Bob Soderberg, Village President - Germantown, WI

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Bob Soderberg, Village President - Germantown, WI I am the Village President of Germantown, WI

Celebrating a very special person. Congratulations to our dear friend Lynn for being present for the past 26 years. We a...
10/22/2026

Celebrating a very special person.

Congratulations to our dear friend Lynn for being present for the past 26 years.

We are very grateful for all you do.

Congratulations on your anniversary.

PSA
10/21/2026

PSA

🚧Western Ave. Repaving Project 🚧

Starting Thursday, October 22, Western Ave. will fully close to through-traffic. Please see the below instructions for access:

LOCAL TRAFFIC: Utilize the south end of Western Avenue/Carriage Avenue

CEADER HILL RESIDENTS: Utilize Carriage Ave to Hawthorne Dr.

ESQUIRE ESTATES RESIDENTS & POLICE ACCESS: Utilize Carriage Ave to Western Ave, then proceed around Kings Way/Esquire Court

ASHBURY WOODS RESIDENTS: Utilize Division Road as primary access to the subdivision

🚩NOTE: There will be NO ACCESS to or from Mequon Road.

Flaggers will be onsite to assist in directing traffic and access as needed.

It is unlawful to enter a closed work zone without a valid local destination, to tamper with any traffic control and construction signage, and to disobey instruction from designated flaggers.

Looking forward to this. Hope to see you there as we move Germantown forward to be a better place to live, work and play...
10/21/2026

Looking forward to this.

Hope to see you there as we move Germantown forward to be a better place to live, work and play.

This summer, the Village of Germantown gathered input about the future of seven properties in the Village Center District, as pictured on the map above. Input was gathered using a variety of engagement methods including a community survey, pop-up events, and an open house. The consultant working with the Village prepared a final report that summarizes engagement results, identifies themes, and provides recommendations to the Village. The report will be presented to the Plan Commission and the Village Board at 6:30pm on October 26th at the Germantown Village Hall. All are welcome to attend!

10/20/2026

Greetings Gtown!

Great Village Board meeting this evening. See my President's Report below for what I shared.

Let me know your thoughts.

Go Milwaukee Brewers!

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President’s Report – October 19, 2026

Good evening everyone!

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and how about them Brewers?

I was on business travel in San Fransico when they won the final game and it was fun to watch.

And, oh by the way, no one likes the Dodgers in San Fran and they were all rooting for the Brewers.

In the News You Can Use section of this report, as usual, it continues to be a busy time in our community.

Phase 1 of the Division Road reconstruction project continues as does the Esquire Estates subdivision reconstruction project.

This past week on October 13th, 14th and 15th, we had our Committee of the Whole or COW meetings where we reviewed our 2027 Operating Budget in detail.

The Operating budget supports the day-to-day operations of the Village and is capped by State statue to not exceed the prior year’s amount, plus Net New Construction (NNC).

The 2027 Operating Budget includes the full allowable increase and due to decline in development in our community, we are at the lowest for allowable levy increases in the last three years.

In fact, we are now going into our fourth year of trending down Year over Year.

Saying that, I am pleased that we do have a balanced budget even though we had a $460,615 deficit.

Special thanks to staff for providing budget reduction recommendations and to my colleagues for voting to accept those recommendations and to move them forward to the November 16th. Public Hearing & Village Board Adopting of the 2027 Budget & Tax Levy.

The lack of Net New Construction is why we are facing the budget challenges that we have today.

Without new growth, municipalities face rising costs without the revenue flexibility needed to maintain the level of service our residents expect and deserve.

My commitment remains the same: to advocate for Germantown, to be transparent and to not pull any punches about our challenges, and to work toward solutions that protect taxpayers by increasing the tax base with new development that will lessen the tax burden on all of us and by doing so will ensure that our Village continues to thrive and to be more affordable.

The $460,615 budget deficit discussion this year was challenging for both staff and elected officials

And, if our Net New Construction numbers don’t dramatically improve, the following years will be extremely challenging as well.

Moving on.

Special thanks to our DPW colleagues for their work on repairing the water main breaks on Pilgrim Road and finishing up the road repairs over the weekend.

Due to planned repair work needed on Tower 2, Tower 2 was taken offline to repair a leaking fill pipe and that is what created the chain of events with the water main breaks.

I want to thank our community for their patience and again, thank our DPW staff for their quick work.

It’s that time of year as In-Person Absentee Voting for the 2026 General Election starts tomorrow at Village Hall and runs through Tuesday, October 30th.

The exact dates and times can be found on the Village’s website at germantownwi.gov.

Next week on October 26th., we will have a combined Village Board and Plan Commission meeting where we will be hearing the results of the Village Center Public Engagement initiative.

