EEEE Round Up: Everything Else Except the Edgewater

That title sounds like it should be sung to the tune from "All Along the Watchtower" . . . but yes, there are other things going on around town . . .

WORTH READING
Here's another take on why the city has a budget problem. Tho a few of us tried to address this a few times, it is something the council never seriously considers. Sanborn was the only one hammering on the Capital Budget this year, but if others had tried to cut roads, especially ones in his district, he would have voted for them.

Barry Orton, on Soglin's blog, does a good job summarizing where we are at with the Cable Competition Act . . . more broken promises. This is what led to the the defunding of WYOU (donate now!) and an average 21% rise in cable rates in two years.

Check out the drop in our air quality! Full Dane County Environmental Health Card Report Card here.

I appreciated this call to have the County Board members to stand up to the sheriff's department . . . and the understanding that it could have political implications if they were to do so.

ART GALLERY OPENING

The Jackie Macaulay Gallery is hosting an artist reception for Desereé Nehrkorn

Friday, December 4, 2009 from 5:00 to 9:00 pm.

Wine and hor'devours to be served.

Located in the Social Justice Center,
1202 Williamson Street, Madison, WI

WISCONSIN ONCE AGAIN SHOWING IT IS PROGRESSIVE
From the Democracy campaign:

Impartial Justice bill signed into law
The Impartial Justice bill is officially the Impartial Justice law. Governor Jim Doyle signed the bill this morning. The governor's signing statement is here.

With today's action, Wisconsin becomes the first and only state to enact public financing legislation this year and joins North Carolina and New Mexico as the only states to ever create public financing systems for judicial elections.

The Democracy Campaign thanks Governor Doyle and all the legislators who acted to make this long-sought reform a reality. WDC also thanks the many other groups that worked for the bill's passage, most especially Common Cause in Wisconsin and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. And we owe a great debt of gratitude to the countless citizens who took the time to contact their representatives and the governor to urge them to take this important step toward cleaning up state Supreme Court elections.

This historic breakthrough for campaign finance reform was a decade in the making, as the Impartial Justice bill was first proposed in 1999. It is the most significant campaign reform in Wisconsin since 1977.

WATER RATES GOING UP!!!
According to the letter from the PSC,

Our proposed charge for public fire protection provides an increase of approximately 27 percent compared to a 21 percent increase in general service rates.

There is a public hearing next Tuesday. You can comment here.

DID YOU KNOW . . .
County board elections are coming up? People can start filing for that and school board starting yesterday. Seems really, really, really quiet this year . . . so far, Melissa Sargeant is running for a seat being vacated by Dorothy Wheeler and there's some action on campus . . . but I haven't heard a whole lot more, but I haven't been paying a whole lot of attention either and there is a virtual media blackout at the county and school board levels, making it hard to find news . . . but, at the county level, if you don't like what happened to human services this year, or are concerned about the sheriff's office and the immigration issues, or are passionate about land use (yes, there are some of you out there!) or [insert issue here], you should consider running! It's not as much work as the city council and there are important issues that need to be addressed! School Board info here. County Board info here. Of course, if you are interested, you might want to talk to some folks . . . feel free to call or email me or find someone who you respect or agree with! Candidates needed!

SMALL BUSINESS BUS PASS PROGRAM
Sometimes those crazy Progressive Dane ideas can even be supported by Jenifer Alexander of the Chamber of Commerce . . . for more info to get involved in the program, see here.

STALLED HOTEL
Hmmm, not returning phone calls . . . hard to buy the initial excuses about product not being available given the news of liens being filed against the property.

AIDS QUILT IN MADISON TODAY AND TOMORROW"

Overture Center Main Lobby
201 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin

Wednesday, December 2, 2009
11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Thursday, December 3, 2009
10:00 am - 10:00 pm

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is an expanding memorial to the lives of people lost to HIV/AIDS, created by those who loved them. It is the largest community art project in the world, totaling more than 45,500 individual panels that commemorate more than 91,000 people.

View 21 12'x12' blocks of the captivating quilt in person, brought to Madison in recognition of World AIDS Day (December 1) by the UW Health HIV/AIDS Comprehensive Care Program, with financial support from Becker Law Office, the Wisconsin AIDS/HIV Program and our many generous allies and friends.

JUST A FEW DAYS LEFT . . .
Do some shopping, help the community, get a good deal!

Help Promote Sustainability Statewide and these Community Causes: Dane County TimeBank, WYOU Community Access TV, Community Groundworks at Troy Gardens

PEACE RALLY TODAY
Wednesday, December 2 – March of the Dead & Placing Demands on Sen. Kohls Office Door & Rep. Baldwin’s Office Door.

11:00 AM – Gather at Lisa Link Peace Park, State St., Mad., WI and march to Veterans Park at corner of State St. and the Capitol Square.

We will have a somber March of the Dead to the Capitol Square where we will remember and mourn the dead by reading their stories. Will arrive at the Square at NOON. We will deliver our demands to Senator Kohl’s office at approximately 12:30 to 12:45 and to Congresswoman Baldwin’s office at 1:30 or 1:45 PM, calling on our legislators to refuse to fund the escalation for the wars.

MADISON LOBBIES
Check out what the City of Madison is paying money to lobby on. The question that always bothered me is . . . who decides what we lobby on? In the last few years there has been a minimal effort to involve the council in the decisions, but it mostly is just a report on what has already happened and a request to give input once a year.

YOUR ALDER SAID WHAT?
As a side note to the above issue, check this out, the audio of the meeting is available. It's the last link at the bottom of the links here. It would be sooooooo totally cool if that was made available for every committee meeting. Tho, that would probably scare the bejesus out most elected officials . . . but it also might make them think a little more about what they say. I wonder why this audio is available and if they plan to continue doing it?

CASEY JONES, YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR SPEED
Ticketing for speeding is once again a priority, kinda. There used to be two traffic enforcement teams called TEST teams. I forget when and how it went away, but I remember council members being concerned at the time and we were told to mind our own business . . . I remember thinking that the cops at the time just didn't want to give tickets, they wanted to work on "real crime" because it was more exciting. Glad to see that preventative safety is back on their minds . . . but I'm also bracing myself for that ticket and when I get it, I won't have any good excuses besides I just have a lead foot! But then again, the enforcement is still probably so light, I might never even notice.

WTF?
This is an account of a beating on Halloween weekend, which I don't think we ever heard about:

Because of his injuries, which medical records show also include bulging discs, Miller was unable to complete the fall semester at UW-Parkside, and it is uncertain if he will be able to start a theater job in New York City scheduled to begin in January, he said.

Miller said he told a paramedic, whom he thought was a police officer, that he had just been beaten and could not get up. He said the paramedic told him to get up or he would be taken to detox then pulled him up and took him back to the house of the friend with whom he had been arguing.

Miller said the paramedic asked if he needed an ambulance, and he replied that he had no health insurance. The paramedic then questioned whether he was refusing medical treatment, but Miller did not reply, Miller said.

Amesqua said the paramedic, Gary Schreiber, denied that Miller told him he had been beaten. Miller also had no apparent injuries, she said.

Schreiber told a police detective that Miller refused medical treatment, Amesqua said.

A Fire Department report indicates paramedics responded to "a man sleeping in a alley. We were able to get him up and inside his house."

I'm freaking speechless.
Read more!

Wednesday Round Up

Many more issues to comment on today, Hippie Christmas, lobbying complaints, alternative Edgewater proposal thoughts, why Google came to Madison, a little jab at Google, metro route expansion, short notice/county board budget process sucks too, short notice to comment on how we will spend millions of federal dollars over the next 5 years, final? piece of the non-profit property tax exemption and Konkel's blog and the media . . . there was more but ran out of time, had to be on the radio at 8:10 . . .

DANGERS OF HIPPIE CHRISTMAS
Beyond the bed bugs (Doug Moe, get a clue, you wanna come talk to the crying people who end up with bed bug bites all over them? And have to throw away more than a couch and replace it?) and cockroaches, there are other dangers in Hippie Christmas . . . like losing your stuff while you are moving. A friend of mine told me about taking a vacuum cleaner, after waiting and looking to see if it belonged to anyone . . and then being chased down by the owner to reclaim it. And, as I was looking on craigslist yesterday, I found this.

