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20 | I nsIgh t • F e b r u a r y 2 0 14 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m face time Manitowoc was named by Forbes magazine as the second best small city in America to raise a family. We've always had great education, our crime rate is low – we've worked on that over the years and made sure we prioritized where we had to in our public safety. dollars of tIF (tax incremental financing) funding into this project to make sure it happened and stayed here. since then, we've had a plethora of businesses be very successful. Federal Mogul corp. had a downturn in the economy with the auto market, and today they're adding upwards of 200 jobs at their facility. Jagemann stamping just went through a $20 million expansion, adding upwards of 100 jobs. ey had a loan with the city and the city was a partner in that expansion. so we're seeing a lot of positives on the business front. In 2000, our overall debt was $22 million to $25 million, and in 2009 when I took office, it hit $75 million. It was out of balance. I put forward a plan to cut the debt in half by 2018, so we'll be around $30 million by 2018, still maintaining the services we've had. we went through a pretty rough year in 2011. we eliminated about 75 full-time positions, but we're better off now because of it. I think we did a good enough job explaining it to the citizens, because that same year we had a 10 percent tax increase, which is drastic. we had to take out a short-term loan from our utilities, which we're paying back aggressively. we went through business process improvements with snow plowing, so when we cut half the staff from the snow plowing budget, it didn't have an effect because we just changed our routes and the way we did things. e mayor before me was mayor for 20 years. we had the same council – one council member was on since the 1960s. when I was elected we had six new council members, so a majority of council was new. we were all fighting the first two years, but one thing we did different was we involved them in the budget process early on so we were working together. sometimes you don't see that in state and federal governments, but you see it locally. e lake is our greatest asset, obviously. Manitowoc was named by Forbes magazine as the second best small city in america to raise a family. we've always had great education, our crime rate is low – we've worked on that over the years and made sure we prioritized where we had to in our public safety. we're clean, we invest in our roads and our quality of life, our parks, our beaches. It's a place where you can raise a family, feel safe to have your kid walk to the local park without any fear whatsoever, because it's just the type of community we are. Investors Bank Investors Community Bank is locally owned and staffed with experienced bankers who understand your business. Our team's experience goes to work for you to identify your needs and provide long-term financial solutions that improve cash flow and business. We take pride in developing relationships based on trust and respect—values that are at the core of building your business. Operating out of our Manitowoc and Stevens Point offices, we serve entrepreneurs and businesses throughout Wisconsin. Understanding your business like no one else. For a fresh perspective, call 888-686-9998. People Bank With People. InvestorsCommunityBank.com Tim Schneider Lindsay Meyer Jeff Jagodinsky Jackie Brennan Tom Detienne Jody Jansen David Diedrich Kathy Keane Trever Athorp Scot Thompson Paul Kuplic Mark Maurer