordable cost of living. An effective and responsive government provides the needed foundation to support a sustainable, healthy, and prosperous community. The core functions of government include maintaining roads and bridges, public safety, financial management, and comprehensive planning that guides economic development, zoning, and sustainability of the tax base.

 “In most governmental services, there is no market to capture. In place of capture of the market, a governmental agency should deliver economically the service prescribed by law or regulation. The aim should be distinction in service. Continual improvement in government service would earn the appreciation of the American public and would hold jobs in the service, and help industry to create more jobs.” – W. Edwards Deming

Book Review – Government Executive magazine: Success Through Quality: Support Guide for the Journey to Continuous Improvement by Timothy J. Clark. ““It should come as little surprise that such a clear voice on quality calls out from the federal bureaucracy. Clark follows in the steps of W. Edwards Deming, the world-renowned quality theorist who helped the Japanese become a world-class industrial power in the second half of this century. Deming began his career as a physicist at the Agriculture Department. “

I believe in a fact-based decision-making process involving all the stakeholders that will be affected by a decision. I also believe in developing and maintaining the documentation that supports the decision. This can then be used to help determine if the change resulted in the expected improvement.

 Three Focus Areas: Transparency, Accountability, and Improvement

My intent in serving as Commissioner is to focus on three areas and provide frequent updates: Transparency, Accountability, and Improvement.

  • Transparency: What is happening? Who is doing what, when, and why?
  • Accountability: What is being accomplished? Are we on plan or off plan?
  • Improvement: Are needed changes resulting in improvement?

Challenges

  • Brown County has a one-party monopoly on political power that can contribute to fear, moral compromise, inefficiencies, waste, and mismanagement. Transparency, Accountability, and Continual Improvement are antidotes.
  • Issues and Challenges at the “County” level or not Red or Blue. In other words, individuals can and do have polar opposite views on political, social, cultural, and spiritual issues but can and do find common ground on “county” issues. These issues include the safety and condition of roads and bridges, emergency services, cost of living, voting systems, and overall quality of life within the community.
  • Years of overspending, financial mismanagement, and lack of due diligence. It will take several years to recover. The good news is the council and commissioners selected a new financial advisor in 2024 who supports monthly reviews, financial planning including goals and objectives, capital improvement, and longer-term planning.  (Description of the “old system” 2024 Budget Hearings and Process)
  • Cost of Poor Quality (CoPQ). Generally, CoPQ (inefficiency, waste, bad decisions) can range from 20% to 40% of the budget.
    • Example: Closing Indian Hill Road and railroad crossing. It took less than an hour for the commissioners to vote to close. It has taken about three years and counting to correct the mistake. In addition to the financial, costs can include the hundreds of hours (literally) spent by stakeholders whose actions led to the county’s petition to reopen, which was approved by INDOT. Costs also include the risk and inconvenience to residents who were directly affected and could not easily access a state highway (45).

The case for change

My case for how a few small changes will lead to better results include the following:

Overall Strategic Concept

Supporting Context: Citizenship, Quality Management, Christianity

On the Web – Other Sites I Support

Military Service: National Defense Service Medal – Family Service

Enlisted Service – 1972-1974

Commissioned Service: 1982-2012 – Colonel, USAR, Retired

In the military – unlike the private sector with a focus on profit and loss, decisions can have life and death consequences. If you are lax in training and developing leaders, then soldiers are not adequately prepared for combat.

I was branch-qualified and served in the Infantry and Military Intelligence units. As an all-source intelligence analyst and leader, if we missed something, then there was more risk to Soldiers in planning for their missions. On the civilian-civil service side, money wasted in one area meant that it was not used to meet a more critical need in another area. On fighting waste, I lost more battles than I won, but I did not stop fighting. This mindset did not change when I retired and started getting involved in county government.