City Council meeting 01/25/11

Mayor Robert Werdeo Jr. to order at 6:00 P.M.

Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll Call.

The was 5 members present with 1 missing.

Minutes – January 11, 2011.
Council agreed to accept that meeting minutes from previous meeting.

BBC, LLC custodian agreement.
Contract to use private company for cleaning services for the city was tabled because of Union's are fighting city to make this a union position. The locations for cleaning are the Fire Station, Community Center, Historical Bessler Home, Stoelting House, and Library. The private company cost is $40,000 less than it would cost for a union position. This is tabled until the union meets with the council. I asked and this will be done in open session and the public will be allowed to be involved.

Auditing - 3 year agreement, Schenck SC.
This is the company used by the city for years. The cost will be $30,950 for 2011, $31,900 for 2012 and 32,900 for 2013.

Economic Development Corporation presentation.
This is an organization for Manitowoc County that sells the city for business to come to the area. The costs for this organization is coming from TID 2 and 3.

APPA Legislative Rally, Dennis Dedering, Washington DC.
Dennis Dedering will be attending this event Feb 28th through March 2nd. He said this will be paid for by the Public utilities. From what I understand this event is all about power. I read the handout and they are pushing renewable energy and climate change. I hope that our city does not get sucked into the failure of global warming and the renewable energy failures.

Operator’s licenses.
Two operator licenses were approved.

Operator’s license – Brooke Weber.
Chief Funkhouser wrote a letter to the council that after performing a background check on Brooke. He found prior convictions after she staed on her application that she had none. So the council agreed with the chief and disallowed the bartenders license.

Any other matters that lawfully comes before the Council.
The garage razing was brought up. There is a garage what was too close to the property line so they city requested it be moved or be razed. The city inspector stated that the garage was 1 foot off of the property line when it needed to be at least 3 feet off the property line. The home owner finally moved it 2 feet over to come in compliance with the city. The neighbor now says that the garage was right on the line and now that it is moved it is still not far enough over. The home owner complied with what the city asked and from the stand point of the city it should be settled.

Adjournment.

Meeting attended and notes by Randy Kubetz

Debt Chart

This chart tells us everything. Can anyone doubt we have a problem?

Editorial for Jan 28th newspaper

I have heard people tell me teachers don't make enough money and others tell me they make too much. I also hear that they work too many hours and buy items for the classroom. I figured I would put a little perspective into salaries. I would like think that most people appreciate teachers, as I do, and also the military. Here is a quick comparison between the two professions:

Teachers do work many hours, just like anyone on a salary does in private business. They pay for some items and do help out kids who can not afford basic classroom items from their own pay. For this the average salary of a Wisconsin teacher is a little over $46,000. The average salary for school administrators is $130,000. This is just base salary and not counting benefits like health care and retirement.

Soldiers work 24/7 as they are always on duty. They put their lives on the line each day. I read that many soldiers paid for their own armor for their protection in the Gulf War. I picked an E-5, or a Sergeant, as comparable salary which is under $27,000. I then chose an officer pay to equal that of administrators. Average salary of a Captain is $80,000. This is the base salary and you have to work 20 years before you can earn any retirement pay.

For purposes of full disclosure, I served in the Army in the early 80's. Back then I was paid about $8,000 each year. I never complained about my salary since I love my country and I chose to serve. If you ask most teachers and military people, they will tell you they love their jobs and they do not complain about the job they chose.

We all have a choice of career and we all have the ability to leave the job if we don't think pay is fair, unless you sign a contract like in the military and you have to finish it out.

Randy Kubetz

Wisconsin Citizens Involvement

City Council Meeting 1-11-11

City Council Meeting 1-11-11

I attended the City Council Meeting on Tuesday. The following items were discussed and voted on:

Officer Jeremy Kamp was recognized as Employee of the Year by vote from his peers. He has acted as our school liaison, keeping a police presence in our school and providing our students with an opportunity to interact with the police. This has led to cases being solved and students being more open when crimes are committed. We commend Officer Kamp for his outstanding work.

Pat Keltesch was sworn in as Municipal Court Clerk in accordance with the changing state law. It is my understanding that she has previously been in this position, but with the law change, she now must take an oath.

The Council voted to pass a resolution authorizing an initial resolution to finance General Obligation Bonds in the amount of $1,645,000 to pay for the Fire Station project. Two other resolutions were also approved in conjunction with this; Directing Publication of Notice to Electors, and Providing for the Sale of $1,645,000 General Obligation Fire Station Bonds. This authorizes the finance company to send out bids to financial institutions to buy these bonds. The bids received will be presented at next month's Council Meeting.

The Wage Resolution was presented, listing the wages for each of the positions within the city government. This Resolution provided for a 2% increase for personnel. This was addressed by Randy in his notes last month.

Chief Funkhouser explained the route for the Amy Krueger Memorial Ride—an ATV ride that would be held the same weekend as the Ice Sculpture festivities. This was approved pending the group's signed letter of permission from each of the private property owners affected. This was brought before the Council because the ATV's used need to cross Broadway to park in the City parking lot near Header Inn.

