As you may have heard, Barbara Wright of The Dardanelles recently hadRead more!
an emergency appendectomy, and as a small business owner with past
health issues, she doesn't have access to health insurance. The
operation came to $27,000, and although Meriter has forgiven some of
the debt, Barbara will be paying off the rest for years.
She agreed to let us do a fundraiser to help her only if half the
proceeds went to help others without insurance -- which is typical of
Barbara, who has been such a big supporter of every liberal and
humanitarian cause in Madison. So 50% of what is raised will go to
the Access Community Health Centers.
The Access to Health Care fundraiser will be held on Sunday, June 7
from 5:00 to 8:00 at The Dardanelles, 1851 Monroe Street. Local
restaurants and retailers are donating food and wine, and there will
be live music and an incredible silent auction of donated goods and
services. Tickets are $40 each, available at Orange Tree Imports,
1721 Monroe Street. There may also be tickets at the door.
Showing posts with label Paid Sick Leave. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paid Sick Leave. Show all posts
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Fundraiser to Help with Health Care Costs
Ah, where to begin with the problems with health care and how it can wreak havoc on a person's life. Here's a chance to help someone in our community who is often helping everyone else!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Horror of Horrors
“Unfortunately, (the park) is taken over by folks who sit there all day and hang out."
Sometimes, smart people, say dumb things. People who sit in the park and hang out! Yikes, what is the world coming to?!
Wait, there's more . . . "We want people to be able to take their kids to get an ice cream cone and sit down at a table and chairs without fear of people saying negative things and their feeling safe."
Oh, that makes sense, we only want certain people to hang out in our parks. And we don't want the nice people to be afraid of "those" people.
Which park could they be talking about? You know . . . the park where scary people hang out on State Street and scare away middle class shoppers and their children.
After more than 8 years, the park is getting some "improvements" including a police station. And bathrooms, which will probably be locked so those who need them the most can't use them.
The quote and more here regarding the park, and they will be discussing it at Urban Design Commission on Wednesday at 4:30.
I'm all for improvements to the park, but seriously, where are people who are different than the ice cream eating family supposed to be able to "be" in this city. Not Brittingham Park, not Peace Park, then where? Read more!
Sometimes, smart people, say dumb things. People who sit in the park and hang out! Yikes, what is the world coming to?!
Wait, there's more . . . "We want people to be able to take their kids to get an ice cream cone and sit down at a table and chairs without fear of people saying negative things and their feeling safe."
Oh, that makes sense, we only want certain people to hang out in our parks. And we don't want the nice people to be afraid of "those" people.
Which park could they be talking about? You know . . . the park where scary people hang out on State Street and scare away middle class shoppers and their children.
After more than 8 years, the park is getting some "improvements" including a police station. And bathrooms, which will probably be locked so those who need them the most can't use them.
The quote and more here regarding the park, and they will be discussing it at Urban Design Commission on Wednesday at 4:30.
I'm all for improvements to the park, but seriously, where are people who are different than the ice cream eating family supposed to be able to "be" in this city. Not Brittingham Park, not Peace Park, then where? Read more!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Common Council Recap - The Basics (Not quite done . . .)
Bike lanes on Midvale, 600 E Johnson Project, Chronic Nuisance Ordinance, TIF agreement for Capital West, Capital Revolving Funds, the Sign Ordinance and oh, so much more!
[Guess what! The meeting started late. Still bugs me. I don't why. Just does.]
Mayor was here by 6:28, Bruer up at the dais talking to him for a good 5 minutes or more. Various lobbyists talking to alders, alders talking to staff and each other. No signs anyone is concerned that the meeting should start. The media row is empty. Kristin from the Cap Times the only media in media row pulling double duty writing for the State Journal as well this evening, Joe Tarr from the Isthmus sitting off to the side.
ROLL CALL (6:40)
No notified absences on the agenda. Everyone present except Alder Maniaci who was out of the room when they finally called the roll call.
Alder Bruer's mic works! [I'm sure Julia was very happy.] Rules are suspended with no discussion.
HONORING RESOLUTIONS (6:41)
Item 1 - Madison Memorial Spartan Boys Swimming and Diving Team resolution honoring them for winning the State WIAA Division 1 title referred until they can be here.
