P.O. Box 1222, Madison, WI 53701 | www.prodane.org | office@prodane.org | (608) 257-4985
At Progressive Dane's General Membership on Wednesday, September 26, 2007, the following motions carried:
Resolved, Progressive Dane applauds our endorsed alders' draft letter on the City of Madison budget and their efforts to articulate progressive positions on issues presented by the budget;
And be it further resolved that Progressive Dane expresses its confidence in its endorsed alders to formulate budget positions that reflect Progressive Dane's principles.
A copy of the final letter sent to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz can be found at http://www.prodane.org/in_the_news/pdf/BudgetLetter2007.pdf
It is also
Resolved, that Progressive Dane endorses Brenda Konkel's draft letter on housing issues as proposed at the 9/26/07 General Membership Meeting;
Be it further resolved that:
Progressive Dane affirms its support for the City committee review process and urges the mayor and city council to avoid making decisions before allowing time for the usual referral process;
Progressive Dane affirms its support for affordable housing and urges the mayor and city council to support incentives for private owners to create more affordable rental housing in Madison; and
Progressive Dane expresses its concern at the delays and lack of transparency in the Allied Drive rehabbing project and urges the mayor and the city council to move forward with this project with due regard for appropriate citizen review;
And be it further resolved that this motion be forwarded to all Progressive Dane-endorsed alders.
Posted by prodane at 05:43 PM
Everyone is invited to attend the Progressive Dane General Membership Meeting Wednesday, September 26th, at the Madison's Downtown Public Library.
The monthly Progressive Dane General Membership Meeting will be held
Wednesday, September 26, 2007, from 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. at Madison's
Downtown Public Library, 201 W. Mifflin St., 2nd floor.
More information regarding the General Member Meeting can be found at
http://www.prodane.org/get_involved/attend_meeting/
This month Aaron Crandall will chair the meeting.
The agenda is as follows:
Introductions & Opening Question
More Cops & the Budget
Affordable Housing
Graphic Artist Update
Nominations for Steering Committee
Updates & Announcements
Posted by prodane at 12:32 PM
Dear Mayor Cieslewicz, Chief Wray and members of the common council,
In light of the increased discussions about public safety and the recent request by Chief Wray, supported by Mayor Cieslewicz, for 30 additional officers in the forthcoming budget, we feel it important to broaden the discussion to additional "core services" provided by the City to its residents and begin to get realistic about what it would take to provide funding for these officers through cuts to other departments.
Date: Sep 10, 2007 2:46 PM
Subject: Funding for officers
To: nwray@cityofmadison.com, Allalders
September 10, 2007
Dear Mayor Cieslewicz, Chief Wray and members of the common council,
In light of the increased discussions about public safety and the recent request by Chief Wray, supported by Mayor Cieslewicz, for 30 additional officers in the forthcoming budget, we feel it important to broaden the discussion to additional "core services" provided by the City to its residents and begin to get realistic about what it would take to provide funding for these officers through cuts to other departments.
We appreciate that several alders have asked for advice from the public on where to find cuts and appreciate the Mayor's sentiment that the public will be open to cuts in order to provide this unprecedented increase at the Police Department. But we wonder if the cuts can, or should, be made without doing serious damage to the mission of Madison's governmental services and the quality of life we have come to enjoy and expect once the scope and depth of the cuts required become clear.
To further this conversation we've reviewed the 2008 agency operating budget requests and note below some possible areas to find $2.3 million. To be clear we are not suggesting the funds be found in these areas, simply articulating the draconian effect seeking such a large amount of money from within an already strained city budget could have. We urge you to be clear and forthcoming with your constituents about the potential effect of making such cuts and, to the extent there is indeed clear public support for such a large increase in police staffing, that you ask your constituents not only about cuts they'd accept, but also willingness to accept an increase in property taxes or shifting of other revenue in order to satisfy the
community's priorities.
Should the entire $2.3M come from one area, what core services are you
willing to abandon or severely curtail?
- Reduce by half the amount of Snow & Ice Removal (Streets, $4.5M in 2007)?
- Reduce by 18% the Solid Waste Division (Streets, $12.8M in 2007), perhaps by eliminating garbage pick-up once every 4-6 weeks?
- Eliminate the Streets, Highways & Path Systems ($1.8M in 2007), plus Sidewalks ($.35M) programs (Engineering)?
- Eliminate the Signs ($1M in 2007) and Street Lighting ($1.2) programs (Traffic Engineering)?
- Eliminate Weed Control ($.48M in 2007) and Street Repair & Maintenance ($1.85M in 2007) (Streets)?
- Eliminate Pavement Markings ($.87M in 2007), Communications (.2M in 2007) and Traffic Signals ($1.2M in2007) (Traffic Engineering)?
What other services, which certainly many Madisonians would consider "core", are you willing to abandon or severely curtail?
- Eliminate Paratransit services at Metro ($2.2M)?
