MADERA COUNTY – The gavel was passed during the regular meeting of the Madera County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Jan. 14, as North Fork resident and District 5 Supervisor Tom Wheeler took the seat as Chairman.
Outgoing Chairman Max Rodriguez expressed his confidence that Wheeler would keep the momentum going and continue the progress made over the past year.
“While we may not always agree, rest assured that our board remains committed to making responsible, practical, effective policies that make Madera County a great place to live, work and prosper,” said Rodriguez.
He also honored the County employees with whom he has worked closely over the past year as Chairman.
“They are committed to serving the people of Madera County above and beyond call of duty with very little recognition. The department heads are doing an outstanding job maintaining the budget and operating on bare essentials to deliver quality service to our residents.”
Rodriguez was then presented with a plaque for his service during two terms as Chairman, in 2009 and 2013.
As Wheeler took over the Chairman’s position from his friend of over 50 years, he congratulated Rodriguez on his ability to “keep us four pushy individuals under control and demonstrate a reasonable way to run a meeting.”
Wheeler, who grew up in Madera County, called it “the best little county in the whole United States,” and said he is looking forward to tackling the issues the County faces.
“Even though we expect to see the economy continue to recover, it’s our duty to remain fiscally conservative in the coming years and maintain a balanced budget,” he said. “We will continue to streamline the processes and become more efficient. Our staff and department heads continue to work to make it easier for the people to do what they want to do with their land in Madera County. It’s one of the reasons I ran for Supervisor.
“When somebody comes in with a job they want to do, our job is to see how we can get it done, not to say, ‘well that’s impossible.’ I plan to continue pushing County services with a more customer oriented philosophy in mind, encouraging departments to focus on improving customer service, because that’s our job – to help the people.”
Wheeler said he plans to start hosting monthly team meetings with the various department heads, as he did during his last stint as Chairman, and to continue coordinating meetings with the cities of Chowchilla and Madera.
This is Wheeler’s second term as Chairman, having served in the position in 2010. He was elected to the Board in 2006. Chairman pro tem for 2014 will be District 2 Supervisor David Rogers.
Wheeler encouraged the public to communicate with him about issues that are important to them.
“My door is always open, my phone numbers are all advertised, and I always return my calls and emails,” he said.
Supervisor Tom Wheeler’s Office
200 W. Fourth St.
Madera, CA 93637
559.662.6050 office
559.673.3302 fax
You are a world class lowlife; Tom Wheeler.
Way to sell out your constituents and side with the multibillion dollar (Alabama based) Vulcan Materials on the Austin Quarry.
You’re vermin.