Item 2 - Madison Memorial High School's Forensics Team resolution recognizing them for winning the 2009 State Championship. No presentation by the forensics team as there has been in the past.
Item 3 - Gary Peterson, President of Wisconsin American Planning Association, gives recognition for the Stoughton Road Plan. Alder Compton, the Mayor, and planning staff all go up to shake hands and congratulate themselves. [This is odd, as I thought Gary Peterson had been critical of the plan for not doing enough for economic development.]
EARLY PUBLIC COMMENT
One person registered but makes no comment.
CONSENT AGENDA
Unanimous consent for super-majority (needs 14 or 15 votes for budget amendments or by other regulations)
24. Legislative File No. 14553 - Report of the Mayor submitting citizen committee appointments. (Business by the Mayor – 2/3 vote is required for Sister City Committee appointment)
48. Legislative File No. 14591 - Authorizing payment of the judgment entered on April 13, 2009 by the court in Walgreen Company v. City of Madison, Case No. 2004 CV 1564 relating to refund of real property taxes for tax years 2003 and 2004 which provides for the refund of taxes and interest in the amount of $247,790.55 from City resources and amending the 2009 operating budget to reduce estimated General Fund revenues by $59,595.02 to recognize the City's share of the tax refund and to appropriate $76,592.43 from Contingent Reserve to fund related interest costs. (Report of BOE – 15 votes required)
49. Legislative File No. 14602 - Amending the 2009 Adopted Capital Budget of Engineering-Major Streets and Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an agreement with Foth Infrastructure and Environment for design engineering services for University Avenue from Segoe Road to Shorewood Boulevard. The City has applied for Economic Stimulus Funds for construction. (11th AD) (Report of BOE – 15 votes required)
Jim Cobb's name removed from number 24, there was an additional referral for item 100 (Engineering on Hwy M/Junction Rd) to the Long Range Transportation Commission and the recommendation on item 69 (Complete count committee) was to adopt.
Everything else on the agenda passes with the recommendation on the agenda except for the following items:
Public hearing items 4 - 23.
25. Legislative File No. 14767 - Report of the Mayor submitting citizen committee appointments (introduced 5-19-2009; action 6-2-2009). (Report of Mayor – Ald. Marsha Rummel, D. 6 to re-refer the TPC Appointment back to Mayor)
27. Legislative File No. 12065 - SUBSTITUTE - Amending Section 25.09 of the Madison General Ordinances to change various provisions of the Chronic Nuisance Premises ordinance recommended by the Equal Opportunities Commission. (Report of City Attorney – Ald. Jed Sanborn, D. 1)
43. Legislative File No. 14560 - Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an amendment to the Tax Incremental Financing Development Agreement between the City and 309 W. Washington, LLC, and amending Enactment No. RES-07-00419. (Report of BOE – Ald. Jed Sanborn, D. 1)
44. Legislative File No. 14565 - Authorizing 1) an amendment to the 2009 Operating Budget appropriating $230,000 from the Madison Capital Revolving Fund (MCRF) fund a $230,000 MCRF loan referenced herein and 2) the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an agreement to fund a $230,000 Madison Capital Revolving Fund loan to Wingra Broadway, LLC to construct 8,400 SF of commercial space at 1502 West Broadway. (Report of BOE – Ald. Jed Sanborn, D. 1)
71. 13992 Amending Secs. 3.32(6)(b)1., 3.32(6)(e)1., 3.32(6)(e)2., and 3.38(1)(b)3.a. of
the Madison General Ordinances to modify existing sick leave eligibility,
earning and accumulation provisions to make sick leave benefits available to
more employees.
91. Legislative File No. 04176 - SUBSTITUTE - To adopt and confirm amendments to the Madison General Ordinances as set forth in attached Exhibit X pursuant to Sec. 66.0103, Wis. Stats. Repealing and recreating Chapter 31 and amending portions of Sec. 33.24, Chapter 28 and Chapter 1. (Report of UDC – Ald. Mike Verveer, D. 4)
[I don't know why this was so hard and takes so long. The materials are all sitting in front of the alders. Alder Bruer claimed there were "late breaking" changes, but it was pretty much like was presented on the consent agenda to the Council members and copied above.]
MIDVALE BOULEVARD
See here for complete discussion. Short story is, the narrowed the bike lanes in some areas, and widened the median by 2 feet in some areas. Final vote, 19 - 1, passes.