I think there has to be a better way to do this. There should be places set up to put reusable items and places to put things that are clearly trash and a way to designate what is NOT up for grabs . . . that way less stuff would end up in the land fills.

LOBBYING COMPLAINTS
Dean Mosiman follows up, noting that my complaints have merit and that some are cooperating to get the information, but he notes that one of them is questionable. The City Attorney directed the Marcus Hotels and Resorts to look directly at MGO 2.40 (2)(h) which says:

“Legislative action” means the development, drafting, introduction, consideration, modification, adoption, rejection, review, enactment or defeat of any ordinance, resolution, amendment, report, nomination or other matter by the Common Council or by any board, committee or commission or committee or subcommittee thereof, or by a Common Council member acting in an official capacity. “Legislative action” also means the action of the mayor in approving or vetoing any ordinance or resolution, and the action of the mayor or any department, board, committee or commission or committee or subcommittee thereof in the development of a proposal for introduction to the Common Council.

I'd remind people of our 2009 budget discussions, where the Mayor proposed $1.2M for the Madison Municipal Building/Government East parking ramp. The proposal included this language:

This project envisions a 570 stall above grade garage to be built on the current MMB site. Planning will take place in 2009 ($1.2 million) with construction in 2010, estimated at $14.25 million ($25,000 per stall). After this parking garage is constructed, Government East can be demolished with redevelopment of that parcel starting the following year. (Note: This project is in lieu of either a parking garage at the Brayton site, or the replacement of the Government East garage at the Government East site.)

Um . . . that parking ramp was part of the Marcus Hotels and Resorts plan that most of us have never seen, but it was seen by the Mayor and he was willing to put it as his preferred option in his budget. It's also the reason that the Development Services Center that was all the rage with the business/development community a few years ago, is being held up. If I look hard enough, this has to be in writing somewhere . . .

EDGEWATER
An interesting alternate proposal for the Edgewater . . . he makes a good point about how winter in Wisconsin isn't such a great view from the 11 story tower . . . and how the public spaces become less useful . . .


GOOGLE DIDN'T NEED A TIF HAND OUT
Did anyone note the answer to the question about why Google chose Madison in the Cap Times Q & A?  Talent pool and quality of life . . . and knowing someone who lived here who had an interest . . .

GOOGLE - FIX YOUR SEARCH ENGINE!
Ok, in reading the WSJ version of the article above, I laughed out loud.   As someone who uses the blogger software for my blog, this quote struck me as ironic. 

Google’s search engine can sift through billions of documents in a fraction of a second, said Laudon. “Search has really come a long way,” he said.

Ha!  Except if you go up to the top of this post, enter something in the search engine that you know I've written about and see if the posts show up.  For me, the last few months seem to be showing up, for others, nothing at all shows up.  People have been trying to get them to fix this through their "Help" function for over a month, to no avail.  I hope they fix that soon, otherwise I'm going to have to update the labels on my posts.  One of the major uses of my blog for myself is being able to find information quickly.

METRO EXPANDING
Somehow, this just seems wrong.  One of the reasons bus fares were raised was to spend $150,000 for expansion of bus services.  But . . . to Fitchburg?  I don't think the $150,000 is being spent on it, but I wonder if we're getting fully paid to do this, or how much we're subsidizing it?  And I wonder, how will this impact ridership numbers?  I know we favor bus routes that get people to and from a traditional work day, but as we serve more and more commuters, what is happening to the transit dependent riders who might work at odd hours?

COUNTY BUDGET CUTS ON THE WAY . . .
With about 2 working days notice . . . here's the good news we got yesterday . . .

Below is information from the Dane County Board Office regarding the Public Hearings on the Department of Human Services' 2010 budget proposal. Our budget proposal will be delivered to the County Executive and made public late in the day Thursday, August 27th. It will be on our website by Friday morning, August 28th. Your contract managers will be contacting you the afternoon of Thursday, August 27th, to discuss the proposed budget for your individual programs; you will also receive a hard copy of that information through the mail.

Here's the info . . .

I apologize for the relatively short notice of the dates for the budget request hearings. I'll follow up with additional details, but wanted to get you the dates as soon as possible.


The hearings on the Department of Human Services budget request will on Tuesday, Sept. 1 and Wednesday, Sept 2 at the Alliant Energy Center, beginning at 6pm each day. The hearing on all other department budget requests will be held Monday, September 21 at 6pm in Room 201 of the City County Building.


Please mark your calendars, and let us know if you have any questions. Additional information will be provided shortly.

So on Thursday the 27th you'll get a call, so what? You should just sit around the office and wait for it - and then figure out what you need to do for a budget hearing the following Tuesday. Seriously? Normally, the hearings are held the day after Labor Day, which isn't ideal either, but you can at least plan for it and its not on a week when many will be gone.

MORE SHORT NOTICE
With a new Community Development Director, many expect priorities for how we spend millions of Federal money to change . . . and the framework for how those decisions get made is the five year plan. So, you'd expect this to be a thorough, transparent, public process right . . . Nah . . . not really, but it sure would be nice. Here's the notice we got yesterday . . .

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING
Draft 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan and Draft 2010 Action Plan
5:00 p.m., Thursday, September 3, 2009
Bridge-Lakepoint-Waunona Community Center
1917 Lake Point Drive


The City of Madison Community Development Division and CDBG Committee invites you to provide feedback on the draft CDBG Office 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan and 2010 Action Plans. The Consolidated Plan is used to identify and set funding priorities for the community development program over the next five years. The Action Plan sets specific goals for the upcoming year.
Copies of the draft plans will be available online at www.cityofmadison.com/cdbg and at the following locations on August 24, 2009:


• City of Madison Libraries
• Boys & Girls Club of Dane County - Allied Dunns Marsh
• Boys & Girls Club of Dane County - Taft St.
• Bridge-Lakepoint-Waunona Community Center
• Warner Park Community & Recreation Center
• Lussier Community Education Center
• CDBG Office at 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Room 280, P.O. Box 2985, Madison, Wisconsin 53701-2985


Comments may be made at the public hearing scheduled for September 3, 2009 or submitted to the CDBG Office in writing via mail – CDBG Office, PO Box 2985, Madison, WI 53701 or email – cdbg@cityofmadison.com.


The comments will be incorporated into the discussions for the final versions of the plans.


If you need special accommodations such as a translator or sign language interpreter, please call the CDBG Office at 267-0740 (866) 704-2318 TDD.) at least 48 hours prior to the meeting so that we may make the arrangements for your participation.

According to the email, you can also find the document on the 24th here.

PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION
When the state "fixed" the property tax exemption issue, it left many of us out. The city identified 9 non-profits that rented space that would still have to pay. If you ask me, they missed quite a few people on that list, but last I heard, all of them were off the list except one, which was expected to also be taken off. Yesterday, Social Justice Center got their notice that says "I have reviewed the income and expense information submitted to me previously. My analysis indicates that the above property satisfies the rent use requirement and will continue to be exempt from property tax." Great! Good for us . . . but this was one of the most miserable processes ever and it sure wasted alot of people's time and money.

BE THE MEDIA
People comment all the time about how they like my blog for being timely and many (including many city staff) say its the only place they can find out what happened at various city meetings or get information that isn't available via legistar.  Many comment that the papers should pay me for the information - I couldn't ever do it, cuz while I desperately need a copy editor, I don't want them editing my content.  However, I had to laugh that this was posted on the madison.com site.  Maybe I should be getting paid! Read more!

Brief Random Tuesday Round Up

Yup . . . lots of small topics again . . . section 8 fuzzy math, lobbying letters sent, Pellitterri registers and reports (kind of), ALRC business unfriendly, bus fares . . .

SECTION 8 FUZZY MATH
Section 8 tenants got good news that the rent increases that were implemented for August will be again reduced . . . but . . . in August, you're still on your own.

The total shortfall that caused this problem was $578,000. Last Friday, we got the "good news" that Tammy Baldwin helped us secure $600,000 to address that short fall. So that's an additional $22,000 windfall. So, why is it that the rent changes aren't retroactive for August?  It's draining resources from the community that could help others with eviction prevention.

LOBBYING LETTERS SENT
You can find Michael May's initial responses to my lobbying complaints here.