And for those that are interested in joining a Village committee or commission, we still have some openings on the Board of Review, the Ethics Board, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Utility Advisory Commission and the Tourism Commission.

If interested, just send me a note.

Finally, moving on to this evening’s Village board meeting. Our agenda includes many items of which I will highlight only two which are linked.

The first one is that I will be issuing a Proclamation that on November 2 through the 6th., that it will be Crash Responder Safety Week in the Village of Germantown where we encourage all citzens to observe the week practicing safe driving behaviors, learn more about roadway crash safety and support the safety of our first responders.

The second item is the Washington Countywide Fire & Emergency Medical Service Resolution.

Again, lots going on.

I’m looking forward to this evening as we all work together to make Germantown a better place to live, work and play.

Thank you and Go Brewers!

PSA - In Person Absentee Votes Starts TomorrowIn-Person Absentee Voting for the 2026 General Election will be conducted ...
10/19/2026

PSA - In Person Absentee Votes Starts Tomorrow

In-Person Absentee Voting for the 2026 General Election will be conducted on the following days:

Tuesday, October 20th: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday, October 21st: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday, October 22nd: 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday, October 23rd: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday, October 24th: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Monday, October 26th: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday, October 27th: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday, October 28th: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday, October 29th: 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday, October 30th: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Location:

Germantown Village Hall
N112W17001 Mequon Rd, Germantown, WI 53022

A valid Photo ID must be presented in order to receive a ballot.

We’re getting there. See the below.Go Brewers!
10/16/2026

We’re getting there. See the below.

Go Brewers!

This is awesome!
10/16/2026

This is awesome!

THE NATIONAL LEAGUE PENNANT IS COMING HOME TO MILWAUKEE

This is a fun event. See you there!🎃🎃🎃
10/14/2026

This is a fun event. See you there!

🎃🎃🎃

Don’t forget to sign up for our Howl-O-Ween Pet Fest this Saturday from 10-2. You must sign up to be able to win the Costume Contest! Lots of fun activities planned for the day!🐾

PSA
10/06/2026

PSA

**Weather Siren Testing Schedule Update**

During the recent maintenance performed on the Village of Germantown’s weather sirens in July, it was discovered that the cold-cranking amps (CCA) on several batteries at various siren sites were significantly below the recommended levels. While the batteries are showing reduced capacity, all of the weather sirens remain operational and will function as intended in the event of an actual weather emergency.

Village staff recommends replacing the batteries at all 15 siren sites in 2027 and has included funding for the replacements in the 2027 budget as part of the Village’s ongoing weather siren maintenance program.

Moving forward, the Village will conduct a full weather siren test on the first Wednesday of each month at 12:00 noon for one minute. The continued testing of the sirens is important to help prevent corrosion and ensure the moving components and motors remain in proper working condition. Regular testing also helps identify potential issues and maintain the overall reliability and longevity of the siren system.

On all other Wednesdays, the Village will conduct a growl, or silent, test of the sirens. These tests allow the siren motors to operate without activating the full audible siren.

This testing schedule will take effect immediately.

When temperatures drop below freezing, the weekly tests will be temporarily paused to prevent potential damage to the siren equipment. The sirens will remain fully operational during this period and will be activated if an actual emergency requires their use. Regular testing will resume in the spring when temperatures are suitable for testing.

The Village appreciates the community’s understanding as we continue to maintain and improve the reliability of the weather siren system.

10/06/2026

Very interesting Board meeting this evening and welcomed all that came out to share your thoughts.

Saying that, the meeting did not go as I had hoped.

But no worries, we will move forward.

See my President's Report below for what I shared.

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President’s Report – October 05, 2026

Good evening, everyone!

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend and how about them Brewers?

With a dramatic comeback victory yesterday, they are 2-0 and now go to San Diego, with the game being tomorrow night.

Go Brewers!

In the News You Can Use section of this report, as usual, it continues to be a busy time in our community.

Fun was has by all at Oktoberfest which was held at Dheinsville Historical Park within the Village.

It was great seeing lots of our Trustees there as well.

Phase 1 of the Division Road reconstruction project continues – very slowly - as does the spot curb replacement in the Esquire Estates subdivision reconstruction project which will be followed by the road reconstruction.

We apologize for the delay, but Mother Nature and the rain had other ideas.

On September 29th I attended a virtual meeting on Washington County’s EMS initiative.

Next steps for this will be an agenda item at our October 19th Village Board meeting where this will once again be reviewed and action taken.

Discussed were updates to the EMS initiative that included the five-year financial distribution model, the Smart Metrics and the proposed model resolution for participation.

Next steps will be for this will be an agenda item on the October 19th Village Board meeting where this will once again be reviewed and action taken.

I also interviewed a candidate for an opening on the Plan Commission. We had a nice conversation and that candidate will be moving forward to the Village Board for approval.