ADDITIONAL EARLY COMMENT
See Carousel Bayrd's comments here (still working on it). She was supposed to be home on bed rest, so she spoke "early" so she could go home. She testified and the Mayor told Supervisor Bayrd to go home and go to bed.
DEVELOPMENT ON 600 E JOHNSON
See discussion here. Passed on a voice vote, with only one audible no, but an alleged second no I didn't hear. WSJ magical coverage here.
OTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS
There were no comments on item #6 (development on 1900 E Washington block), the public hearing was recessed.
#7 - 21 (various street closures for vending events like Art Fair OFF the Square, Taste of Madison and Maxwell St. Days) passed, Verveer separated Halloween items 22 & 23. Items 22 & 23 referred to the next meeting.
APPOINTMENTS FOR REFERRAL TO NEXT COUNCIL MEETING
Alder Rummel pulled this item off the agenda to say that she had some issues with the item. [The boys, losing control of the meeting, seemed to be trying to tell her what she meant to be doing. I think she was quite clear what she was doing. The whole process here was very insulting as Alder Rummel tried to speak and kept getting interrupted.] She acknowledged that this was not a routinely done this way but she wanted it referred to Mayors office so that Rummel can talk with Mayor about future of TPC, the RTA and how this fits with the big picture. Ald. Skidmore asked to be party to the discussion as this is a constituent of his that he has been working to get appointed for 2 years. Mayor clarifies, since it it from his office, that he will talk to Rummel and Skidmore.
The council took a recess. The Mayor wanted to keep going, but Clear and Kerr lead the charge to take a break as they had been meeting for nearly 3 hours.
CHRONIC NUISANCE (9:30)
See here for more information. There were several motions, but the EOC recommended changes were placed on file without prejudice by an 18 - 2 vote. Here's the Cap Times report.
WEST WASHINGTON (10:20)
Lots of hemming and hawing. See here for more information (still working on it.) Passed 17 - 3.
MCRF (11:50)
Jed says it is the same argument as the last item. Subsidize loan for private business - done by taxpayers. Odds are, it might not be a problem. But we are taking a risk. He pauses and says, I suppose now we're going to hear about how this was the most important place on the planet for an office building.
Bruer says "Keep baiting me"
Sanborn wisely didn't say another word.
But that didn't stop Bruer from talking anyways . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . it was 11:55 and he was throwing so many buzz words around and giving us his version of history and I kinda tuned out after 5.5 hours of the council meeting.
Clear asked Olinger if this was a subsidized loan. Olinger passes to Gromacki. Gromacki explains the program and why we have it. He says it is for projects too small for TIF and in newly emerging distressed areas. He says that its not a subsidy, because it is repaid. It's a revolving loan fund and when the funds are repaid they will be used again.
Palm asks about the "newly emerging area" theory. He says he's heard of this "emerging area" for years. [Their first plans go back to 1995] Joe says taht the ares is a redevelopment area/blighted and describes why.
Bruer says he's not going to let Palm go unchallenged [You think there might be a little rivalry going on here for who might be the next council president?] He says that they focused on housing and now they are focusing on commercial. He also talks about leveraging projects.
Roll Call
Aye: Solomon, Verveer, Bidar-Sielaff, Bruer, Clausius, Cnare, Compton, Eagon, Kerr, King, Maniaci, Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Schmidt, Schumacher, Skidmore
No: Pham Remmele, Sanborn
Pass: Palm
Pass Again: Palm
Clerk informs him he already did that and he finally votes aye! :)
PAID SICK LEAVE FOR CITY OF MADISON HOURLY EMPLOYEES
Schumacher pulled this off.
There was an addition of an amendment that required Human Resources to provide the Common Council with a report with a detailed fiscal analysis of the number of employees that used paid sick leave, the hours worked and other details.
Palm asked to co-sponsor.
Schumacher says he palnned to filabuster for an hour. [I believe this is because earlier in the evening there was a heated debate about this at the CCOC meeting.] He was concerned that the council passed $63,000 in the budget and now they are being told it will cost $75,000 - $150,000. [Apparently they used old numbers from a few years ago and didn't update them and there was a change that let them carry over some hours that added costs, but this wasn't explained at the meeting.]