PELLITTERRI REGISTERS AS LOBBYIST ON TWO ISSUES, TWO LOBBYISTS
Looks like yesterday (received 17th) Pellitterri filed a registration statement for their zoning approval for the item at the Plan Commission last night. They also filed an expense report. I don't understand what the expense report is for? What time period? When did lobbying on last night's issue begin?

They also filed (and another one) for TIF (August 12th), where they also filed an expense statement.

Funny thing is, they claim them spent less than $1,000 on both of these items. Based on what they presented at Plan Commission last night, it seems unlikely, at least for the development project.  And should they be able to separate the two issues related to the same project and then claim less than $1,000 in expenses?

ALRC - BUSINESS UNFRIENDLY
Often when the city is accused of being business unfriendly, I tend to think it takes two to tango . . . but this time, it's just wrong. Cancelling a committee meeting and delaying an entire month is unacceptable. It's one thing not to reschedule a minor meeting on a topic that isn't on a deadline, its another to delay a liquor license.

THANKS!
Thanks to Dean Mosiman at the Wisconsin State Journal for following up on my blog post on metro bus fares and the subsequent decrease in ridership and failure of revenues to reach projections . . . by a long shot! Read more!

Tid Bits from the Plan Commission

A briefer than usual rundown on Cliff Fisher's "accidentally removed house", Burr Oaks Senior Neighborhood Development, Amending TID 39 (Stoughton Rd), Creating Northside TIF District #40, Ooops - UW trying to destroy important cultural landscape, and controversial Pellitterri (of failure to file lobbying reports when applying for TIF fame) project . . . The meeting was 4.5 hours and I was doing other things around the house . . . so its not as complete as usual . . .

DID CLIFF FISHER AND ATTY BUCK SWEENEY LIE?
Remember the "ooops, I didn't mean to" removal of a house (without the necessary permits) owned by Cliff Fisher. The approval of this project required proof of financing before the house permits to move the house was issued. According to the staff report, it was Condition 33 in the approval letter dated August 7, 2008. Why was "proof of financing" a condition of approval? Simple, about 5 or 6 months earlier, there was news of foreclosure (February 5, 2008 Foreclosure?) and then a receiver was appointed for Metropolitan Place II (March 15, 2008 - Receiver appointed) and so folks were worried that he'd start the project (move one house and demolish two more) and then not be able to finish it.

At the plan commission last time, Attorney Buck Sweeney stated that everything was fine and moving forward and financing was in place and then Metropolitan Place happened.  He stated:

We had financing approved, we were working with Tom Geier, and then Metropolitan issue came up and the economy went south . . .

 Cliff Fisher said the same thing tonight:

I also, had, all my financing, pretty much all lined up, until Metropolitan Place kind of put me into a bind there.

Pssst, guys, Metropolitan Place was in receivership in March 2008, this project was approved 8/5/2008. Metropolitan Place was the reason the condition was put on the project in the first place.  Nice revisionist history.  Is there any penalty for perjury in front of Plan Commission?  Shouldn't a complaint be filed with the state bar?  This is absurd.

Anyways, there's no proof of financing, but the house is removed from the foundation and ready to be moved. What to do? Hands tied, no good options, they approved it.  Here's a few gems from the meeting.

- Cliff Fisher tells the commission that the house can't be moved in the winter time, so it had to be approved before winter.
- George Hank, in charge of the City's Building Inspection Unit says that the King House was in a snow storm.

- Cliff Fisher tells the commission that the house cannot be put back on the foundation without moving the house to another location.
- George Hank says that they can just move the house up higher, install the foundation and then put the house down on it.  He says it would require a $25 - 30K bond for the city.

Heifitz talks about his comments about "wiggle room" at the last meeting.  He says the words were harsh, but he still thinks the wiggle room has been fully allotted. Next time this applicant has a project, there may be a credibility gap and he urges them to fill it.

At this point, I'm not sure how he can fill the credibility gap.  But I guess he could try.  He could start by having his lobbyists fill out their lobbyist registration forms.  Ahem . . . please . . . so I don't have to file a complaint.  Anyone else want to take this one on?  

BURR OAKS SENIOR HOUSING
Talking, talking, talking talking, Bruer talking . . . a few comments, plan approved.  No one there in opposition.

TID 39 EXPANSION
This is the Industrial TIF for the city.  Cnare asked if there were reasons/upcoming TIF requests coming up and if there was money for all of it.  Gromacki says that in TID 39 there are no large requests that would prevent council from doing other projects.  He says the investments are modest $200,000 - $300,000 with the notable exception of  Biolink which was $2M.

Cnare asks about projects removed from the plan.  Gromacki says that growth is slow, so they had to make cuts until the value catches up with the project.  Cnare asked why they chose to cut the park and ride instead of the quiet zones.  Gromacki says its a tough call.  Cnare asks about the Biolink project and how soon we will know if we got the money from Economic Development Administration.  Olinger says that they asked for more information and are reviewing it.  Hope to hear by the end of this year.    Really?  I thought this was a rush job last winter/spring  . . . that was months ago . . .

Sundquist asks how our TIFs are doing because they are failing around the state.  Gromacki says we've never had any fail.  But, we project the numbers based on near term development that will happen soon.  Also, we have a 50% policy that only 50% of the increment generated by the project goes to the project to give us cushion in case we run into trouble.  Just today he said it was reported that there are two districts, one in Appleton and one in Manasha that gave 100% of the increment and they are failing.  He says that he just got news from the comptroller that there are some districts in the city where the properties are increasing in value at a slower pace and even tho they are producing increment, its not reaching the projections we had.  Because we have a cushion, we're still operating in the black.

Heifitz asks what happens if the funds don't come from EDA for Biolink.  Olinger says we'd have to take another look at it.  There isn't enough increment in the district to cover that.  He asked if that happens if they can do the infrastructure costs.  Gromacki says it depends upon how the district is doing. 

Compton says that they are doing an amendment because we closed TID 24, this is a viable, profitable TIF district.  This is our only industrial TID and we haven't utilized it to its highest potential.  This amendment is because when the TID closed there was an agreement to do construction on Femrite Rd.  They need to amend it to construct the road.  They are amending it instead of using the "half-mile" rule.  This will complete Stoughton Rd to the Interstate.  BioAg and everything else is already in TID 39.  It passed. 

TID 40 CREATION
That is largely infrastructure projects.  Nothing that would create more of a log jam than we already have.  At least that was what was answered when Cnare was asking questions about TID 39.  Registrations were as follows:  John Brigham is in support representing Penn Group LLC & Chad Gephart representing CAG Development was neither in support or against.  Does this mean that they are the next TIF requests coming?  No discussion, it passed.

OOPS, SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
I feel kinda dumb for not realizing all the historical significance with this project.  My guess is I'm not the only one who had this slip by them.  One of the buildings to be removed is eligible to be on the National Registry of Historic Places and the building being modified is eligible to be on the National Registry of Historic Places.   The surprise for the evening is that the landscaping itself is historic and so significant the Department of Landscape Architecture wrote a letter with their concerns.  The landscape was designed over 100 years ago.  In 1898 it was designed by O. C. Simons.  The gentleman who attended the plan commission was very disappointed he missed the Landmarks Commission. The matter was referred to the Urban Design Commission.  (I have no idea why they didn't re-refer to Landmarks)

PELLITTERRI
Ugh, this project looks like it is a mess . . . 17 registrants, neighbors didn't know about the project, 6 of the immediate neighbors don't live in the city so not notified and no representation, sign posted where no one could see it, Veridian Homes buyers none too happy about this project being more heavy industrial, smell, noise, wetlands, (they agreed to no idling trucks when asked), staff have concerns about the placement of the project in relation to the neighbors, flooding issues, concern about who will buy homes by this project, concern about traffic, why put trash facility in the middle of three neighborhoods? . . . I couldn't really listen much more . . . but Compton was there to speak.  She is neither for nor against.  She says plan commission should hear everything and decide.  Staff did send out notices and did include Town of Blooming Grove.  She did have a neighborhood meeting.  She says she contacted people in Lost Creek and Quinn Ranch and heard from no one.   . . . oh dear lord . . . she just said something about raping people and charging them for it . . . sigh . .  .can't really listen to more . . .  this has been going on for about two hours and I didn't listen to it all and I'm sure I missed some important points.  In short, they referred for another 2 weeks for staff to investigate how to move the building further away from the neighbors . . . 

