Questions by Brandi Makuski

Carrie Freeberg has training in Lean Six Sigma, federal FEMA training, is undergoing the process to get her Treasurer’s Certificate. She attends Continuing Education classes through the Government Finance Officer’s Association (of which she is also a member), and a member of the Municipal Treasurer’s Association of Wisconsin.

BM: What prompted you to run for John’s spot?

CF: “Because I want to keep the strength of the city’s finance that we currently have. We have an excellent bond rating and we wan to keep it that way.”

BM: Explain what that means.

CF: “When you’re an ordinary person you have a credit rating. When you’re a municipality you have a bond rating. The bond rating is calculated using your fund balance; the strength of the city is determined by your debt compared to your fund balance. Our debt service falls well within the range that we’re allowed to have. The only thing holding us back from having the top (rating) is the fact that the school owes a lot of money. Anything the school utilities borrow also affects us.”

BM: What’s something about the Comptroller-Treasurer position that most people don’t know?

CF: “Well, any decision that comes out of the comptroller- treasurer position has to be approved by the Common Council, but what I also want to say is that investing is a very small part of the job.”

BM: So what is the biggest part of your job?

CF: “Budgeting and monitoring the finances. I was explaining to someone at a local meeting, he asked what the difference was between me and my opponent. Just as an example I pointed out the differences in our debt service schedule. Our debt service schedule goes out until 2033. We have borrowing, and that included TIF’s, that go out until 2033. Because of our rating we are allowed to set our principal payment to how we want them. So we can say the amount we want to pay, or we can raise it a little, or sometimes we have it set where we have one big balloon payment at the end. Our debt service is so structured and so confusing if you don’t know the history behind it. Any new borrowing we bring in have to be looked at all the way out to 2033 because if you fluctuate that too much the taxes will go up.”

BM: Where does the city go for loans?

CF: “Right now, John (Schlice, current Comptroller-Treasurer) goes through a bank. He’ll send out letters to all the surrounding banks in the area asking if they want to do business with the city. Interestingly enough, the only banks that are responding right now are Investor’s Bank and Chase Bank. And I think Citizen’s Bank has a loan with us. These little hometown banks don’t seem to want to deal with the city’s money. They never respond to the emails.”

BM: Explain how a TIF District works.

CF: “Well, if we can use Edgewater (Manor) as an example, if you put Edgewater into the TIF district, what that mean sis it’s not going to benefit the city at all. If it sells to a private party in that TIF it will benefit the city because any tax increment that’s created off of that- it’ll take a few year because any money coming in from that for the first few years is going to go to paying it off. What happens is the city would borrow the money for the TIF, and then the rent that comes in would pay that payment. If the city keeps Edgewater, doesn’t put it into the TIF and the CDA (Community Development Authority) runs it, it stays tax exempt. If it’s privately owned and they put it in the TIF, it goes back on the tax rolls.”

BM: Say you really disagree with a decision made by the mayor or the city on a financial vote. How would you respond?

CF: “I would write a letter to the aldermen explaining why. I don’t report to the mayor, so I would explain to the aldermen why I felt that way.”

BM: You bring up an interesting point; I wonder if many people are aware you don’t answer to the mayor. Who do you answer to?

CF: “The Council and the people. Well, the people ultimately; the council can’t really fire me. I work for the people, but I do answer to the Council.”

BM: You had some difficulty addressing the public at a recent forum. When you come to this meetings to address the council, and it’s ultimately shown on television for everyone to see, how comfortable would you be?

CF: “In that regard I’m fine. When it comes to public speaking, that’s my second- biggest fear, so when I get in front of people to speak on something it’s different than when I’m the one creating the discussion, when I’m in my element.  There was an open letter in the Gazette where they said based on that performance at that forum they’d chosen the other guy. But I’m not a politician, I’m just a regular person. I just froze at the forum, but I’m not like that when I’m comfortable with what I’m talking about. I’m not good at selling myself; I’m good at selling my ideas.”

BM: You’ve served as Deputy Comptroller- Treasurer for several years; how accessible are you in this current position?

CF: “Oh, yeah, very- I just got a call today from someone today who had questions, which is why I was late meeting you.

BM: Is there something financially not happening on the city level that you’d like to see happen?

CF: “No.”

BM: So in your opinion the status quo is right where we should be?

CF: “Yes. And I didn’t realize how good we were until I went to a conference about three weeks ago, sitting and talking with other people. It was a public finance officer’s conference, just sitting there and talking to others, I was like, ‘Holy crap, are we in a good spot.’ One of the breakout sessions was for Moody’s investor services, and just listening to what they said, and listening to the buzz at the table, it was amazing to me how good we were. I knew we were in a good spot, I didn’t realize it was as good as it is. Don’t get me wrong, there are certain things that need to be changed, but as far as how things are done financially, we’re good.”

BM: What are some of the things that need to be changed?

CF: “We need to upgrade certain things, like scanning in invoices so we don’t have ten boxes for each year with a thousand invoices in it (laughs). I’ve already started us doing more ACH (Automated Clearing House, an electronic transaction process used by banks) but we need to do more of that.  John’s not real good on the computer, so I think a lot of the stuff that’s being done on paper needs to be start being done on the computer. And then it will be more accessible, and more readable, by other people.”

BM: You hold membership is various professional organizations. How does that help you in your current job?

CF: “It keeps me up-to-date on the law changes.”

BM: No local official has been able to explain the local effects of sequestration. Can you?

CF: “No. John and I have talked about this, he says he doesn’t know either. We just have to wait and see. And we won’t even discuss it (publicly) until we know where it’s going.”

BM: Where did you go to college?

CF: “UWSP. But I went two and a half years. I was working at the police department through a work- study program. When the police department had a fulltime opening, I applied because I was trying to raise a two year-old by myself, and I had to pick: do I continue school, or do I take this job? I didn’t qualify for grants, and I’m trying to pay for (school) loans, so I worked. I worked two jobs; one at my step-dad’s insurance office, one at the police department. I left the house at 7 o’clock in the morning and worked at the police department in between classes when I could, and sometimes I didn’t get home until 9 o’clock at night. It was hard- I was a single mom. I didn’t have any family here to help me, so I took the job. SO yes, I did go to college, but I don’t have as many years of schooling as some others might. What I do have is all these years of on- the- job training.”

BM: You’ve been working in the deputy comptroller-treasurer position for a long time. How important is a seamless transition once John retires?

CF: “Extremely important. Any hiccups, if you miss a deadline for filing certain reports, that will affect your bond rating, and it only takes one time. It’s like a credit report- it’s all there for five to seven years. The reason why John can do what he does is not just because we have really good bond ratings, but because he’s formed a really good relationship with people at these banks. They trust him, they know the city’s strong. A seamless transition is going to allow me to continue these relationships that we’ve built over the years.”