Cnare said that the data collection is a pointless exercise since the real issue is that even if it costs more, she still supports it.
Schumacher tries again to make his point sayint that the Water Utility Contract and the Attorney making policy decisions had alot of scrutiny and apparently he wants the same thing here.
Kerr says she agrees with Cnare, she supports it regardless and that the data is not needed.
Compton says that this isn't about the people, its about approving something that ends up costing more.
Passed on a voice vote.
SIGN ORDINANCE
Verveer made several amendments that I think had the effect of allowing movable type on signs to change every 5 minutes (used to be 2) except in areas where there is an Urban Design District, and then they can only change every hour.
Mary Beth, VP of Ryan Signs speaks and says that the council is essentially adopting her business plan, she thanks them. Mayor gives asks council to give her a round of applause for staying past midnight.
Talking, talking, thanking, everyone notes it took 10 years to get this ordinance done.
Passes on a voice vote.
ADJOURN
12:30 by the time the meeting is over.
AFTER COUNCIL
I thought I was going to go grab a beer with Rummel, turns out, the other alders went the same place I did, so we were joined by Bruer, Clear, Schumacher, Schmidt, Verveer, Palm and the lovely Rosemary Lee.
Read more!
[Guess what! The meeting started late. Still bugs me. I don't why. Just does.]
Mayor was here by 6:28, Bruer up at the dais talking to him for a good 5 minutes or more. Various lobbyists talking to alders, alders talking to staff and each other. No signs anyone is concerned that the meeting should start. The media row is empty. Kristin from the Cap Times the only media in media row pulling double duty writing for the State Journal as well this evening, Joe Tarr from the Isthmus sitting off to the side.
ROLL CALL (6:40)
No notified absences on the agenda. Everyone present except Alder Maniaci who was out of the room when they finally called the roll call.
Alder Bruer's mic works! [I'm sure Julia was very happy.] Rules are suspended with no discussion.
HONORING RESOLUTIONS (6:41)
Item 1 - Madison Memorial Spartan Boys Swimming and Diving Team resolution honoring them for winning the State WIAA Division 1 title referred until they can be here.
Item 2 - Madison Memorial High School's Forensics Team resolution recognizing them for winning the 2009 State Championship. No presentation by the forensics team as there has been in the past.
Item 3 - Gary Peterson, President of Wisconsin American Planning Association, gives recognition for the Stoughton Road Plan. Alder Compton, the Mayor, and planning staff all go up to shake hands and congratulate themselves. [This is odd, as I thought Gary Peterson had been critical of the plan for not doing enough for economic development.]
EARLY PUBLIC COMMENT
One person registered but makes no comment.
CONSENT AGENDA
Unanimous consent for super-majority (needs 14 or 15 votes for budget amendments or by other regulations)
24. Legislative File No. 14553 - Report of the Mayor submitting citizen committee appointments. (Business by the Mayor – 2/3 vote is required for Sister City Committee appointment)
48. Legislative File No. 14591 - Authorizing payment of the judgment entered on April 13, 2009 by the court in Walgreen Company v. City of Madison, Case No. 2004 CV 1564 relating to refund of real property taxes for tax years 2003 and 2004 which provides for the refund of taxes and interest in the amount of $247,790.55 from City resources and amending the 2009 operating budget to reduce estimated General Fund revenues by $59,595.02 to recognize the City's share of the tax refund and to appropriate $76,592.43 from Contingent Reserve to fund related interest costs. (Report of BOE – 15 votes required)
49. Legislative File No. 14602 - Amending the 2009 Adopted Capital Budget of Engineering-Major Streets and Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to enter into an agreement with Foth Infrastructure and Environment for design engineering services for University Avenue from Segoe Road to Shorewood Boulevard. The City has applied for Economic Stimulus Funds for construction. (11th AD) (Report of BOE – 15 votes required)
Jim Cobb's name removed from number 24, there was an additional referral for item 100 (Engineering on Hwy M/Junction Rd) to the Long Range Transportation Commission and the recommendation on item 69 (Complete count committee) was to adopt.
Everything else on the agenda passes with the recommendation on the agenda except for the following items:
Public hearing items 4 - 23.