BUSINESS BY MEMBERS
Basford raised an important point, he said that as the meeting was going on, someone was sitting behind him and trying to lobby him while he was trying to listen to public testimony on one of the items.  He asked staff to talk to that person and make sure that in the future the seats were reserved for alders and staff. Read more!

The Third and Final Day of Weekly Wrap Up

There's just sooooooo much . . . cuts at local newspapers, county land purchases, lobbying complaints, tif and economic development, city failure to hire a preservation planner and Bruer video conspiracy.

FIRST AND FOREMOST
15 more positions in the NEWSroom at the Wisconsin State Journal and Capital Times are being cut . . . I don't get it. It seems there is less and less news in the papers every day . . . it just seems like the absolute wrong place to cut. The biggest value of the LOCAL NEWSpapers is the LOCAL NEWS.

What we've noticed at the Tenant Resource Center is that this year is that even tho we've used the same media list as last year - with updates for all the people who are no longer there, we are getting more press, yet less contacts from reporters.  Stories are popping up with no one even talking to us. Are we moving to the point where the newspapers just print whatever they are given with no follow up to verify or get footage or quotes? That sounds a little scary.

I can't decide what the worst part of this is . . . more lost jobs for some underpaid hard working people who essentially have to find a new career or the impact it has on democracy. Most immediately, I really feel for those folks who are already demoralized having to wonder who goes next and if it should it be them. Looking at the bigger picture and long term impact, how can people know how to vote if they don't know what is going on in their local government and aren't informed about what their elected officials are and are not doing. Additionally, the less coverage, the less transparency and then the more shenanigans. And the ability to get away with crazy stupid spin increases and the little news we do get is so distorted it hardly makes it fact based news.

You might also want to read Dusty's take on it. That parts about "truth" and "loyalty" are especially important.

SPEAKING OF THINGS LITTLE COVERED . . .
I sat through the meeting, took the notes and never blogged about it - I went on vacation instead. So, I wonder how many know that when it came to the purchase of the land for Ice age Trail, it was the progressives on the county board that led the way in questioning the details of the deal and the left was the one that delivered the votes to prevent an unwise deal. Instead, I think all people heard about was the conservatives desire to freeze all land purchases, a political gimmick. I much prefer this approach.

YOU CAN DO IT TOO, I WILL HELP
So, ever since I filed a measly 6 lobbying complaints, I've been getting calls and emails from people who are telling me what else I should file. Mostly, its neighbors of development projects that feel like they got run over or are getting run over by their alder, the developer and the bureaucracy. Well, I appreciate that, and there were no surprises, all of them have been on my radar screen, but Emily's right . . . this can't just be about me, because it will be too easy for people to dismiss. So, if you looked at the list of lobbyists for the last two years and don't see your "favorite" people seeking money or development project approvals from the city listed there, I can help you file the complaint and find the information you need to do it. I'd welcome the support! And based on what I've been hearing, many others, who may not realize what is going on, will appreciate it as well!

UH-OH . . . HOW LONG BEFORE WE GET A TIF REQUEST FOR THIS?
I don't see them registered as lobbyists . . . yet . . . but based on the direction this article seems to be going . . . I'd put my money on a TIF request. If they don't ask for TIF, I bet the economic development staff chases them down and asks them if they want some, so they can be players in "the deal".

WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' PRESERVATION PLANNER
In fact, its more convenient if we don't have one as they try to ram through the Edgewater proposal and tear down more of downtown. Too harsh? Maybe. Ok, probably. But . . . the city has a $35M rainy day fund, major development issues going on downtown, perhaps the most controversial landmark's decision in the last 10 years and no permanent staff to the landmark's commission to support them.

Now, don't get me wrong, if anyone has to fill in, I'm glad its Rebecca Cnare! She's great a breaking things down so people understand it, proactively providing information that is helpful and generally being conscientious about how she staffs committees! In short, she rocks! (Sorry Rebecca, I hope that doesn't get you on the Mayor's shit list.)

However . . . downtown neighborhoods are concerned! On March 10th, the Landmark's Commissioners received an email as follows:

Good afternoon Commissioners!
Here is the link to the Preservation Planner Job Announcement, put up on the City's website today. Please feel free to distribute the notice to anyone that you wish. We will also be making sure that it gets publicized.

Link:
http://www.cityofmadison.com/employment/employmentListingDetails.cfm?Id=342

Thank you, Rebecca

Then in May, Brad Murphy sent this letter to the Mayor. No good word, so the neighborhood associations with historic districts are getting concerned, so Marquette Neighborhood and the Tenney Lapham Neighborhood have both sent letters, asking for the position to be filled. (MNA, TLNA). If we really want to use development as economic development for our economy, we need to have the tools in place to make sure we do it right . . . and that includes a full time preservation planner.

FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH . . .
While I find it convenient that no one can get to the video of Tim Bruer swatting at the City Clerk during the meeting, I believe them when they say its a technology problem . . . and I don't think there is a conspiracy theory (3rd section down) . . . hopefully all this attention will get them to make the changes they need to make, sooner rather than later. And here it comes, the connection back to the beginning . . . without LOCAL NEWSpapers to cover what's going on, the raw footage will become the one of the few places people can go to find out what happened. Read more!

Another Round Up - Moving Daze and More

Between having too much to comment on, and internet issues this morning, I decided to go for another round up . . . moving daze, city not always friendly to work with, tasers, open carry nutters, Edgewater, comment schizophrenia . . .

MOVING DAZE
So, I've done (one, two) three posts on Moving Daze, part four today. Alders in the downtown area are busy reminding people the trash will be picked up every day (except Saturday), including Sunday, so keep filling up the garbage bins. Bryon Eagon has a good post summing most of it up. Tenant Resource Center is open extra hours and sending out a press release a day and things are working like . . .well, not clockwork . . . but besides some frayed nerves and a large volume of calls, things are still going well. Come Saturday tho, who knows. Any problems, feel free to call (257-0006) or stop by (1202 Williamson St, Suite A Mon - Fri 9 - 6, Sat & Sun noon - 4)!

DUH? WHO APPROVED THIS
Some days, its good not to be the alder, cuz I don't have to take the calls where someone yells at me for something stupid the city did. Here's this year's moving day stupid in my little neck of the woods:

Seriously, one-third of an entire block three blocks from the capital is blocked off on the day (August 14th) many have to be out of their apartments downtown. And its on a block where there are two of those high density, 60s/70s block brick buildings. In all, probably 100 units are impacted by this. I have no problem with yesterday and today, but don't they think about how this impacts the neighborhood on the worst day of the year to live downtown? Couldn't they have asked them to get it done a day early, or wait til next week?

I'm sure there's a whole lot more stupid, it just isn't my problem as an alder this year, just my problem as an Executive Director of the Tenant Resource Center.

HMMM . . . WORKING WITH THE CITY NOT ALWAYS EASY . . .
I was a little cranky the other day, because the Tenant Resource Center bends over backwards to work with various city departments despite the fact that we get very little support/constant threats of funding cuts from the city. We have good relations with the Fire and Building Inspection Departments, traditionally have had good relations with the City Attorney's office and generally have good relations with the funders . . . its just that the Streets Division hasn't been playing along lately. I was reminded, once again, on Monday, that attempts to make that different have failed, so I sent off this (admittedly cranky) little email to the streets division, the Mayor's press guru, and the funders who handle our three contracts.

Now that I'm not an alder and using my position of influence, I'm going to say this . . .

Al & George - Just once, it would be nice if you mentioned the city-funded Tenant Resource Center in your moving day materials.

http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/collectionmovingout.cfm

We always make sure to include you in ours. Here's what we are sending out today (also below):
http://brendakonkel.blogspot.com/2009/08/its-that-time-of-year.html

We used to collaborate on our press releases way back when in the days of Roger Goodwin, we even did joint press conferences . . . now, it just seems like we are competing and that seems wrong.

