Tony Sherfinski - Your Voice on the County Board
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My First Two Years Working for You -
As one of 38 members on the Marathon County Board, I’ve worked hard with other conservative members of the County Board to hold the line on taxes. Do we need to deliver high quality services to you – our county residents – of course we do! We’ve kept the focus on the following areas:
County Infrastructure –Roads, Bridges, Buildings, etc.
Law Enforcement
County Parks Department
City / County Library System
Elder Services
and we’ve done it in ways that doesn’t waste your money. I’m happy to report that for 2024, Marathon County has the lowest tax rate of all our surrounding counties in central Wisconsin. For details, click here: https://www.marathoncounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/10848/638372899066100000
As a member of the Environmental Resources Sub-Committee; I’ve been part of the process developing a renewable natural gas system for our county landfill. That system will take the methane created by the landfill, clean it, scrub it and turn it in to Green/Renewable Natural Gas which will be injected in to a nearby natural gas pipeline. Sales of this Renewable Natural gas will contribute approximately $1M to $1.5M per year to the Marathon County budget for the next 15+ years. This further reduces the county tax burden.
During the past two years the Library also became another highly charged issue. For about 3 or 4 months 30 - 50 people were attending the Library Board meetings to protest the placement of sexually explicit content books in the Children's Section of the Libraries. After several months of trying to present their concerns, and being ignored - these concerned parents approached the Marathon County Board.
Their concerns were that children are being exposed to sexually explicit content that they are not mature enough for - after all, the Children's Sections of the libraries are aimed at Elementary Age children. The suggested solutions were framed around the compromise of moving these books out of the Children's Section over in to the Adult Sections of the libraries. I am solidly behind this type of compromise. In my 60+ years in the community - and as a longtime user of the library system - we have never had any explicit materials in the Children's Sections.
Certain candidates have made misleading statements regarding "book bans" and plans to "defund the library". These are outright lies ( can you tell I'm not a politician ), meant to scare people and divide our communities.
At no time did I or anyone on the Marathon County Board advocate or vote for any "book bans" or plans to "defund the library". In fact, our 2024 budget provided all of the funding as requested by the Library Board and Library Director.
Recently I’ve been working to bring the City of Schofield, Marathon County and the Everest Metro Police Department together in a partnership to clean up the abandoned trailer park on Grand Avenue. With over 40 abandoned, dilapidated trailers the site has become a public health hazard as well as a magnet for crime and homeless activities in our community.
The owners have abandoned the property and have displayed no interest in cleaning up the mess they have left behind. Everest Metro has increased patrols – documenting criminal activities including drugs, squatters living in the condemned trailers, and harassment of local businesses – issuing citations when appropriate. Documenting these conditions are part of building the legal case to force the owners to clean up the property.
Marathon County and the City of Schofield are working together on various legal means to encourage the owners to clean up their abandoned property. If encouragement does not work, the Schofield and Marathon County will investigate legal means to enforce cleanup of the property to eliminate the public health, safety and law enforcement issues that currently exist.
At the County Board level in the past year, we have also approved several drug abuse / recovery type grants and the “Family Keys Program”. These programs through the Social Services department are aimed at getting drug users/abusers and their families clean, off drugs, in to stable jobs and living situations. These are not intended as a hand-out, but rather a helping hand-up to those who are struggling with difficult issues in their lives.
Let's work together to make Marathon County a great place to live, work and play. If you have concerns or questions please call, text or email me at:
- Cell # 715.432.6186
- Email: at tony.sherfinski@co.marathon.wi.us
I will try and return calls and messages within 1 - 2 days. I look forward to hearing from you and having a good conversation regarding your concerns.
Your voice on the County Board,
Tony Sherfinski
Effective Problem Solving -
By education and training, I'm an engineer - a problem solver, it's what I do, every day. Over the years I’ve been involved in community service with many different organizations. Stepping up to serve on the Marathon County Board is another way to give back to the community.
I listen to people and get many different viewpoints. I go digging for the information and facts needed to make good decisions. These are problem solving skills and when you get right down to it, that’s what the County Board is there to do – solve problems.
Problem solving -
Throwing your hard-earned tax dollars around does not effectively solve problems. Sometimes you get lucky, but most of the time, you just waste money. A better way to solve problems is to listen to people, then listen some more. Engage in discussions about problems we see and ideas that we all may have for coming together to solve them. Martin Luther King Jr. had a beautiful vision for our future - We work best together when we work with people based on the content of their character.
Who is Tony -
- Married to Jennette (30 years). We have two adult children. Our daughter is a teacher and our son is serving in the U.S. Navy.
- Lifelong resident of Marathon County and resident of Schofield ( District 16 ) for over 20 years.
- Longtime, active member of St Therese and St Agnes Parishes.
- Eagle Scout and Scout Leader and volunteer for many years.
- Active member of the Elks Club giving back to the community through their service programs.
- Active member of the Knights of Columbus fighting for the Right to Life and giving back to the community through service programs for all.
What Motivated me to run -
I’m a constitutional conservative and also very passionate about our defending our American Culture and values. Over the past few years, the Marathon County Board became very divisive. Instead of focusing on local issues and giving the residents of Marathon County good governance, combined with fiscal responsibility too many board members became focused on divisive social issues. Instead of bringing people together and building a stronger future for all of us in Marathon County, they were tearing the community apart.
It was time someone said ‘Enough’. I felt it was time to bring back common sense to the County Board. It's also time to and defend our Wisconsin culture, and values.
So, I asked myself two questions: “If not me, then who?” and “If not now, when?”
Marathon County is a wonderful place to live. Professionally, I’ve traveled to every major metropolitan area in the county and more states than I’ve kept track of. That has given me a perspective on Marathon County as a truly special place.
I’ve been blessed to live here practically my entire life and raised two children in Schofield. Let’s work together to build up Marathon County for the next generation!