25. Legislative File No. 14767 - Report of the Mayor submitting citizen committee appointments (introduced 5-19-2009; action 6-2-2009). (Report of Mayor – Ald. Marsha Rummel, D. 6 to re-refer the TPC Appointment back to Mayor)
27. Legislative File No. 12065 - SUBSTITUTE - Amending Section 25.09 of the Madison General Ordinances to change various provisions of the Chronic Nuisance Premises ordinance recommended by the Equal Opportunities Commission. (Report of City Attorney – Ald. Jed Sanborn, D. 1)
43. Legislative File No. 14560 - Authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an amendment to the Tax Incremental Financing Development Agreement between the City and 309 W. Washington, LLC, and amending Enactment No. RES-07-00419. (Report of BOE – Ald. Jed Sanborn, D. 1)
44. Legislative File No. 14565 - Authorizing 1) an amendment to the 2009 Operating Budget appropriating $230,000 from the Madison Capital Revolving Fund (MCRF) fund a $230,000 MCRF loan referenced herein and 2) the Mayor and City Clerk to execute an agreement to fund a $230,000 Madison Capital Revolving Fund loan to Wingra Broadway, LLC to construct 8,400 SF of commercial space at 1502 West Broadway. (Report of BOE – Ald. Jed Sanborn, D. 1)
71. 13992 Amending Secs. 3.32(6)(b)1., 3.32(6)(e)1., 3.32(6)(e)2., and 3.38(1)(b)3.a. of
the Madison General Ordinances to modify existing sick leave eligibility,
earning and accumulation provisions to make sick leave benefits available to
more employees.
91. Legislative File No. 04176 - SUBSTITUTE - To adopt and confirm amendments to the Madison General Ordinances as set forth in attached Exhibit X pursuant to Sec. 66.0103, Wis. Stats. Repealing and recreating Chapter 31 and amending portions of Sec. 33.24, Chapter 28 and Chapter 1. (Report of UDC – Ald. Mike Verveer, D. 4)
[I don't know why this was so hard and takes so long. The materials are all sitting in front of the alders. Alder Bruer claimed there were "late breaking" changes, but it was pretty much like was presented on the consent agenda to the Council members and copied above.]
MIDVALE BOULEVARD
See here for complete discussion. Short story is, the narrowed the bike lanes in some areas, and widened the median by 2 feet in some areas. Final vote, 19 - 1, passes.
ADDITIONAL EARLY COMMENT
See Carousel Bayrd's comments here (still working on it). She was supposed to be home on bed rest, so she spoke "early" so she could go home. She testified and the Mayor told Supervisor Bayrd to go home and go to bed.
DEVELOPMENT ON 600 E JOHNSON
See discussion here. Passed on a voice vote, with only one audible no, but an alleged second no I didn't hear. WSJ magical coverage here.
OTHER PUBLIC HEARINGS
There were no comments on item #6 (development on 1900 E Washington block), the public hearing was recessed.
#7 - 21 (various street closures for vending events like Art Fair OFF the Square, Taste of Madison and Maxwell St. Days) passed, Verveer separated Halloween items 22 & 23. Items 22 & 23 referred to the next meeting.
APPOINTMENTS FOR REFERRAL TO NEXT COUNCIL MEETING
Alder Rummel pulled this item off the agenda to say that she had some issues with the item. [The boys, losing control of the meeting, seemed to be trying to tell her what she meant to be doing. I think she was quite clear what she was doing. The whole process here was very insulting as Alder Rummel tried to speak and kept getting interrupted.] She acknowledged that this was not a routinely done this way but she wanted it referred to Mayors office so that Rummel can talk with Mayor about future of TPC, the RTA and how this fits with the big picture. Ald. Skidmore asked to be party to the discussion as this is a constituent of his that he has been working to get appointed for 2 years. Mayor clarifies, since it it from his office, that he will talk to Rummel and Skidmore.
The council took a recess. The Mayor wanted to keep going, but Clear and Kerr lead the charge to take a break as they had been meeting for nearly 3 hours.
CHRONIC NUISANCE (9:30)
See here for more information. There were several motions, but the EOC recommended changes were placed on file without prejudice by an 18 - 2 vote. Here's the Cap Times report.
WEST WASHINGTON (10:20)
Lots of hemming and hawing. See here for more information (still working on it.) Passed 17 - 3.