And what response did I get.
a) "Thank you Brenda, yes, lets get together and see what we can do?"
b) "Its a busy time of the year, lets check in after the moving rush."
c) "Sorry about that, we just overlooked it, will try harder."
d) "Thanks, we've decided just to do our own thing, but we appreciate your communication"
e) Nothing.

You guessed it, no response at all. None, despite the fact that the email was sent to 7 different staff people. I wouldn't even care if the answer was d) and they just acknowledged they have no interest. But no response in nearly 72 hours is just obnoxious. I understand the funding sources staff not responding, they can't really control what the streets department does. Compare and contrast this to the fact that I asked the Fire Department what they were doing on the Smoke Alarm Ordinance, asked them if they wanted to collaborate or if we should just send out what we were planning to do. We worked it out and they were thrilled we were helping get their message out.

TASERS
WOW! Best piece of reporting I've seen in years!!! AWESOME!!! Gotta read it!!! (yes, all those exclamation marks are warranted . . . ) Dang, our police can be embarrassing . . .

GUN BLOG
Another good piece . . . well written and engaging as usual.

FEIGNING CONFUSION AS AN EXCUSE?
Kristin at the Cap Times asks some interesting questions about how complicated the lobbying ordinance is . . . and if its being used as an excuse not to report.

EDGEWATER INDIGNANT
The Sconz has some interesting observations about the Edgewater folks he met with . . . they really don't like it when you mention their email instructing their minions.

COMMENT SCHIZOPHRENIA
You may have noticed, some days you can post anonymously, some days, you can't. I've been experimenting with it. Some days it goes along just fine. Others, I get comments like this, which I delete:

Here's a thought Brenda...spend your time on washing your hair, utilizing a trainer, and go away! You were voted out for a reason.

I deleted the post, removed the language above, then reposted the one sentence that was critical, but not rude. No one ever posts that kind of stuff when they have to sign in. And I just refuse to let my blog sink to the level of madison.com. Name call and be rude all you want, but not on my site.

I would just leave the comments off permanently, but, I'm frustrated that some people can't comment because they have problems signing in due to the blogger software. So, if the anonymous trolls can behave themselves, I'll keep the anonymous comments on, but when it seems like there's a topic likely to bring the worst out in them, I'll turn it off and delete the rude parts of their comments. Meanwhile, for those who have problems, keep trying and see what happens. Any words of advice on how to do this, let me know! Read more!

Ad Hoc Round Up

I just did this on Saturday, but didn't want to wait for some of these items to get too old, so here's a new round of things to comment on . . . Edgewater, lobbying reports, clerk's office, city administrator, media boondoggle, benches, spray park and more . . .

EDGWATER - NOT ALL ROSES
The Cap Times editorial was a bit of a surprise to me, as I thought that the media were all wrapped up and supporters of the project.  However, they are right, if the Edgewater is getting over $10M for the public spaces portion of the project, but the public spaces will be privately managed, we need to ask questions.  How that works is crucial, otherwise, it simply won't work and the public will be shut out in favor of their exclusive guests ($400/night . . . )

GIVE ME A BREAK
So, Bob Dunn says the lobbying law is confusing and he can't figure out why I didn't complain earlier. Um, well, when you hire Hank Gempeler, a former city attorney, who regularly lobbies the city, I just assumed he was informed of the rules and had one of the best legal counsels to explain it to him.  If not, he should be fired - or maybe he was, since it appears he didn't do anything in the last 6 months while they were talking TIF with the staff - anyone believe that?  I honestly assumed they had filed since Gempeler knows about the law.  When it became apparent to me they had not, I was sort of waiting for them to correct it.  Since we know they are monitoring social media websites, mine being first on this list, they had to have read my comments about them not filing appropriately. I was simply giving them a chance, three times in the past month, to get it right on their own and give me the opportunity not to file the complaint. FAIL!

LOBBYISTS WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
So, I filed 6 complaints, at the moment, I have less than 10 others planned and then will evaluate what to do next.  All the unregistered lobbyists out there could just file now and avoid a complaint.  We'll see what happens after that.  On the city side, I just want to say thank you again to the clerk's office for taking the lobbying laws seriously and starting their new section of the website.  The City Attorney says that his next steps are:

My view of the ordinance is that until I get a response from the other side, I cannot determine whether the allegations are meritorious.  When I get that response, I then determine whether to bring the complaint in municipal court.

If the response is that "we'll cooperate" and file correctly, then I think the matter will stop there.  Even tho that is not what the law says, I'm comfortable with that for most.  However, with some of the frequent flyers, at some point, they need to do more to enforce the law.

HOW'S THE CLERK'S OFFICE DOING?
If you too, have gotten great service from the clerk's office, I'd urge you to go down and fill our a customer satisfaction survey.  I haven't filled one out myself yet, just heard about it.  But, they seem to be one of the hardest working groups in the city.  And they are often over looked, when they do their job wonderfully, not many notice, when they screw up, its often hard not to notice.

DID YOU READ THIS? MORE KUDOS TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE . . .
I'm so glad Satya shared her experience of problems with her voter registration, which is what prompted the clerks office to take action, its pretty unbelievable.

The letter I received was dated 7/29. I received it on 8/3. I called 8/3, 8/4, 8/6, 8/7 and 8/10. Except for the last time, I received the "mailbox full" message (this was always during business hours). The last time, I got a live person who said he was transferring me to some kind of “specialist”, but what I got was voicemail. We’ll see if I get a call back.

I also sent an email on 8/4 to the GAB, cc’d to the City Clerk and my State Senator and Representative. The Clerk emailed me back right away, and one of her staff called me that afternoon. A staff person from my State Rep’s office emailed me the article on the Clerk’s press release after it came out. I have yet to hear from the GAB or my State Senator.

So, bonus points for the City Clerk’s office, half credit for my State Rep (full credit if they actually do something about the GAB incompetence), incomplete for my State Senator, and FAIL for the GAB.

WONDER WHAT BRUER'S SURVEY WILL SAY?
I don't think I even want to know.  I'm not sure when or where the war began, but I have my suspicions.  I do know that my budget amendment to give them an additional staff person ended in a 10-10 tie and the Mayor's office voted not to give them staff and that accelerated the downward movement.  And then a few other things happened and here we are.  Question is, what is to be done about it? 

SCHUMACHER'S CRUSADE
Schumacher continues his crusade for a city administrator and specifically suggests it as a solution to the above.  Seems to me that the Mayor, with a $1.2M budget ($180,000 increase in last two years) and a staff of 11, should be able to handle these problems.  If not, he isn't working hard enough and doesn't belong in office.  The Mayor tends to treat this as a ceremonial position, often listing more press contacts/ceremonial events on his weekly agenda, than serious meetings.  And often not listing some of his most important meetings.  I don't think adding a layer of management is what we need.  We need a Mayor that empowers his staff, communicates well with them and focuses on wht it takes to make the city run well, instead of focusing on his next press release.

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE CRIME REPORT . . .ER, NEWS?!
Check out this snapshot of stories from yesterday:

The most recent news briefs from Cap Times and Wisconsin State Journal

• Jefferson County Sheriff's Department could charge someone in fatal crash 3 min
• No charges filed against Richland County sheriff's deputies involved in fatal shooting 37 min
Brava resumes publishing under new ownership 
Police looking for bank robber 
Rain really helped crops, warmth will push growth 
Man pistol-whipped in his apartment 
On Campus: University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists turn stem cells into blood cells 
Politics blog: Job training, placement programs get federal grant boost 
Teen mugged outside Verona Road Walgreens  
Allegedly lewd man blames sleepwalking 
• Man mugged in Boys & Girls Club parking lot 
• Lincoln statue on Bascom Hill to get cleaning this week 
• Woman in Krazy Glue case on 'Today' show: Man was the predator 
• Woman mugged outside Shopko 
• State schools get $1.6M for homeless kids  
• One killed in crash near Lodi 
• Jury selection under way in second trial in 'Brown's Chicken Massacre' 
• Father, son accused of poaching 26-point trophy deer 
• Surgeon gets 30 years for fatal crash that killed pregnant woman, daughter 
• Report: Public opposes early voting in Wisconsin 

13 items that come from the police/sherriff's department, follow up on stories they have run from police/sheriff's departments or (criminal) court related items. 7 stories about other matters.  Now I know its easier to just have the public relations staff at the police department tell them what to write and then check the court records, but could we get a little bit of variety.  I usually have so many things to write about, I don't know where to start, and often, I write about them first, then they show up in the paper.  I know they've cut back on staff and the papers are getting thinner and thinner, but as the papers get thinner, could we get some proportional cutbacks.  It wouldn't be so bad, but with the seven other stories being weather, a blog post and two stories from campus, I gotta wonder what's happening in the rest of the city and county.  Seriously, I'd rather hear about the school budget or the many issues going on in Dane County.  It seems another giant leap towards dumbing down the electorate and increasing fear to keep us in our places.

