By Jack Carrerow

bonanza staff writer

Wayne Fischer, a four year resident of Incline Village, officially retired from a computer software company in San Jose to, as he puts it, the "laid back lifestyle" of Incline.

"Even though we bought our house in 1997, it still took three years to make the transition to living in Tahoe and we've been happy ever since," Fischer said. "When we first decided to come up to the lake, we had to decide between California and Nevada. We chose Nevada because of the tax structure."

Ironically, it's the tax structure that currently sees Fischer as a member of the League to Save Incline Assets, a group that's fighting to make a change in how property taxes are computed in Washoe County.

"I got involved because I want to be able to afford living here," Fischer said. "My wife Sally and I love it here and I felt that our lifestyle here could be threatened by what we believe are exorbitant taxes."

Fischer also likes the "small town" feel that the village offers.

"We lived in a small town in New Jersey for eight years and really loved the community flavor that it offered," Fischer said. "Obviously the Bay Area was the complete opposite. It's hard to get involved."

To that end, Fischer, who spent over 30 years in the computer industry, both on the East Coast and in the Bay Area after getting degrees from both Oregon State University and New York University, feels that his business background could be an asset, and is running for a seat on the NLTFPD board of directors.

"I feel that the progressive nature of our local Fire District must be continued while giving careful consideration to it's related expense structure," Fischer said. "And I think that we should look at other fire districts and departments on a regular basis to make sure that our expenditures stay in line."

An avid outdoorsman, Fischer is looking forward to the opportunity to help the community that he and his family fell in love with almost 30 years ago.

"I hope I get a seat on the board but if I don't, I'll continue to be involved in community issues," Fischer said. "You don't have to be on a board to make a difference."

Besides his wife Sally, Fischer has two grown sons.

"The oldest, Paul, works for Yahoo! in the Data Solutions department, studying the traffic patterns of people using the Yahoo! website," Fischer said

"When Paul has spare time, he has been taking a search and rescue course and has become a volunteer member of the Santa Clara County Sheriff Search and Rescue team," Fischer added.

"The youngest, Scott, is a Park Ranger/Law Enforcement Officer at Joshua Tree National Park near Palm Springs," Fischer said. "Scott's job is always interesting and full of unexpected experiences when dealing with the park visitors."

Asked what he sees for the future of the village, Fischer said, "I'm excited but concerned about the village's future and that's because of the fire danger that we face, that really worries me."