MCRF (11:50)
Jed says it is the same argument as the last item. Subsidize loan for private business - done by taxpayers. Odds are, it might not be a problem. But we are taking a risk. He pauses and says, I suppose now we're going to hear about how this was the most important place on the planet for an office building.
Bruer says "Keep baiting me"
Sanborn wisely didn't say another word.
But that didn't stop Bruer from talking anyways . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . and talking . . . it was 11:55 and he was throwing so many buzz words around and giving us his version of history and I kinda tuned out after 5.5 hours of the council meeting.
Clear asked Olinger if this was a subsidized loan. Olinger passes to Gromacki. Gromacki explains the program and why we have it. He says it is for projects too small for TIF and in newly emerging distressed areas. He says that its not a subsidy, because it is repaid. It's a revolving loan fund and when the funds are repaid they will be used again.
Palm asks about the "newly emerging area" theory. He says he's heard of this "emerging area" for years. [Their first plans go back to 1995] Joe says taht the ares is a redevelopment area/blighted and describes why.
Bruer says he's not going to let Palm go unchallenged [You think there might be a little rivalry going on here for who might be the next council president?] He says that they focused on housing and now they are focusing on commercial. He also talks about leveraging projects.
Roll Call
Aye: Solomon, Verveer, Bidar-Sielaff, Bruer, Clausius, Cnare, Compton, Eagon, Kerr, King, Maniaci, Rhodes-Conway, Rummel, Schmidt, Schumacher, Skidmore
No: Pham Remmele, Sanborn
Pass: Palm
Pass Again: Palm
Clerk informs him he already did that and he finally votes aye! :)
PAID SICK LEAVE FOR CITY OF MADISON HOURLY EMPLOYEES
Schumacher pulled this off.
There was an addition of an amendment that required Human Resources to provide the Common Council with a report with a detailed fiscal analysis of the number of employees that used paid sick leave, the hours worked and other details.
Palm asked to co-sponsor.
Schumacher says he palnned to filabuster for an hour. [I believe this is because earlier in the evening there was a heated debate about this at the CCOC meeting.] He was concerned that the council passed $63,000 in the budget and now they are being told it will cost $75,000 - $150,000. [Apparently they used old numbers from a few years ago and didn't update them and there was a change that let them carry over some hours that added costs, but this wasn't explained at the meeting.]
Cnare said that the data collection is a pointless exercise since the real issue is that even if it costs more, she still supports it.
Schumacher tries again to make his point sayint that the Water Utility Contract and the Attorney making policy decisions had alot of scrutiny and apparently he wants the same thing here.
Kerr says she agrees with Cnare, she supports it regardless and that the data is not needed.
Compton says that this isn't about the people, its about approving something that ends up costing more.
Passed on a voice vote.
SIGN ORDINANCE
Verveer made several amendments that I think had the effect of allowing movable type on signs to change every 5 minutes (used to be 2) except in areas where there is an Urban Design District, and then they can only change every hour.
Mary Beth, VP of Ryan Signs speaks and says that the council is essentially adopting her business plan, she thanks them. Mayor gives asks council to give her a round of applause for staying past midnight.
Talking, talking, thanking, everyone notes it took 10 years to get this ordinance done.
Passes on a voice vote.
ADJOURN
12:30 by the time the meeting is over.
AFTER COUNCIL
I thought I was going to go grab a beer with Rummel, turns out, the other alders went the same place I did, so we were joined by Bruer, Clear, Schumacher, Schmidt, Verveer, Palm and the lovely Rosemary Lee.
Read more!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Chamber of Commerce thinks human workers are house-elves
This is just too good not to share, the politics of Harry Potter.
This is from a friend of mine, who I think wants to remain anonymous!
If you read it and substitute "low income workers/renters" or "latinos" for "house-elves" its really quite sad. Read more!
This is from a friend of mine, who I think wants to remain anonymous!
I didn't know how political the Harry Potter series could get, and I'm still a little embarrassed to admit I've gotten into them. Here's the gem I just read, from the fourth book:
"There are house-elves here?" [Hermione] said, staring, horror-struck, at Nearly Headless Nick. "Here at Hogwarts?"
"Certainly," said Nearly Headless Nick, looking surprised at her reaction. "The largest number in any dwelling in Britain, I believe. Over a hundred."
"I've never seen one!" said Hermione.
