The Most Expensive Meetings in Town?

The Edgewater? I’m thinking probably not. I was at a meeting last night with probably 20 paid non-profit staff in the meeting, and over the next few weeks and months, that will play itself out over, and over, and over. And it makes me wonder, how much of the money we are vying for is being spent in these meetings? Despite efforts to streamline the process, it still seems silly. More complicated than the development process that is getting all the attention, take a peek!

This is just for the city. Just for August.

August 2
– Mayor’s Public Hearings on the Budget – Lussier
– CDBG Q&A for some agencies
August 4
– Senior Citizen Advisory Committee determines questions for agencies
– CDBG/Community Services Conference Committee
August 5
– CDBG regular meeting and Q&A for some agencies
August 9
– CDBG/Community Services Conference Committee
August 10
– Mayors Public Hearings on the Budget – Urban League
– CDBG meeting
August 11
– Community Services Q&A and recommendations (Access to Resources)
– Early Childhood Care and Education Q&A
August 12
– CDBG Committee
August 16
– CDBG/Community Services Conference Committee
August 17
– CDBG
August 18
– Mayor’s Public Hearings on the Budget – East Police Station
– Community Services Q&A and recommendations (Crisis/Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault)
– Early Childhood Care and Education Funding Recommendations
– Senior Citizens Advisory Committee Q&A
August 19
– Community Services Q&A (Youth)
August 23
– Community Services recommendations (Youth)
August 25
– Early Childhood Care and Education Funding Recommendations
– Senior Citizens Advisory Committee Funding Recommendations
August 26
– Community Services recommendations, if needed (Youth)
August 30
– Community Services recommendations (remaining proposal pool)

This process continues on through September, October and November when the Council finally approves the budget, and then continues even after that as adjustments are made after the council decides how much money the agencies get. Then back to council for a final vote. This is truly absurd. Talk about a process that needs to be simplified. The Mayor made it more complicated and take longer with his recent changes to the process.

I wonder how much time is being spent having all these meetings, and how much it costs local non-profits to monitor, prepare for and sit through each of these meetings for their agencies? I also wonder if the Mayor could have planned his public hearings (which he gave little notice of) any poorer? Or perhaps that was intentional, so he didn’t have to listen to the non-profits? And, I wonder how many of these committee members are valued by the Mayor and Common Council, or if they are just there to be discarded the moment they step out of line?

It’s just the beginning, and I’m already cranky about it.