Seems the finance department is feeling a little defensive about criticisms of their fiscal note on the Task Force on Government Structure Report.
This seems odd to me, that they took the time to write this. The key problem is bolded below. Assumptions. I’m certain they were made in good faith based on whomever they were listening to – but who were they listening to? Mayor? City Attorney? Others? This fiscal noted didn’t seem as nuetral as I would expect. Also annoying, that now they are doing things “in the interest of transparency” – if only they, the entire city and our other local governments used that standard more often.
From: Schmiedicke, David
Sent: Tuesday, January 14, 2020 1:22 PM
To: All Alders; MY GROUP
Cc: Larsen, Laura; Sloat, Brent; York, Elizabeth; Mabrey, Stephanie
Subject: TFOGS Fiscal Note
Good Afternoon Mayor and Council Members:
It has come to my attention that questions have been raised about the fiscal note for the TFOGS report. As you are aware, fiscal notes are required for all resolutions, including those that transmit reports. The Finance Department carefully reviewed the report and made a series of assumptions in putting forth a fiscal analysis. Certainly, there can be disagreement on assumptions selected. However, the assumptions used were chosen in good faith, carefully noted and represent knowledge gathered from comparable analyses.
Questions have also been raised about the level of attention given to this report compared with other reports. Some reports have not had clear data points for developing fiscal analyses, others may not have risen to the level of importance to merit a full analysis given other time constraints. We continue to strive to provide more analysis, including fiscal impacts, to assist policy makers as proposals are considered. Given the scope of the TFOGS report, it was felt that a more comprehensive analysis was important in the interest of transparency.
When individual proposals from the TFOGS report are further developed and considered, policy and budgetary decisions, trade-offs and reallocations will influence the final cost. The Finance Department stands ready to provide on-going analysis and budget development if and when the discrete proposals are considered for implementation by the Mayor and Council.
Thank you.
David Schmiedicke
Finance Director
Department of Finance
City-County Building, Room 406
210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Madison, WI 53703-3345
(608) 267-8710 PH
(608) 267-8705 FAX
www.cityofmadison.com