And for those that are interested in joining a Village committee or commission, we have openings on the Board of Review, the Ethics Board, the Board of Zoning Appeals, the Utility Advisory Commission and the Tourism Commission.

If interested, just send me a note.

Truck Country, located off of Holy Hill Road, had their Open House and Ribbon Cutting event on September 30th.

It was a great event with food, music and of course a tour of their beautiful new facility.

Welcome to Germantown and we are glad you are here.
It was nice seeing Trustee Kaiser there as well.

This past week, Flamingo Marine, a new manufacturer of pontoon boats located off of Holy Hill Road as well, achieved a major milestone.

Boat #100 was produced!

We are very happy for them, and we are glad that they are here too!

Special thanks to my colleagues on the Board for providing them with an incentive to open their manufacturing plant here as that was a ‘win win’ for our community, and for taxpayers.

The Gables of Germantown celebrated this past week with a 20th anniversary Oktoberfest party.

For 20 years, the Gables of Germantown has been a place to connect, create lasting friendships and truly enjoy life.

Congratulations on your anniversary and thank you for being here.
Special thanks to Trustee Warren for attending and saying some words.

We heard some disappointing news, on September 30th, the project manager for the Town 9 residential project located off of 145, informed the Village that they will not be moving ahead with the proposed development due to increased costs.

This is very unfortunate and will have a negative impact on our already decreasing Net New Construction numbers.

And speaking of Net New Construction, on October 3rd, I attended a public event in our community where I had the opportunity to speak with many residents, community partners, and state level leaders.

As always, I approached these conversations from a nonpartisan, commons sense perspective focused on transparency and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

During the event, I met with one of the candidates running for Governor of Wisconsin.

Our discussion centered on the real fiscal challenges facing municipalities across the state — challenges that are especially visible in communities like Germantown.

For the past three years, Germantown has experienced declining net new construction, which is the only mechanism under Wisconsin’s levy limit formula that allows municipalities to increase their operating levy.

As a result, our Village is projecting a $384,000 deficit in the 2027 Operating Budget, which directly affects our ability to fund essential services such as police, fire, EMS, public works, library, senior center and parks & rec.

We also discussed how the lack of smart, sustainable and smart development is contributing to this downward trend.

Without new growth, municipalities face rising costs without the revenue flexibility needed to maintain the level of service our residents expect and deserve.

Regardless of political affiliation, it is important that state leaders understand how levy limits, development patterns, and long-term fiscal pressures impact municipalities on the ground.

My commitment remains the same: to advocate for Germantown, to be transparent about our challenges, and to work toward solutions that protect taxpayers by increasing the tax base with new development that will lessen the tax burden on all of us and by doing so will ensure that our Village continues to thrive and to be more affordable.

For those that want to know, I have also reached out to the other candidate that is running for Governor for a ‘meet & greet’ where I will be discussing this as well.

We had our first budget meeting on September 24th where the Committee of the Whole or COW, for short, met to review and consider capital budget requests from staff.

Staff presented their capital budgets and we reviewed them.
At the end of the almost 5-hour meeting, many requests were not approved, but in the end, the Trustees approved the capital budget on a vote of 7 - 1.

Coming up on October 13th, 14th and if needed on the 15th, we have more COW meetings to review the 2027 Operating Budget in detail.

Finally, on November 16th at 7:00 PM, we will be holding a Public Hearing, and the Village Board will act on the Adoption of the 2027 Budget and Tax Levy.

Moving on to this evening’s Village board meeting. Our agenda includes many items of which I will highlight two of them.

The Board will be taking action on what is commonly referred to as the Heyday residential development by (1) Amend the 2050 Future Land Use Plan classification of 40 acres off of Lilac Lane, (2) Create a new Planned Development Zoning District (PDD) to be called "Heyday Germantown" and (3) Rezone approximately 71 acres from the A-1: Agricultural & A-2: Agricultural Districts into the Heyday Germantown PDD for purposes of developing a 256-unit residential community located on Lilac Lane.

For those that don’t know, the Heyday residential development project was recently approved by the Plan Commission on a unanimous vote of 7 - 0.

The Plan Commission was excited about this new and smart development that will bring lots of green space, public walking paths and a 5-acre retention pond that will mitigate storm water runoff.

In addition, the $905,000 in YoY tax revenue for the Village and the School District is needed, welcomed, and will lessen the tax burden on us all.

The almost $2.8M in Impact & Connection Fees and Permit Fees along with the $199K in YoY Water & Sewer User Fees are also welcomed and will continue to fund Village services.

Finally, the Board will also consider the appointment of a Village Engineer.

Again, lots going on.

I’m looking forward to this evening as we all work together to make Germantown a better place to live, work and play.

Thank you and Go Brewers!

Address

N112W17001 Mequon Road
Germantown, WI
53022

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