NEW DNR SECRETARY NO FAN OF DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 -- 11:35 AM
From WRN:New Wisconsin DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp has explained the type of management style she wants to present and what she expects from the agency. In an interview on WRJN in Racine, Stepp said her time on the Natural Resources Board and four years on the Senate Natural Resources Committee gave her a lot of perspective. ?I had seven years straight of . . . an inside, in depth look at the workings of the department, and then from a business perspective, having been part of the regulated community, kind of gave me three different viewpoints to look at the agency.?
Stepp said there are many complaints about the DNR being too slow to act, and non-responsive. ?People want to meet the standards, and they want to comply with the law, it was just a very unclear, difficult road map with what seemed to be a lot of trip wires and pitfalls in order to get there,? said Stepp, who accused the DNR of ?dragging of their feet, the unaccountability, the appearance of the goal line being moved ever farther and back and never being able to reach it.?
Stepp said she sees the new role of the DNR as being a partner in job creation, and focusing on customer service. ?Reminding all of the employees at DNR that the people who walk in the door are the customers, as well as the boss. Those tax dollars pay our salary.?
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