City Finance Committee Budget Amendments 16 – 20

Part 3 of 4 . . . 3 hours left to go!

Part one is here, amendments 1-10. Part two is amendments 11 – 15 (failed cuts to the budget)

As explained in that post:

I skipped the first 2.5 hours which includes the other items on their agenda and the public testimony.  There are many alders around the table who are “ex officio” members and can participate in discussion but not vote.  Alders on the Finance Committee are the only ones who can submit amendments.  This is why you see Alder Bidar, the council president, introducing amendments for non-Finance alders as a “courtesy”.  The people on the Finance Committee are:  Mayor Rhodes-Conway, Shiva Bidar, Barbara McKinney, Mike Verveer, Rebecca Kemble, Donna Moreland and Keith Furman.  The amendments are in three sections:

• Budget neutral
• Reductions
• Additions

ADDITIONS TO THE BUDGET

The mayor asks staff to update them on where they are with respect to the level limit.  They say that there is $372,000 of remaining levy limit authority.  The mayor then asks if they can move to amendment 18 in the clerk’s office for the Special election in the 8th Aldermanic District because it isn’t an optional item for them.

AMENDMENT EIGHTEEN

Title: Special Election – 8th Aldermanic District

Sponsors: Alder Bidar, Mayor Rhodes-Conway

Amount: $30,000

Motion:  Bidar moves adoption, someone seconds.

Questions of Staff:  None

Discussion:  None

Vote:  Passes unanimously

AMENDMENT SIXTEEN

Title: Digital Equity

Sponsors: Alders Furman, Baldeh

Amount: $20,000

Motion:  Alder Furman moves adoption, several seconds.

Questions of Staff:  None

Discussion:

Keith Furman says this adds $20,000 for digital equity training by DaneNet.  This year they used $25,000 of left over Internet Access Assistance project money for the training.  Previously the Executive Budget had no programming in there.  Long term he will work with Community Development to see how we can do this in 2021.  I think we take for granted that everyone knows how to use a computer, at least he does sometimes.  This helps increase skills for people in the community to get better jobs.  DaneNet does a great job.

Moreland asks how they arrived at $20,000 and how many people would that serve.

Furman says that he doesn’t have the numbers on how many it will serve.  This was from discussions with the IT department as well as DaneNet.  There was a request for $50,000 in the Department request.  This was an in between place.  He says that they are going to see if they can tie this to the 2020 census.  To use digital literacy classes to fill out census forms online as part of the training.

Laura Larsen says that for $50,000 they would have done 70 classes serving 600 people, it would likely be scaled back at the proposed level.

Vote:  Passes unanimously.

AMENDMENT SEVENTEEN A

Title: Restore $25,000 for Pavement Marking

Sponsors: Alder Verveer

Amount: $25,000

AMENDMENT SEVENTEEN B

Title: Restore $50,000 for Pavement Marking-Option B

Sponsors: Alders Bidar, Foster

Amount: $50,000

Motion:  Mayor gives Alder Verveer a choice, he says that is a good question.  He moves 17B to increase by $50,000.  Several seconds.

Questions of Staff:

Bidar says that a cut of $50,000 means that they would mark the pavement every other year.  Yang Tao from Traffic Engineering says that they wouldn’t be able to mark things every year, but they would prioritize school zones and high traffic every year.

Bidar asks what would happen if they got half of the $50,000.  If you had $25,000 where would you use that.  Tao says they would be able to do a little more than the school areas and high traffic volume areas.  They have been looking at crosswalks near bus stops and some other areas that are frequently used by neighbors.  They are also thinking about having staff review locations for condition.  In some areas if its in bad condition they will mark the crosswalks.

Bidar says $50,000 gets them to where they are now.  Correct.

Verveer says that his rationale for doing half of the cut was that they would be able to restore it.  Verveer asks if they could absorb a $25,000 cut.  Tao says the city has been growing and the demand from the customers/the public is higher.  They are doing the things they have done in the past, but they are taking on more high level markings for pedestrians.  For pedestrians and bikes.  The green paint that they added is quite expensive.  They are thinking about how they can get by with the same amount of budget, its already a difficult situation.  $50,000 is better than $25,000 but they understand the constraints the whole city is facing.  They are trying to be more efficient if they only get $25,000.  Not marking each one every year there will be complaints from the public

Moreland asks of the markings are done every year.  Tao not all, it varies by materials.  They have thermoplastic, epoxy, paint.  Some materials last longer, but the paint only last about a year in our weather conditions.  Some years its not as bad.  During the summer they have hourly employees working at night so they repaint them before they get the complaints.

