At 10:30 last night, we started the Operating Budget, here’s the run down . . .
Amendment #1 – $66,000 for paid sick leave for City employees. Passed unanimously on a voice vote.
Amendment #2 & #3 – Cutting $10,000 in funding for the Sister City Program or in the alternative adding $10,000 so there was $20,000 total, but taking the additional $10,000 from the Room Tax funds. Ald. Brandon first moved his proposal to cut the $10,000 entirely. Ald. King then moved his proposal to give the Sister City Program $20,000 but taking $10,000 from the Room Tax funds designated to go to the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB). Ald. Brandon then amended that to reduce the funding to $10,000 and take it from the Room Tax reserves. So, here’s the votes . . .
Giving the Sister Cities $10,000 but taking it from the Room Tax Reserves (by the way – Ald. Brandon said if this motion passed, he’d never bring another motion to cut the Sister Cities program) – Yes votes included Webber, Benford, Brandon, Bruer, Golden, Gruber, Knox, Konkel, Olson, Palm. No votes included Cnare, Compton, King, Radomski, Rosas, Sanborn, Skidmore, Thomas, Verveer. VanRooy absent.
So then we voted on Alder King’s original amendment, amendment #3. This would have given the Sister Cities $20,000 and taken it from the GMCVB. Yes votes included Webber, Benford, Gruber, King, Konkel, Olson, Verveer. No votes included Brandon, Bruer, Cnare, Compton, Golden, Knox, Palm, Radomski, Rosas, Sanborn, Skidmore, Thomas. VanRooy absent.
So, then we voted on cutting the $10,000 and that failed. Voting to cut the $10,000 were Brandon, Cnare, Palm, Skidmore, Sanborn, Thomas. Voting to continue funding Sister Cities were Webber, Benford, Bruer, Compton, Golden, Gruber, King, Knox, Konkel, Olson, Radomski, Rosas, Verveer. VanRooy absent.
Amendment #4 – Cutting $5,000 from the Mayor’s fund for various miscellaneous activities such as sponsorships and community meetings. Funny, no one called roll call on this one! Motion failed on a voice vote.
Amendment #5 – Cutting $18,000 from the Collaboration Council. This was Ken Golden’s amendment. He made the point that we scrutinize all the CDBG and Office of Community Service and non-profit groups and yet we give money to the business community without asking them what they’re going to do with the money or what goals they have and we don’t ask for a report back on their successes. After discussion about how the running theme of the “we need to have a discussion” crowd was inconsistent with this funding, the motion was made to “place on file” and it passed on a voice vote.
Amendment #6 – This would have cut $100,000 from the Emerging Neighborhoods Funds, because there wasn’t a plan. Alder Cnare had a substitute motion to modify a footnote in the budget that would state:
This funding is for childcare, tuition assistance, housing, neighborhood revitalization, early childhood education and other programs to enhance the quality of life in the City’s emerging neighborhoods. These funds will be spent in the Allied Drive, Bridge Lake Point, Northside, Southwest area, and Southside neighborhoods. The allocation of the funds will be determined by a workgroup consisting of staff from the Mayor’s Office, Community Services, CDBG and the Common Council President and will be approved by the Mayor an Common Council.
Several friendly amendments were made. They added the Planning Unit to the workgroup. They allowed the Council President to appoint a “designee” and the eliminated the sentence that says which neighborhoods the funds would be spent in, ironically, because now, it was too specific.
At this point it was about 11:20 and we tried to find some quick, easy amendments we could take care of so that we would not make those staff come back the following evening, so we took up two more items.
Amendment #21 – Adding $14,175 for funding for notification of neighbors when they are spraying for gypsy moths. Passed unanimously on a voice vote.
Amendment #39 – The damn coffee urn. They tried to cut $2,500 for a commercial grade, restaurant style coffee system. Once many of the sponsors saw a picture of what we were talking about, I think they rather sheepishly decided that it was money well spent. The motion failed on a voice vote.
And that’s as far as we got. We continue tonight at 7:00 in Room 260 of the Municipal Building.