There will be a Public Hearing regarding the revision of Chapter 13 Municipal Utilities—Sewer Services. This Hearing will be on February 8, 2011 at 6:00pm.

There were two other Resolutions brought before the Council—both honoring community members who have achieved Eagle Scout badges in Boy Scouts. Both of these young men are to be commended for their service and accomplishments.

There have been several complaints about sidewalks not being shoveled within the 72-hour time frame after a snowfall. These citizens, if the City has to remove the snow, will have to pay the City for the service.

There have been numerous complaints about dog feces being left on people's sidewalks and yards. If the owner of the home knows who the people are, the City Police can and will get involved. If you have pets, it is your responsibility to pick up your animal's wastes.

I also asked about the Electrical Contractor position that was advertised. The petition we signed was sent to the appropriate people. Now comes the waiting game, as we see what the unions do about this. Many thanks to all those who signed this petition and are getting involved!

letter to the school board

I would like to petition the school board to add to it's agenda a topic of discussion of the open meetings law and maybe work with the citizens to allow open communication with the public. You did mention that you hold subgroups to discuss topics at separate meetings but as you know people work and are busy with other tasks to attend all these separate meetings. I am disabled and it will be difficult for me to make all these meetings.

This is the law off the state site: http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dls/OMPR/2010OMCG-PRO/2010_OML_Compliance_Guide.pdf

This is a portion of the open meetings law:

4. Citizen participation.
In general, the open meetings law grants citizens the right to attend and observe open session meetings of governmental bodies, but does not require a governmental body to allow members of the public to speak or actively participate in the body's meeting. Lundquist Correspondence, October 25, 2005. There are some other state statutes that require governmental bodies to hold public hearings on specified matters. See for example, Wis. Stat. § 65.90(4) (requiring public hearing before adoption of a municipal budget) and Wis. Stat. § 66.46(4)(a) (requiring public hearing before creation of a tax incremental finance district). Unless such a statute specifically applies, however, a governmental body is free to determine for itself whether and to what extent it will allow citizen participation at its meetings. Zwieg Correspondence, July 13, 2006; Chiaverotti Correspondence, September 19, 2006.

Although it is not required, the open meetings law does permit a governmental body to set aside a portion of an open meeting as a public comment period. Wis. Stat. §§ 19.83(2) and 19.84(2). Such a period must be included on the meeting notice. During such a period, the body may receive information from the public and may discuss any matter raised by the public. If a member of the public raises a subject that does not appear on the meeting notice, however, it is advisable to limit the discussion of that subject and to defer any extensive deliberation
to a later meeting for which more specific notice can be given. In addition, the body may not take formal action on a subject raised in the public comment period, unless that subject is also identified in the meeting notice.

I highlighted the portion of the law that allows a government body to determine participation at meetings. I would like to ask you to allow questions during discussing items that deal with spending and tax dollars From what I have read it is up to the board discretion which means to me that you can set the rules, so why not set them so they work with the people instead of against us?

Thank you for your time and I will wait for a reply,
Randy Kubetz

Rules on meetings

I am doing some research on State of Wisconsin meetings held for the public.

From our State site: http://www.doj.state.wi.us/dls/OMPR/2010OMCG-PRO/2010_OML_Compliance_Guide.pdf

This is the part of the compliance that deals with citizens participation:

4. Citizen participation.
In general, the open meetings law grants citizens the right to attend and observe open session meetings of governmental bodies, but does not require a governmental body to allow members of the public to speak or actively participate in the body's meeting. Lundquist Correspondence, October 25, 2005. There are some other state statutes that require governmental bodies to hold public hearings on specified matters. See for example, Wis. Stat. § 65.90(4) (requiring public hearing before adoption of a municipal budget) and Wis. Stat. § 66.46(4)(a) (requiring public hearing before creation of a tax incremental finance district). Unless such a statute specifically
applies, however, a governmental body is free to determine for itself whether and to what extent it will allow citizen participation at its meetings. Zwieg Correspondence, July 13, 2006; Chiaverotti Correspondence, September 19, 2006.

Although it is not required, the open meetings law does permit a governmental body to set aside a portion of an open meeting as a public comment period. Wis. Stat. §§ 19.83(2) and 19.84(2). Such a period must be included on the meeting notice. During such a period, the body may receive information from the public and may discuss any matter raised by the public. If a member of the public raises a subject that does not appear on the meeting notice, however, it is advisable to limit the discussion of that subject and to defer any extensive deliberation
to a later meeting for which more specific notice can be given. In addition, the body may not take formal action on a subject raised in the public comment period, unless that subject is also identified in the meeting notice.

Understanding TID and TIF

Open this PDF to get a better understanding of TID's (tax incremental district) and TIF's (tax incremental financing). It does a good job explaining Wisconsin's TID process and how projects are funded.

http://www.cows.org/pdf/rp_tif.pdf

National Debt keeps climbing now at $14,000,000,000,000.00

National Debt keeps climbing

It took just 7 months for the National Debt to increase from $13 trillion on June 1, 2010 to $14 trillion on Dec. 31. It also means the debt is fast approaching the statutory ceiling $14.294 trillion set by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last February.

So we need to decide to either cut spending or keep going with the status quo which will lead to larger debt for our families.