SPEAKING OF CRIMES . . .
Did you know it was a crime to be poor? And that in some cities, people are not accepting that and being more tolerant. Who knew Nashville Tennessee was more progressive than Madison? Makes the whole bench incident all the more embarrassing for the city. How'd Madison get turned all upside down, catering to the business interests and abandoning our great progressive roots? If not progressive, can't we at least get a liberal response to identified issues?

SPRAY PARK FAILURE
Hmmmm . . . at least my alleged screw ups (IZ) created over 40 affordable housing units. More than any other program in the city . . . Read more!

Finally, the Edgewater Lobbying Complaint

Even tho the complaint form is actually only one page, there is over 100 pages of attachments to document and explain the situation. All of the complaints can now be viewed here as well if you can't open my links. (Kudos to the clerk's office for making this accessible to the public!)

The only reason this complaint took so long is that I had to compile all my records and there are so many violations if you get technical, it was hard to focus on the bigger issues. Since the complaint doesn't really fit on the form the City Attorney provides, I included Attachment A (final) which outlines the biggest violations, along with the providing the ordinance. Obviously, the City Attorney knows what the ordinance says, but I put it there first, for my reference as I was writing. Second, it is there because I knew several people would be reading it and I wanted to not only educate people, but I felt it was important for people to see, I'm not just making this stuff up - this is in the weak, gutted lobbying ordinance that we passed.

Attachment B includes all the emails that I have from 2008. This attachment is because Landmark X did not register their lobbyists until February 6, 2008. I felt it necessary to show that this wasn't just a casual contact here or there, but nearly constant communications.

Attachment C shows that they had meetings in 2009 prior to registering. And it includes the ludicrous statement that they spent less than $1,000 on lobbying.

Attachment D is the late registrations with notations from Attachment A on multiple violations, include the lack of disclosing that they were applying for TIF, even when the first meeting on TIF was in December 2008.

Attachment E is the TIF Application which they just turned in last Thursday and I just received yesterday.

Attachment F is the documentation that they are a LLC and should have provided the names of the members of that LLC on Attachment D.

It's a little complicated, but it all boils down to this:
- They were lobbying in September 2008 but waited five months to register and didn't file an expense statement for 2008.
- They omitted information about the fact that they were applying for TIF, despite the fact that the first meeting was in December 2008.
- They had to have lied about the fact that they only spent $1,000 on lobbying the first 6 months of 2009.

Those violations alone are more than enough for them to be fined. For people who are putting in this much effort (225 meetings before the project even ended up in the paper and created a whole new organization) on a $100 million dollar project, this isn't just a little detail that they overlooked. Or if it is, I greatly underestimated the thoroughness in which they doing this project, which I highly doubt.

We'll see what the City Attorney does with this complaint, but if he tries to blow it off and not file in Municipal Court with all this documentation, he clearly isn't doing his job and blatantly ignoring the ordinance. If he discovers something in his investigation that leads him to not file in Municipal Court, I hope he has a really good explanation.

If the City Attorney chooses to "educate" once again and not file then, some Alder should change the ordinance so that the process that the City Attorney is using matches the law. Or, if the City Attorney doesn't want to go through the work, they should figure out a different process for enforcing the ordinance.

Next week, a few more, but not the hundreds I could file, I'm just looking for some basics - getting people who hired lobbyists or who lobby, who deal with the system on large projects or on a regular basis to register and fill out their expense statements so the public has full disclosure on what happens in City Hall. I've been there, and I know, and it should be public.

And if that's not enough for you, just think about this . . . these 6 companies (5 others here) were asking for $6.3M, plus the use of the land in the right of way at Wisconsin Ave, plus and additional $10M or so in city TIF to build the Edgewater parking ramp and public spaces, the $1.4M in land for Biolink, plus whatever Marcus is looking for, which I've heard is another $12M. So, perhaps up to $30M in taxpayer dollars which is not insignificant given that at the beginning of 2009 we had $239M in debt to be paid back at the rate of $10M this year. That, opposed to the $120M where we paid about $6M per year just 5 years ago. We don't have money to be just throwing around, and its painfully obvious when we are looking at cuts for social services for next year, in part because our debt service is so high. If we are going to give this money away, we should at least be able to understand why we are doing it and who we are giving it to. And then be able to make choices about if this is the highest need for our community in these budget times.

p.s. I should probably note, I am neither for or against the project at this point. I believe it has several merits and depending upon what the final project looks like at the end of the land use approval process and how much TIF and what it is used for and how the public spaces are operated, I may actually support it in the end. What I am against, is the lack of transparency with this project and the utter disregard for the lobbying laws. Read more!

5 Lobbying Complaints

Yup - I'm at it again. So far, I've only filed 5 lobbying complaints, all of them related to TIF applications or anticipated applications.  In all cases, the parties aren't even registered and so haven't submitted expense reports.

Our current ordinances are so full of holes for people to slip through, its really hard to even file a complaint. However, when it comes to TIF, the ordinance is very, very clear.

MGO 2.40 (3)(k) Provided that the City gives notice of the registration and reporting requirements under this Sec.2.40 to the person seeking City assistance or approval, the exemptions in Sub. (i)1. and 2. are not available with respect to any lobbying activities or expenditures incurred:
1. In seeking direct cash assistance from the City in the form of a loan, grant, TIF funding, or similar assistance (not including for this purpose the provision of goods or services directly to the City or a City agency) in an amount greater than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) in a calendar year;

Because these are folks that are seeking money from the City of Madison and the new Economic Development Director wants to just give TIF away without having any criteria - in fact, thinks of TIF as playing poker with the taxpayer's money - I feel it is even more crucial than ever that we get to know what is going on. What I've noticed lately, is that these folks asking for money don't ever show up to any committee meetings. But clearly, they must be having communications with someone as they go through the application process. However, there is no reporting of that.

So, who are the lucky 5? What poor defenseless people am I picking on now?

- Kraft Foods/Oscar Mayer
(Mediafire download Complaint, Application - Google Doc Complaint, TIF Application)

- Danisco
(Mediafire download Complaint, TIF Application - Google Doc Complaint, TIF Application)

- Orbitec
(Mediafire download Complaint, TIF Application - Google Doc Complaint, TIF Application)

- Marcus Hotels & Resorts
(Mediafire download Complaint, TIF Application not filed yet according to TIF Coordinator Gromacki - Google Doc Complaint, TIF Application not yet filed.)

- Pelliteri
(Mediafire download Complaint, TIF Application - Google Doc Complaint, TIF Application)

(Please let me know if you can't get to these documents - I know City Staff was having trouble with the mediafire files, so I did Googledocs as well.)

If these folks are sophisticated enough to make it through a TIF application, they should be sophisticated enough to figure out how to register their lobbyists and fill out the expense statements.

My great fear here is that perhaps the city staff are not doing this:

Provided that the City gives notice of the registration and reporting requirements under this Sec.2.40

If so, I'm beyond pissed. And you should be too.

My other fear is that the City Attorney will summarily dismiss the complaints for lack of information. However, I did use the format of the form he created and if it isn't enough information, he needs to amend his own form to tell us what he needs to not dismiss the case.

The other loophole I see they might use is that for Orbitec, the money went to Madison Development Corporation, due to some scheme cooked up by staff that isn't entirely clear as they don't know what will happen in a few years. But clearly, they didn't just think up that scheme without talking to representatives of Orbitec. And Madison Development Corporation wasn't registered either, and I suppose they might use the loophole of "staff asked us".

I filed these on Thursday and I haven't heard anything from the City Attorney beyond the fact that he received them. Tho, their practice in the past was not to notify me of the results of the complaints, I got to read it in the paper with everyone else.  So I'm not sure I will hear anything.

