Hello again, Neighbors! It is Fifth Week this week in City of Appleton government. And Fifth Week should theoretically mean that there are no meetings scheduled for this week. However… if you’re a regular reader of this alderman blog, you know that sometimes on Fifth Weeks there is a random meeting or two on the calendar. But not this time! This time the week off is “for real”!
For this week’s blog post, I would like to share a little more about 2024’s first resolution submitted for consideration by the City of Appleton Common Council and why I intend to vote against it unless it is amended to assure taxpayers that local government keeps its word to taxpayers.
I mentioned this resolution regarding energy efficiency grant funds proposed to be allocated to the city’s library project last week. In that post, I also provided for you some background on the development of this resolution and why I would not sign on as a co-author to this resolution when I was approached with it.
The city’s Finance Committee took up this resolution at their meeting last Monday and I attempted then to amend the resolution to make it crystal clear that the addition of the grant funds to the library project will not “grow the project” by increasing the amount of city budget money (taxpayer money) attributed to it.
You might recall that “way back when,” the mayor made a promise to the taxpayers of this city that Appleton taxpayer money for the Appleton Public Library construction (remodel) project would exceed $26.4M. This council then proceeded to add $2M to the project through an allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds “for broadband.” I considered that act a breaking of a promise at that time… but was fooled into believing that the purpose of those ARPA funds was to reduce the overall project budget (which has proven not the case). Then this council (with a dissenting vote from your alderman) agreed to proceed with the library construction project for a total of $40.4M on the assumption that the Friends of the Appleton Public Library fundraising campaign would raise the $12M in gap funding needed (without a contingency plan should the fundraising not come through in a timely manner). And now… by a passing of this resolution unamended, there are yet more grant dollars proposed to be added to the overall library project. This has been a long process of telling half-truths to the taxpayers of this city and I cannot abide that.
Here is an excellent recap of the Finance Committee discussion of this resolution, my proposed amendment to clearly state that the library project would not be expanded by these grant dollars, and the resulting votes. I think it’s important you read the entire linked article for some more specific language used by many aldermen arguing, in effect, that this resolution should allow for the growth of the library project beyond the already approved scope and how they talked themselves into believing that that would not be the case… but I’ll quickly break down the result of the Finance Committee discussions for you:
Two of the resolution’s authors are among the five aldermen on the Finance Committee. Those two and the chairman of that committee voted against my proposed amendment to clarify the promise-keeping. And two of us — Alderman Chris Croatt of District 14 and your alderman — voted for the amendment. The amendment therefore failed and then we two were left to vote against the unamended resolution. The unamended resolution passed by a 3-2 vote and will move to the full council next week (Wednesday, 02/07/2024).
If you are at all concerned about members of your city’s common council being very cavalier about making and breaking promises to the taxpaying public, please write to me and/or your alderman if you’re from outside District 13 and share your concerns. Please let me (and anyone else on the council whom you think should hear from you) know your thoughts on this issue. I believe it to be a grave concern in this city and in many other levels of local, regional, and national government and am fervent about taking a stand here against it. I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Thanks for tuning in for this longer than expected Fifth Week blog post. I hope that you have a good last days of January and first days of the longest shortest month of the year, February!