Moreland asks if the $25,000 or $50,000 is for paint for crosswalks.  Correct.  The green strips are more expensive?  How is it determined where that goes.  Tao says the green materials is more expensive and cost to apply those.  The community as a whole is working towards better bicycle infrastructure to encourage more people to be on their bikes and to increase safety for all users, so we can get people out of the cars from driving alone to something more sustainable.  They think that has a lot of values and they have been investing and shifting resources on that.

Grant Foster says that the budget highlight says it was reduced by $50,000, but the line level detail looks like it was a $30,000 reduction.  Can you clarify which line item is accurate.  Tao says there are a couple line items.  That line might only be for salary, but not the benefits and supplies.  Foster asks staff to verify.  The budget request was $859,000 and the Exec was $826,000.  Laura Larson says the other adjustments during that time was the employee compensation, so they needed to add the 3.25% pay increase, they would have updates the budget for health insurance, WRS, and some other global adjustments.  The reduction total of $50,000, a portion is on the non-personnel side and the other portion is hourly wages.  They clarify the amount is $50,000.

Discussion:  

Alder Furman won’t support this, they are getting to a point where they need to make some tough decisions.  He won’t support $50,000 but would support $25,000.

Verveer agrees, but in the opposite.  He moved the adopt of 17B as in Bidar, his intention to restore half was what he thought was all the could afford.  But looking at the balance of the amendments and the substantive kick off of Vision Zero it seems that reducing the crosswalk service area is not a wise budget cut and he supports the $25,000.  It’s unlike the graffiti amendments where streets said they could absorb $11,000 decrease in work supplies.  The traffic Engineer is saying that their budge is so meager they can’t support it.

Foster also supports the full 50.  One of the things Tao mentioned was the change in the markings and amount of paint that is used.  Some of the newer trends in pavement markings are around continental markings.  Instead of two white lines it actually has the larger strips that go across that are more effective in getting yielding.  They started using “shark teeth” that are little triangles that really call the attention of motorists.  So in the grand scheme of things when you are looking at signals and other things on the roadway, paint is still relatively cheap so putting the $50,000 there really does make a difference.

Bidar hopes they will join her in supporting these.  She says that she spent the first 6 years as an alder fighting for paint.  It was an on-going joke that she spent every budget asking for more paint.  Every time she requested a cross walk to be marked the Traffic Engineer would say we were out of paint.  We make huge progress.  This is one of the things they get the most requests from the residents.  As we talk about safety, this is one of the most important things and cheaper.  So good combination – high impact, low cost.  She hopes they can restore the $50,000.  She feels uncomfortable asking Traffic Engineering to make tough choices and I think this creates disparities on how it gets implemented across the districts and she would prefer to have them to the same thing around all districts instead of which alder was the most adamant alder requesting it for their district.  She thinks this is a really important program for the city.  Later when we talk about Vision Zero we need to grow this, not reduce.

Moreland asks if she is clear that they aren’t going to let us out of the room until this budget balances.  Mayor says they are still on the right side of the line.

Vote:  Sounds like everyone voted for it except Alder Furman.

Levy Limit Update: Kemble says at the break she realized that when she looked at the numbers she was $142,000 off.  Finance staff explained that on the technical adjustments on number 7 looks like a $10,000 offsetting expense and revenue, its actually a reduction of $142,000 of the levy.  That took $142,000 out of what they can spend, in case people were calculating it that way.

Mayor asks finance staff to explain.  David Schmiedicke says that right now the balance is $272,000 based on decisions so far.  Mayor says that is what is available under the levy limit at this point in time.

AMENDMENT NINETEEN

Title: Odana, East Towne, and South Madison Area Planning

Sponsors: Alders Bidar, Baldeh

Amount: $45,000

Motion:  Bidar moves adoption, Verveer seconds

Questions of Staff:

Bidar ask Heather Stouder, Planning Director what this is for and how it came before them. She says this would fund two planning processes in the regional mall area on the east and west sides.  It’s about 2,000 acres and an enormous amount of opportunity in our first phase of bus rapid transit to take a long term view regarding the transformation of these areas to accommodate more housing and employment and commercial use as these areas move into a phase that will look very different than they are now.  The majority of these planning processes will be in house, but this funding would be to take on two pieces.  $20,000 is for a market study, they would hire an economic consultant on the short term options and long term positioning of both of the areas.  The other half would go to public engagement, they would hire social practiced artists to extend the reach with public engagement.  And also less exciting things like mailings and marketing to really get the residents out to these meetings.  What is different about these areas is that not a whole lot of people live in these areas right now.  They are areas of potential that people living elsewhere in the city or people not living in the city will be so they will have to do it a little bit differently here.  She thinks they will have broad interest in repositioning these areas.  $5,000 of the request would go to finish up the South Madison Plan.  They were able to fund most of that effort through 2019 funds from Planning and other agencies as well.  But they need $5,000 to hold an additional 4 meetings in 2020 and support those meetings with translators, interpreters, food, facility rental, etc.