Finally, for those of you wondering, yes, there will be more complaints, but probably not more than 20. Just the biggest projects and most obnoxious scofflaws. I could file hundreds of complaints if I wanted to, but if I overwhelm the City Attorney's Office they won't look into the complaints and just dismiss them. And yes, I should have Edgewater done by tonight - that complaint was complicated as I personally have extensive information to provide.  Read more!

Sad, Sorry State of Lobbying Reports

My visit to the clerks office yesterday was . . . depressing. I wish the city attorney would do his job, so the clerk's office could do theirs. At least with the obvious scofflaws!

First of all, I need to qualify what I write here. The reports are not all in one place, making it difficult to be extremely thorough and careful. Some are on-line, some are sitting in a basket and some are still in the clerk's email in-box. I took a look at all of them and believe what I write below to be true, but there is a possibility that the email search wasn't complete or someone is working under some LLC name that isn't obvious.

NOT REGISTERED BUT LOBBYING/LOBBIED
Speaking of obvious, here's a few of the most obvious people/companies who aren't even registered as lobbyists/principals, so they didn't fill out any expense reports:
- Oscar Mayer (seeking TIF money, application filled out, fees paid)
- Danisco (seeking TIF money, application filled out, fees paid?)
- Pelliteri (seeking TIF money)
- BioAg Gateway (got TIF money)
- Marcus Corporation (hotel proposal and TIF)
- Terrence Wall (library proposal)
- Michael Matty (600 block E. Johnson Project)
- Madison Area Builders Association [ERROR: SEE COMMENT BELOW ON ALPHABETIZING]
- Greyhound plus one of the other bus companies (Badger Bus Depot)

NO EXPENSE REPORTS?
Some people/companies registered but I didn't see expense reports for some obvious projects:
- Fiore - No expense reports for all their work on their library/hotel proposal
- Apex - They just registered at the end of July, but I suspect they've been lobbying on their hotel project longer than that

DIDN'T SPEND OVER $1,000 IN 6 MONTHS?
Others, claimed to not spend more than $1,000 in the last year, some of them were a bit obnoxious:
- Edgewater (Landmark X had over 30 meetings with various elected officials and 159 contacts by 3 lobbyists, but apparently, they work cheap!)
- Meriter Health
- Marcus Theatres
- Chamber of Commerce
- Stonehouse Development who worked on the 600 E Johnson project
- Wisconsin Grocers (worked on the alcohol in small packages issue)
- Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin
- Frank Liquor (alcohol issue)
- Alexander Company (Acacia and TIF)
- Wine Institute (alcohol issue)

CHEAP LAWYERS/LOBBYISTS FOR HIRE!
Lawyers/Groups who claimed to charge less than $1,000 (at $200 an hour, that's about one council meeting plus a plan commission or ALRC meeting)
- Michael Christopher charged less than $1,000 to represent
-- Park and Regent LLC
-- Madison Chinese Church
-- Newcomb Construction

- Ron Trachtenburg
-- Adams Outdoor Advertising
-- Converse Blanchard/June Weisberger
-- Gallina Investments
-- Madison Labor Temple
-- Mineral Point Rd Holdings
-- Pallisades

- Paul Soglin
-- Durrant Group
-- Pallisades

COMPLIED, OR AT LEAST DIDN'T COMPLETELY BLOW IT OFF . . .
Some of the better actors, who at least put down a number, even if some of them aren't quite believable (I'll try to point them out). In no particular order . .
- Realtors - $3,485.30
- Smart Growth Madison - $5,750
- Westgate Mall 199, LLC - $15,100
- Madison Turners - $24,081
- Badger Coaches - $1,248 (that seems low)
- McGoff LLC - $2,718.75
- DMI - $1,000 (exactly? Only Mary Carbine's report, not Susan Schmidt's)
- Wisconsin Wine and Spirit Institute - $37,472.74
- Wisconsin Grocers - $3,487.50
- Hawks Creek LLC - $8,500
- Kelley Williamson $4,250
- HyVee - combined 10,500 - 18,000 (Maybe, I'm sure I didn't add that right, they had several reports and some I say yesterday on email and some are on-line this morning.)
- Benchmark Holdings - $5,390
- Pallisades - $1,960 (Funny, some of the other lobbyists said it was under $1,000)
- Veridian - $2,450 (Funny, same problem as above)

More to come, when the info is all up and I can be more thorough - I hear that might be Friday or so . . .
Read more!

Three Items of Interest from Plan Commission

Recycling demolition and construction waste, Midvale-Westmorland Neighborhood Plan and some harsh words for Cliff Fisher . . .

RECYCLING DEMOLITION AND CONSTRUCTION WASTE
George Dreckman says that during the 1st quarter of this year, when construction was slow, even for a slow year, 7,259 tons of construction and demolition waste found its way to the landfill, making up 21% of the waste. Under this ordinance residential and commercial and multi-family will have a different standards for recycling. This new ordinance would now require that single family home projects recycle clean wood, metal, clean dry wall, corrugated cardboard and shingles. For commercial projects and multi-family units with more than 3 units 70% of the materials are supposed to be recycled. When I tried to do something similar a few years ago, we decided against it due to the lack of markets and instead, just required a recycling plan but didn't have any way to follow up. So the good news is that the materials now have markets and they have competition. Madison has two companies will take a mixed load of debris and will recycle 60 - 80% of the load. The good news is that this won't cost the developers any more money and in some cases, recycling is actually cheaper. And the ordinance isn't onerous in its reporting requirements, all they need to do is bring in their ticket showing what they took to the landfill. Eventually, the reporting can be done on line. The effective date of the ordinance will be 1/1/2010 for the ordinance. All around, good news!

On a funny side note, the Madison Area Building Association lobbyist probably should learn a bit about his industry. I could answer the questions about building materials better than he did. It wouldn't have been so bad, but he was making a recommendation that the multi-family should not be determined by weight and volume (impacted by snow and ice), he wanted to multi-family to be the same as residential projects and just list the materials to be recycled. And leave the commercial projects with the % standards. When Cnare asked him why they didn't just talk about the types of materials used in construction. He didn't know that 4 stories is where they move from wood to wood to concrete and steel. And he didn't know how many units might be in that type of a building. Wow. There were plan commissioners that were more informed about his industry than he was and he's been doing this for at least 6 years.

I would also note, again, the plan commission struggled because they had no attorney in the room to help them with some of their questions.

And hmmm . . . Kent Disch is not registered to be a lobbyist! He says he's been working with former Alder Gruber and others to make the law better, isn't that lobbying and shouldn't he have been registered?

MIDVALE-WESTMORLAND NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN
Hmmm . . . the good Alder Pham-Remmele did not attend the plan commission to discuss this issue. Instead, she chose to make a scene at the Board of Estimates and I'm guessing that when this comes up at the council, she will do the same there, instead of attending the meeting with the lead committee where they had a full powerpoint presentation and discussed this over an hour.

CLIFF FISHER DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' PERMITS
The hardest items to come before the plan commission are those people who do work without getting the required permissions adn then come back and ask for approval on what they have already done. This time, Cliff Fisher, who sent his attorney and architect to take his grief, hadn't gotten permits but had managed to start moving a house. Now, the house is up in the air and sitting on Butler Street and the plan commission has to choose between making him put it back or just let him move it without the proof of financing that was required so this exact situation would not happen. Smoooooooooth . . . . . . the official explanation was that "we just proceeded" and it was an oversight.

Anyways, here's what some of the commissioners and the alder said:

Hiefitz - He reluctantly moved to approve the house move but noted he was "extremely uncomfortable", that there were "significant and legitimate" questions when the project was approved and now we're put in a box. He said the applicant has "used up the wiggle room" from this body and probably from city staff.

Maniaci - Wanted to see house get put back on the foundation and allow it to be inhabited and further renovations can happen. She had concerns about timing of the move with construction on 600 E Johnson across the street, she is concerned about what happens to Butler St if the house moves because it leaves an empty tooth, she says the city staff was working with best intentions of the city. She thinks it will be a number of years before there is financing and she is concerned because Fisher has other projects he is working on and this won't be a priority. She says she is frustrated because there are noticeable discrepancies with what the owner is wanting to do with the property and city staff's understanding of what is supposed to be done.

