Gehring reflects
on time as chairman

By MICHAEL MARESH

Staff writer

Jonah Gehring has seen a lot as the chairman of the county commission this past year.

In about two weeks, commissioners will select a new chairman, and he emphasized it will not be him.

The commission used to select a chairman on a rotation, but over the last several years it was either Gehring or former commissioner Dave Mueller.

While the chairman is just one of five votes on the commission, Gehring always felt the chairman should be available in the county.

“I am just not at the ready, and I believe the chairman should be at the ready,” he said.

The top accomplishment he and the rest of the commissioners did this past year was bringing in a revenue neutral budget and not taxing the elderly out of their homes, he said.

“If we could reduce the budget, we could be more revenue neutral,” he said.

Whether he will seek another term as just a commissioner is undetermined.

“I will take a little bit of time. I have other obligations I have to do,” he said. “There’s a lot of time before I would have to file, so I am going to keep an open mind,”

He became a commissioner in November, 2019, first to fill a seat when the commission expanded from three to five members and then elected to a full term.

He wanted to be on the commission because of the acrimony he saw between commissioners.

“I wanted to try to calm the waters,” he said.

When he became chairman, he made it known that any commissioner or the public could speak up on any topic without being criticized or not be allowed to have their voices heard.

He has heard what people who attend meetings say about what is happening, and he is fine with those comments.

“As long as they keep it down,” he said. ‘I know they have opinions, but I am there to conduct a hearing.”

While he admits he has not been perfect as chairman, he hopes meetings can remain positive even when disagreeing