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Meetings and Updates Week of October 23

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Meetings and Updates Week of October 23rd

  • City Meetings: Finance Committee 10/23 and Transportation Commission 10/25
  • 2024 Operating Budget Amendments (including three of mine) in Finance on Monday
  • Learn More About the City Budget: Two Virtual Public Information Sessions
  • 10/22 Update on Gun Violence and Response
  • Coffee With A Cop 10/23
  • Streets Division Updates
  • Events & Announcements
 

City Meetings

Finance Committee

The Finance Committee meeting will take place on Monday, October 23, in hybrid format at 4:30 PM. Agenda items include 2024 Executive Operating Budget deliberations, amending ordinances to reflect meet and confer agreements with the City’s employee associations, and authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to amend the 2023 Capital Budget and execute Amendment No. 1 to the existing Purchase of Services contract between the City of Madison and Sasaki for consultant services for the Lake Monona Waterfront.

Transportation Commission

The Transportation Commission meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 25, in virtual format at 5:00 PM. Agenda items include the quarterly traffic safety report, North/South Bus Rapid Transit and its public involvement plan, and the Bikeways 2024 project.

 

2024 Operating Budget Amendments in Finance Committee On Monday

Monday’s Finance Committee includes eighteen proposed amendments to the proposed 2024 Operating Budget, which is the part of the budget that includes staff salaries, supplies, and contracted services. This is also the side of the budget where state law limits the City’s ability to raise revenue – by no more than inflation. See my past blog post on the Operating Budget for more information about the 2024 Executive Operating Budget as proposed.

You can find the proposed amendments here. The first five amendments are technical, such as fixes or updates since the Executive Operating Budget was released earlier this month. The remaining thirteen are more substantive and include changes to City department budgets such as the Economic Development Division for SEED grants, the Parks Division for Parks Programming, and Public Health for a tenant services position. The meeting will begin with a few items of normal business and will include a public hearing on all of the budget amendments together followed by Finance members voting on which budget amendments to adopt. It’s important to note that the sum of all amendments would add nearly $720,00 to the Operating budget, though there’s only “room” for another $225,000 under the state’s levy limit. That means most of these proposed amendments are not going to pass.

I am not a member of the Finance Committee so I cannot vote on these in Finance, nor can I sponsor amendments myself, but I have worked with Finance Committee members to cosponsor three budget amendments:

  • Amendment #12, CARES Program – Dane County Grant Program
    • This is an amendment to the Fire Department’s 2024 budget authorizing the acceptance of a $275,000 grant from Dane County to expand the CARES program, including the potential to expand beyond Madison’s boundaries. Demand for and use of this program for behavioral health emergencies has been growing quickly.
    • Taxes on the Average Value Home (TOAH) Impact: $0.00.
  • Amendment #17, Violence Prevention Services for At Risk Apartment Buildings
    • This is an amendment to Madison Dane County Public Health’s budget to add $100,000 in one-time funding for Violence Prevention Services for At Risk Apartment Buildings. The amendment proposes to use some of the remaining funds up to the levy limit.
    • Taxes on the Average Value Home (TOAH) Impact: $1.05.
  • Amendment #18, Traffic Signal Electrician 2 Position
    • This is an amendment to Traffic Engineering’s budget for a new Traffic Signal Electrician. The amendment proposes to use some of the remaining funds up to the levy limit. Traffic Engineering’s Safe Streets Madison program has a large backlog of traffic safety projects awaiting analysis, approval, and installation. Many of these improvements include the installation of devices like pedestrian crossing signals or Driver Feedback Boards (reminding drivers to slow down when speeding), and this growing number of devices needs maintenance over time.
    • Taxes on the Average Value Home (TOAH) Impact: $0.96.

If you have comments for the Finance Committee about my amendments, or about any other proposed amendments, feel free to share your input with the committee. Because the amendments are all on the same agenda item, I suggest sharing your input by sending an email to: financecommittee@cityofmadison.com. And make sure you mention the name of the amendment you’re commenting on in your email.
 

Learn More About the City Budget

The city’s budget for 2024 will be debated and adopted by the Common Council in November. In addition to public comment opportunities at Council meetings, there will be two community sessions on the budget. City Finance staff will provide background information on the city’s capital and operating budget process, including highlights of the 2024 executive budget. This is a great opportunity for residents to learn more about our city’s budget. Electronic copies of budget information can be found at https://www.cityofmadison.com/finance/budget/2024-budget

Virtual community sessions on the 2024 budget will be held on Monday, October 30 and Wednesday, November 1. Both meetings will start at 5:30 PM and end at 6:30 PM. These meetings will cover the same content and will be recorded.