- Eliminate 29% of fixed routes at Metro ($7.8M total)?
- Reduce by three-quarters the Community Resources services provided through the Office of Community Services ($3.18M total in 2007)?
- Eliminate the Child Care section in the Office of Community Services ($2.2M in 2007)?
- Reduce by 45% support for the Central Library ($5.15M total in 2007)?
- Cut in half the support for Neighborhood Libraries ($4.82M total in 2007)?
- Cut by more than one-third maintenance of General Parks and Greenways ($6.4M in 2007) (Parks)?
- Reduce by a quarter Madison's commitment to the Public Health Department ($9.8M total)?
What else, that people might not think of as the front line of Madison's services, are you willing to cut?
- Eliminate the Planning Division ($2.3M)?
- Nix the Inspection ($1.9M in 2007) and Health & Welfare ($.45M in 2007) divisions of Neighborhood Preservation and Inspection?
- Reduce by three-quarters the Forestry Division ($2.98M in 2007) (Parks)?
- Eliminate city funding for Olbrich Botanical Gardens ($.96M in 2007), Forest Hill Cemetery ($.87 in 2007) and either the Winter
Activities ($.5M in 2007) or Boating/Beaches/Concessions (.4M in 2007) sections (Parks)?
There are, of course, a number of other Departments and programs you could consider. What combination of the following are you willing to eliminate or severely cut to expand the Police Department?
- Comptroller - $2.5M
- City Attorney - $2.38M
- Dept. of Civil Rights - $1.39M
- Common Council office - $.34M
- Mayor's Office - $1.1M
- Overture - $1.72M
- Office of Director of Planning and Community and Economic Development $.5M
- Community Development Block Grant - $.71M
- Economic and Community Development - $1.27M
- Madison City Channel - $.26M
- Application Development and Support or Network Support divisions of Information Services - $1.9M each
- City Assessor - $1.97M
- Madison senior Center - $.39M
- Human Resources - $1.76M
- Municipal Court $.14M
- City Clerk - $1.2
- Housing Operations - $.05M
- Department of Public Works & Transportation - $.01M
- Fleet Service - $.89
We respect the tough position you are in. Such a position requires moving beyond platitudes and generalities and into a real discussion about exactly how tough the choices before us are. We look forward to you all taking that next step with the community.
Sincerely,
Michael Jacob on behalf of the Policy Committee of Progressive Dane
Posted by prodane at 02:28 PM
Madison City Council Impeachment Resolution Fails!
Don’t Mourn, Organize!
The recent Madison city council vote against the recommendation to begin impeachment proceedings against the President and Vice-President clearly demonstrates that even in a place like Madison, citizens must organize if we want real progressive representation. Progressive Dane has been a leading force in Dane County since 1992.
Madison City Council Impeachment Resolution Fails!
Don’t Mourn, Organize!
The recent Madison city council vote against the recommendation to begin impeachment proceedings against the President and Vice-President clearly demonstrates that even in a place like Madison, citizens must organize if we want real progressive representation. Progressive Dane has been a leading force in Dane County since 1992. We have worked hard to elect progressive candidates to local office, to make the government more accessible, to enact progressive policies, and to protect the environment. We are proud of the Progressive Dane Madison alders who voted in favor of the impeachment resolution and we are proud of the Progressive Dane county supervisors who voted for the successful Dane County impeachment resolution.
These votes aren't cast by accident. Alders and supervisors who take progressive positions are led by their individual histories and their personal integrity. They also need leadership from citizens who share their ideals. Progressive Dane offers a way for citizens to stay in touch with their local elected officials throughout their terms.
If you support making local government more accessible, protecting the environment, furthering social justice and electing local officials who aren’t afraid to raise their voices against injustice, join Progressive Dane. Together we can keep Madison and Dane County as good places to live and make them even better.
Go to http://www.prodane.org/get_involved/become_member/ to find out how to join today.
Posted by prodane at 01:21 PM
Date: Monday, 3 Sep 2007
To: Wisconsin State Journal
Subject: Impeachment Resolution at City Council
To the editor:
Progressive Dane is grateful to the State Journal for the top billing regarding the City Council impeachment resolution (PD distraction isn't worth a vote 9/2/07). Although we have not endorsed such a resolution, we are proud to say that we have endorsed many of the elected officials who support impeachment. However, we must share any credit with our fellow travelers of the "hard left", the Wisconsin Democratic Party and its Dane County chapter, the Wisconsin Greens, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin and most likely the majority of Dane County citizens.
According to their websites, the Greens, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and the Dane County Dems have endorsed impeachment and Rep. Baldwin has signed on to House Resolution 333 for the impeachment of Vice President Cheney. Once again, your irrational exuberance for Progressive Dane has given us more credit than we deserve. But we thought we would send a thank-you note before we get on with the work of making Dane County a better place for all of us.
Mary Anglim and Lukas Diaz
Co-chairs, Progressive Dane
Posted by prodane at 11:37 PM