This one went a little smoother, but . . . there is still room for improvement and with the changes, the final results will be skewed.
OVERVIEW
There were less alders there, I saw everyone at some point except Bridget Maniaci, Paul Skidmore, Brian Solomon, Sue Ellingson, Tim Bruer, Larry Palm and Matt Phair. But, again, I might have missed some. There were about 40 staff there in the beginning, they seemed to thin out throughout the night. We also started with about 75 members of the public, but ended with about 45.
They changed the process, so there were no dots. We just put marks on the items in the survey. We did have a little table discussion, but in ended with us all deciding, once again, that the process didn’t work.
The mood in the room was interesting. One guy said he got in trouble with his co-workers when he said that he was happy paying taxes and that he gets a good value. He got a round of clapping. Another person got up and said that we just needed to raise the taxes more than 3% because we all value our basic services (see below) and we can’t give them up, we can’t cut them.
At some point, in response to some questions, the mayor pointed out that because of the $5.3 million cut from the state, our taxes will go up, but spending will not. We will pay more, for less.
One other final thought, the mayor asked the group to email him and let him know why we ranked alcohol licensing so low. He said he understood that the clerk’s office and voting integrity was important, but noted that neighborhoods deal with problem bars and we spend a lot of time on it and he wants to know why we ranked it so low. (mayor@cityofmadison.com if you want to give your two cents)
I didn’t have too many other observations or nuggets of info, but please see below for concerns with the process.
NOT FAIR TO COMMUNITY SERVICES
My major issue, which I talked to several of the organizers about is that when we did the community services section of the budget, we didn’t get to rank everything high, medium or low. We had to choose 9 – 12 dots to put on a select number of squares. This time, they changed the process and everyone got to put a mark on each of the items, just like the survey. The issue for me is, when they aggregate the results, the community services portion will have less dots, despite the fact that more people showed up.
Suggestions I received from organizers said that they would find a way to make up for it, but they didn’t collect the information, so it would only be made up or extrapolated, but that’s not fair. Others suggested that we had people just take that portion of the survey, but that’s not fair either, so their input won’t count for the rest? I suggested they have a “do over”, that wasn’t popular, and I honestly don’t think it would be popular for the people who already spent two hours telling them how to fix the process. Some suggested in the end, the numbers won’t matter. I countered with, what happens when they print the results in the paper, they are not going to say that and what people read in the paper may be all they know about the process. I’ll be interested to see how they resolve this issue.
WHAT DO WE VALUE?
Sadly, this portion isn’t of much value either. The problem here is that the descriptions of the 6 values we were asked to rank are circular. You can tell the descriptions are a product of compromise and in the end are meaningless. Here’s an example of what I am talking about.
Basic Services and Daily Life
focuses on improving the delivery of public services, including individual and community safety, fire prevention and suppression, emergency response services, public health initiatives, public transportation options, affordable housing and supportive neighborhood, senior, youth, child and family services.
A few issues here. First of all, it seems to have everything in there, something for everyone to vote for. Second, former Alder Cindy Thomas said what I was waiting for. She said affordable housing and services for seniors and youth would not be considered basic services by the general populace. They are “nice to have, but not basic”.
It gets further confusing because there is another category as follows:
Social Justice and Community Services
focuses on ensuring that all citizens have access to basic services and that policies and practices support diversity and the opportunity for everyone to realize their full potential.
So, this category also has basic services in it, and no mention of the types of services or policies and practices that should achieved. And it gets further confusing because this one talks about an equal opportunity for everyone to realize their full potential, but, check out this category:
Responsibility
focuses on fiscal and social responsibility including sound financial decision-making, practices and policies,
equal opportunity and equal provision of services to all citizens.
And it goes round and round. You can do the same thing with several other categories. So, I have no idea where the rankings will be, but here’s the results of people voting last night. People ranked the categories 1 – 6. So, smaller numbers mean higher scores, but remember, you have to look at the definitions:
Basic Services and Daily Life- 92
Social Justice and Community Services- 202
Responsibility – 225
Sustainability and Planning – 233
Growth and Economic Development – 257
Public Spaces and Community – 303
Here’s the rest of the definitions not quoted above:
Sustainability and Planning
focuses on long-term solutions and planning for the future, including: balanced land use, infill development, decision-making based on environmental, economic and sustainability principles that support preservation, conservation and sustainable expansion of the natural and human built environmentGrowth and Econonmic Development
focuses on creating a healthy and diverse business climate by promoting and attracting economic development; fostering job creation and employment; supporting business friendly policies and expanding regional business development initiatives.Public Spaces and Community
focuses on maximizing the aesthetic beauty and use of public and open spaces for community recreational and cultural opportunities, free expression and community building.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Still worth participating in. Next meeting on the 16th at the Senior Center on “Infrastructure”
Still worth taking the survey.
Next year will be better if we keep attending and giving feedback.
More info here if interested.