Gruber finds it troubling that conditions were put on and ignored and now here we are.

Schumacher wonders if we are being played or if people are that naive. Or is it a calculated risk? He has two problems - one that Fisher didn't get the permits. Fisher and the group "know better than that". And second, the financing is not in place and that was there to to tell us what the next steps are. Very uneasy with asking for forgiveness approach because if they approve this, why won't others do the same in the future. He said he might not support it to send a message this is not how we do business.

Staff delicately tip-toed around questions from the commission and Parks said he has never seen something like this where a developer blatantly ignored conditions and did the work anyways.

Ultimately, they referred it to their next meeting, so they get to talk about it again. And hey, Buck Sweeney isn't a registered lobbyist . . . maybe he'll find the time in the next two weeks to register?
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Wednesday Round Up

There's so many things going on, looks like I'm going to do a mid-week round up as I continue to try to catch up with last week and things going on this week.

SCHMACHER NAILS IT
Yes, I believe he's getting a second compliment from me in two weeks - painful as it is! ;) His post on the "Strong Mayor, Weak Council" or "Weak Mayor, Strong Council" form of government is exactly what I was thinking. I've expressed concerns about the Mayor's office and Council Office resources in the past, even introduced budget amendments to cut the Mayor's office staff, but the weak council was unwilling to intervene. Just look at the numbers Schumacher crunched:
- Mayor's Office Budget - Mayor's Salary = $517K
- Council Office Budget - 20 Council Member Salaries = $83K
- Mayor's office increase in past 6 years = 35.5%
- Council's office increase in past 6 years = 15%
And when you add in the department head issues Schumacher raises (including standing orders from the Mayor to block alders requests for information or to make their lives otherwise difficult), it gets even worse when considering the level of resources available to the elected officials. Basford also has some other good points about the dynamics between the council and Mayor. What they didn't add was that the Mayor is a full time position, while the alders mostly have full time jobs in addition to their alder positions. This all makes for a severe imbalance, especially during budget time.

SPEAKING OF BUDGET TIME
Let the threats begin! It annual threat to not plow snow on the side streets until it gets to 4 inches of snow is baaaaaaaack. It's so annoying how some departments pick the items likely to cause the most controversy for cuts so that the Mayor and Council won't make those cuts, while other departments genuinely try to make meaningful cuts. Here's last year's attempts. The Community Services Commission will be struggling with this tonight, and CDBG tomorrow night and are doing so with little notice and on a tight timeline, but at least their process is transparent and accessible to the public. Meanwhile, some of the sacred cows go for the closed processes, well written press releases and ridiculous proposals. Most taxpayers don't see what happens cuz the local media falls for it every year and doesn't ask the hard/complicated questions and the weak council is well . . . weak.

BRUER TRIES TO NAIL HER?
Ok, I'm frustrated on this one. A couple weeks ago I heard about this and another questionable incident involving President Bruer and another questionable abuse of power issue with a different person who has worked in the clerks office, but was told it was confidential so I honored that. (I haven't been able to watch the video clip, tried on three different computers, but it didn't work - last time that happened, a server needed to be reset, so hopefully that is what is wrong this time.) I'm just glad that Joe Tarr at the Isthmus broke the story. However, I'm unhappy with the conclusion the guys in the City Attorney's Office came up with. Especially given the comments about how it impacted the city employee. I can't believe they only looked at if she was physically threatened and ignored other issues, so much for zero tolerance policy on sexual harassment.

I'm particularly concerned about what I'm told apparently happens a few minutes later in the video and even more concerning was the rumor I heard about the response from the employee and why she didn't complain about that! JFC.

And even worse, for Bruer to try to misuse his power and to try to connect this to personnel issues in the City Council office is just awful. Completely freaking awful.

BACK TO THE COUNCIL OFFICE ISSUES
I was heartbroken to hear that Debbie Fields in the Council office took a temporary position in the Mayor's office. IMHO, she's the best damn staff person I've ever had. She's a grammar queen and gentle in her criticisms, conscientious, proactively helpful, communicates clearly and timely and generally goes above and beyond to be thorough and thoughtful and helpful . . . well that, and so much more! A true public servant. And when you compare and contrast that to the other work done in the office, its just painful to watch as Ms. Fields and her much needed skills is being encouraged to leave the office. As many council members know (and probably a few others within earshot as I have yelled at Bruer about this on multiple occasions . . . and he responded to me with questionable threats of lawsuits), I worked hard to try to rectify this situation and keep the best damn staff person in the office, and I am greatly concerned that no one else will stand up to Bruer on this issue (Compton and Pham-Remmele have tried in the past, hope they continue) and that they will fall for his lies and tenuous legal threats as he continues in his one man crusade to save his preferred staff member. It just sucks and its so hard given that it involves personnel matters and confidentiality issues - because the public really should see this.

MADISON DOESN'T NEED NEW COPS . . . ENOUGH
Or so the Federal Government has determined. While Milwaukee got $10M for new cops with the stimulus money, Madison got the big goose egg. Why? Well here's the punch line:

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the money was going to departments that needed it most, based on crime rates, financial need and community policing activities.

They told us this was how the decision would be made when they briefed the Board of Estimates, so this is not a huge surprise, but it does say something interesting about the Madison police staffing issues.

TIF SHOWDOWN
Wow. Just wow. The new Economic Development Director's complete disregard for state law and the taxpayers wallet is just completely alarming. I have yet to see what his proposal is, because nothing is in writing or in the public eye, but WOW! It sounds like his proposal is to do away with the financial analysis of if the developers really need the money, and instead, just take their word for it - ignoring the legal requirement that when TIF funds are used, there has to be an objective standard to prove that "but for" the TIF money, the project would not go forward. Apparently, there was a pow-wow in the Mayor's office last week, trying to figure out how to get around this for two upcoming TIF applications. Hmmmmm . . . where's the lobbying reports on those TIF requests? Who's trying to get the funds? Is it Edgewater and Danisco? Or someone else? I don't see the registered lobbyists. And clearly, they've been lobbying the Mayor's office and Alder Compton based on comments at the last Board of Estimates.

Equally stunning is Noel Radomski's comments at the bottom of the story at madison.com.

It's unfortunate that the TIF coordinator--Joe Gromacki--appears to be trying to set and/or interpret policy, which I believe is the role of the executive and legislative branches. And why is the President of the City Council--Alder Tim Bruer--dragging his heels against more industrial jobs, jobs, jobs, especially when our unemployment figures continues to directly impact our hard working families. TID for industrial jobs is not corporate welfare. I hope that the other alders stand up for jobs, jobs, jobs.

I wonder if Ald. Bruer's two years of serving as Council President is one or two years too long; and I wonder if Tim's buddy, Joe Gromacki, should run for city council and continue playing his game, which is more appropriate as an elected official not a city staff.

His comments show a fundamental misunderstanding of how the TIF staff team operates. If you ask me, While Mr. Gromacki crunches the numbers and makes recommendations in the best interest of the City and the taxpayer unless he's told otherwise by the Mayor's office, the most conservative ones are not Mr. Gromacki, but Comptroller Dean Brasser and Assistant City Attorney Anne Zellhoefer. They are the ones who keep their eyes on the financial/fiscal impacts and the legal issues and really push to make sure the taxpayers funds are being used in a judicious manner.

Attempts to personalize this and portray Gromacki as Bruer's lapdog also neglects the other HUGE issue behind this. When we borrow all that money, we have to pay it back, with interest and that has to come out of our operating budget, and this year, part of our budget woes is paying back the $6M from all that borrowing. It hardly seems like now it the time to borrow more - especially if they are successful in getting rid of the financial analysis to determine if the funds are needed. I really hope the weak council does their homework on this one!

HOTEL MANIA - SHOW US THE MONEY
Ok - 1 out of 4 of the hotel folks seem to be appropriately registered/reporting as lobbyists. And I haven't really looked into that one, but I don't see Apex. Or Marcus Company. And I know Edgewater didn't register their attorney who lobbyied for TIF funds. Fiore is registered. We'll see who reports what come Friday, but its looking grim.

Don't be surprised, if tomorrow's blog post is just another round up, as the issues really piled up last week!
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