Discussion:

Amendment: Kemble amends the motion so it is only $5,000 for the S. Madison plan and excludes East and West Town.  Furman Seconds

McKinney is disillusioned that they are left with very little in their process to negotiate what is important and when we get down to what is important and what the priority is – we are shaving so much money off of things that are important.  It’s very frustrating.  She is asking if the 5,000 will take care of the S. Madison portion of that. [Sigh] What does the $5,000 do and what will it accomplish.

Stouder says that $40,000 of the $45,000 would go toward East and West Towne Mall planning processes identified in the comprehensive plan.  The $5,000 is to complete the S. Madison Plan.

McKinney asks if they can complete the plan with the $5,000, is that what she is hearing. [Sigh] Stouder says “correct”.

Alder Henak says he thought this was for BRT planning.  Or development because of preparing for it.  Stouder says that is correct.  Henak says if we amend it too S. Madison this takes out that aspect correct?  Stouder says that we wouldn’t still undergo planning in those areas, but we think we would benefit greatly from the enhanced planning process that the $40,000 would provide to those areas.

Moreland says that in the description is doesn’t mention West Town at all.  It says Odana, East Town and South Madison.  Stouder says the Odana Neighborhood Plan is the working name for the West Town area plan.  Moreland asks if this is the Mall area.  She says she is confused, they are using terms that are confusing.  Stouder says there are two different planning areas.  One is around West Towne Mall and they are calling it the Odana Planning Process and that includes approximately 1200 acres from the beltline to Mineral Point Rd, University Research Park on the East.  It’s a large swath of land on the west side.  

More land asks if they are talking about developing housing, retail or what?  Stouder says they are talking about a long term infrastructure and land use plan for the evolution of the two mall areas and their surroundings.  Seeing a great opportunity to increase the housing as a piece of it, so the density of residential options and the mix of residential uses in the areas.  Also there are older one story office buildings, some two story in an area that may be right along our BRT line one day and may hold a lot more promise for a greater intensity of development.  We need to do a very complex planning processes on both sides of the city.  We need a new street layout, parks, all of the infrastructure that makes a neighborhood a great place to live.  Most of that doesn’t exist in those places today.  So they need to take a thorough look at that.  Interagency staff teams will be careful looking to look forward 20 years and think how can these area evolve to accommodate the growth that we see as possible and to anchor the Bus Rapid Transit system on the east and west sides of the city.

Moreland says if this isn’t approved, what does that mean for the future.  I expect this would come up again next budget year.  What are the long term implications of not doing this in 2020.  Stouder says they would need to look hard at how to begin the planning processes here before BRT is live.  She thinks they would look at potential cuts elsewhere in their very tight discretionary budget and move forward the planning processes.  They are at the heart of the comprehensive plan.  They are directly related to 4 of the actions in the comprehensive plan and indirectly related to many, many more.  They don’t have the option to wait.  Without the funding they would take a lot longer and the public engagement would need to to be designed on a shoestring or virtually no budget.

Kemble asks why the Mayor didn’t put this in her budget.  Mayor says the request did not reach her before the Executive Budget was formalized, if it had, she would have.

Alder Rummel asks (on Alder Baldeh’s behalf) what the East Towne Greater area would include.  She knows there is a proposal to do the library and what else would be part of that.  Stouder says they are looking at about 820 acres bounded by the rail line on the South Side, roughly E Washington Ave on the North but it might cross E. Washington to pick up the commericial properties on the north side.  Stoughton Rd area on the west.  And then the interstate on the East Side.  The details of that is still being discussed and they are in the midst of doing a draft resolution to go to council in early November.

Carter asks why they are itemizing out S. Madison but not Odana and East Towne.  At 20, 20 and 5.  Mayor explains that the current proposal is to take it down to 5.  Carter asks fi the $20,000 is for Odana and $20,000 is for East Towne.  The Mayor says the current amendment is to not spend $20,000 for Odana or East Towne, just spend the money for S. Madison.

Vote:  Amend the amendment fails.  No discussion on the main motion.  The amendment passes for funding for all three areas.

They skip number 20 because they dealt with that already?  [Hmmm, I missed that, will have to go back and find it.]

AMENDMENT TWENTY

Title: Create a part-time Police Data Analyst

Sponsors: Alder McKinney

Amount: $55,400