Monona Budget Passes

The council passed the budget on Monday night and we got through with the meeting by about 1 a.m. - not too horrible. The budget is by far the most important thing the council does all year and we do put a lot of time into it, as we should, so a late night or two isn't unreasonable.

We typically get very little input at our budget hearings and I know that bugs my good friend alder McKeever, but I don't find it too surprising or distressing. We do get citizen input from the members of 10+ advisory committees. Besides, the details of the city budget are really 'inside baseball'. Unless there is a major policy change in the works, I think people expect us to handle the details.

The Herald Independent has a pretty decent summary. The city levy is up about 4.4% with about 3.85% increase in debt service payments (for capital expenses to pay for roads, utilities, and the library mainly). The average $256K house will see an increase of about $55 (I could be off a dollar or two). I proposed three amendments, which all passed (a record), to add library staff and materials, a part-time program assistant for Recreation and Community Center, and a small increase for senior services. We also added some money for lake weed spraying (to kill Asian milfoil and other aquatic invasives) and for part-time wages for park maintenance.

The council rejected proposals to eliminate local emergency dispatch and to combine the part-time Fire Chief and EMS Director/Fire Marshal into one position. I'm not too thrilled with either idea.

Next up is capital budget.