Tim Hansen
Please tell us about yourself. What is your background?
While not a native, I have lived in Medford for 46 years. I was appointed to the County Board in 2011 to fill the remaining term of Jim Seidl when he passed. I then served for five successive terms, until the 2022 election when I decided not to seek reelection for family reasons.
In 2023, County Board chair Jim Metz asked me to serve the remaining term of Greg Knight, who moved out of the district. (Are we sensing a pattern here?) For those that don’t know, I have worked at Sports Page for the past 20 years. In addition I have been a bus driver for Krug Bus. Currently, I am semi-retired from the Page and continue to drive school bus.
Why do you want to serve on County Board? I think experience in any job is important and having served for more than decade on the board, my experience is an important asset going forward. In the past I have served as chairman of the Library board, Chairman of the Heath Department, Chairman of the IT Committee, and member of the Personnel, Finance and Law Enforcement committee. Currently, I serve on Extension, Land Conservation, Land Information, Health and IT.
This wide range of experience in county departments makes me uniquely qualified to serve the residents of District 2 and Taylor County as a whole.
What do you think the biggest challenge facing the county over the course of the next 5 years will be and how would you address it?
As in the past, the biggest challenge we face is trying to balance our budget in the face of state imposed revenue caps. For over a decade we have asked our department heads to come to budget hearings with a zero percent increase for essential and discretionary spending not including wages and benefits. It is an almost impossible task (just ask any homeowner with a budget). Yet, to their credit our department heads have all worked within these constraints.
We need to continue to lobby our legislators to at least allow us to spend up to the consumer price index (CPI).
What skill or ability can you bring to the county board that will help the county continue to move forward?
As I stated previously, my experience brings a lot to the board. With the wide range of committees served on as an added advantage.
Let me tell you something about our county board. Yes, we have people who are Republican and yes, we have people who are Democrats, but I am so proud of our ability come together for the good of Taylor County.
Good people typically make good decisions and while people may not agree with all the decisions of this and past boards, remember these supervisors are not professional politicians and are trying their very best to serve all citizens of Taylor County.
What is something the county is doing right? See previous answer!