Please register for the meetings using the links below. Registrants will be invited to participate in a question and answer session at the end of the meeting.

 

10/22 Update on Gun Violence and Response

See last week’s blog post for background information about the recent shooting at the Harmony at Grandview Commons.

I don’t have any new information about the investigation and MPD is still asking for tips from anyone who has information to share. Anybody with information that might help the investigation should please contact Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014 or online at p3tips.com . Information may be shared anonymously.

Without more “enforcement actions” (like arrests) from this case, there is also no news yet about the status of a Chronic Nuisance Property order at the property. I’m working to update the rules in the City’s chronic nuisance ordinance with the Assistant City Attorney who works on nuisance cases. She confirmed with me this past week that she’s doing legal analysis of ways we can update the City’s nuisance ordinance to better handle violent crimes. My specific goal is to treat homicides more severely in the criteria for Chronic Nuisance status. This is about accountability, making it easier by using one of the City’s few available tools to compel changes and improvements on private property to make these tragedies less likely in the future. I will let you know in a future blog post when we have something ready to introduce.

I am still working on pulling together a public meeting about gun violence and the response to this incident. I’ve been coordinating with six individuals’ and groups’ schedules and I thought we had a date, but now we’re having trouble finding a nearby venue available on that day so I may need to find another date. Please know that I’m working on it and that I’ll share event details when I have them. Watch for my future blog posts.
 

Coffee With A Cop 10/25

From MPD Officer Neal Crowder:

“Hello! We will have our monthly 'Coffee with a Cop', at the East District Station (809 S Thompson Dr.) in the front community room. Coffee will be provided for those who join us! For this event and future Coffee with a Cop events we will be continuing our efforts of adjusting when we hold our event to allow for more flexibility across the community. My hope is by adjusting the time for our Coffee with a Cop event we can fit more individual's schedules. Our next coffee day is scheduled on Wednesday, October 25th, 2023 from 10:00am-11:00am. Please feel free to stop in at any time to participate. Parking is available in the front lot of EPD. Please do not pass the fence line or park near the squads. Should the lot run out of parking spaces street parking is available as well as along a side of the EPD driveway. Please do not block the driveway as officers will need to come and go to address calls for service in the community. As usual, we are excited about this opportunity and ask that you spread the word to anyone who might be interested in this community event. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at ncrowder@cityofmadison.com.

This Coffee with a Cop meeting will be available both in person and virtually. Please follow the link to join virtually https://cityofmadison.zoom.us/ Understand that not all questions that come in through the chat feature may be covered given time constraints of the meeting, thank you for your understanding."
 

Streets Division Updates

  • Leaf Collection is Ongoing: Get the dates when you should set out your leaves for pickup at www.cityofmadison.com/yardwaste
  • Large Item Pickup: Large item collection rules changed a few years ago and now you need a work order to get on the crew’s pickup schedule. Learn more about the process at www.cityofmadison.com/LargeItem
  • Brush Collection is Over: Do not set out brush for pickup. If you have brush that needs collection, you need to take it to a drop-off site instead.
  • Food Scraps Schedule Change: The South Madison farmer’s market food scrap drop-off changed its schedule. More details about this schedule change can be found on our food scraps website.
  • Recycle Right: Be sure you’re putting the right things in your recycling cart. Get the rules at www.cityofmadison.com/recycling. One quick tip for Halloween – candy wrappers belong in the trash, not your recycling carts.
 

Events & Announcements

  • Take the City of Madison Sustainability Survey! What is your vision for a green, climate-friendly, and resilient Madison? Where do you see opportunities for improvement? What are your top priorities? The City of Madison wants to hear your thoughts on the draft Sustainability Plan’s eight themes and supporting goals. This plan will help the City advance sustainability through its policies, programs, and projects. By taking this quick survey, you are helping ensure the draft themes and goals are in line with the community’s vision for a sustainable City of Madison. Ten lucky winners will receive a $20 gift card to The Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream! Let’s work together to create a sustainable City for both existing and future Madisonians! Take survey here: www.cityofmadison.com/sustainability
  • Bird & Nature Adventures | Edna Taylor, Saturday, October 28: Join a naturalist for an easy family-friendly walk from Aldo Leopold Nature Center into beautiful Edna Taylor Conservation Park and enjoy a bit of nature education along the way. Walks through the Edna Taylor Conservation Park are held on the 4th Saturday, 10-11:30am of each month and begin at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center, 330 Femrite Drive. Meet outside at the Children's Shack. Co-sponsored by Madison Parks, Madison Audubon Society , and Aldo Leopold Nature Center . No registration is required. No pets are allowed.
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District 3 - Alder Field

Alder Derek Field

Alder Derek Field

District 3
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