"Well, they hardly ever leave the kitchen by day, do they?" said Nearly Headless Nick. "They come out at night to do a bit of cleaning . . . see to the fires and so on . . . I mean, you're not supposed to see them, are you? That's the mark of a good house-elf, isn't it, that you don't know it's there?"
Hermione stared at him.
"But they get paid?" she said. "They get holidays, don't they? And -- and sick leave, and pensions, and everything?"
Nearly Headless Nick chortled so much that his ruff slipped and his head flopped off, dangling on the inch or so of ghostly skin and muscle that still attached it to his neck.
"Sick leave and pensions?" he said, pushing his head back onto his shoulders and securing it once more with his ruff. "House-elves don't want sick leave and pensions!"
Just thought I'd share this with you. It's from page 182 of the 4th book (paperback version). I really feel like photocopying it and sending it to the Council, and writing a letter to those Muggles at the Chamber telling them off.
If you read it and substitute "low income workers/renters" or "latinos" for "house-elves" its really quite sad. Read more!
Monday, October 15, 2007
2007 Budget - Sick Leave Not Implemented, And More
Wouldn't you assume that when something gets put into the budget and it gets the votes on the council, that it would get implemented. Not so.
I'm not one for press releases for many reasons, but here it is nonetheless . . . .
I'm not one for press releases for many reasons, but here it is nonetheless . . . .
Read more!Konkel Raises Serious Concerns About Integrity
of City Budget Process
Review Reveals Items Funded as Part of
2007 City Budget Not Implemented
Madison – Madison Alder Brenda Konkel (2nd District), released today a list of items that the Common Council approved as part of last year’s city budget deliberations, but which were never implemented by the City. The review by Konkel came in the wake of a meeting last week by the city’s budget committee (Board of Estimates) where Mayor Cieslewicz and City Comptroller Dean Brasser as well as other City staff, in response to questions by Konkel, acknowledged several failures to implement budget directives from the approved 2007 City Budget.
“What became clear when I started looking into items we had adopted last year is that the Council’s priorities have been overlooked or flat out disregarded in several areas,” said Konkel.
The list of items approved but not implemented includes:“Learning that several budget items approved by the Council as our funding priorities have not in fact been implemented raises tremendous concerns as we look ahead to the Council’s deliberations and votes next month on the 2008 budget,” said Konkel.
- $63,000 in funding to provide paid sick days to City employees who did not have this benefit, was unanimously approved by the Council on a voice vote but never implemented (2006 Operating Budget Amendment #1);
- Funding of $300,000 for the Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) 10% set-aside that was approved by the Council but never spent;
- $50,000 for neighborhood planning grants, approved on a voice vote by the Council but never distributed to neighborhood associations conducting or updating their neighborhood plans; (Operating Budget Amendment #26);
- Funding to hire a neighborhood planner (Planner 3) was approved by the Council but a planner was never hired; and
- Further study on the role of and priorities for neighborhoods as part of the reorganization of the Department of Planning and Development. The Council required that this study and a report be delivered to the Council by mid-October; no study has been conducted and no report provided. (Operating Budget Amendment #25, modified by Council resolution in March)
Konkel added, “The Common Council trusts the Mayor and City departments to fully implement the approved budget, or at least to let us know if there are problems in doing so. This list puts that trust and integrity of our budget process in jeopardy.”
In response to these failures to act and a history of funds not being spent in the capital budget, Konkel will introduce a resolution at the Tuesday, October 16th City Council meeting requiring quarterly budget updates to the Common Council and specifying that each year’s annual executive proposal shall include a report on which areas have been over or under-spent by more than 5%, along with explanations of these spending discrepancies from the approved budget.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Those City Council All-Nighters!
Those who have been critical of another all-nighter of the City Council meeting are correct (Subeck, Wealti, Zepeda-Capistran via Kratz) . . . there is no reason to treat members of the public who have come to speak to us so disrespectfully. No one should have to wait until after midnight to speak to us.
Last year when the smoking ordinance and the lobbying ordinance were on the same agenda, it was a no-brainer that we were heading for a train wreck. However, I think the people who scheduled that meeting wanted it that way. They wanted to try to squelch the discussion on the lobbying ordinance by putting pressure on us to get to the public testimony on the smoking ban.
Last night, having learned our lesson from lobbying and smoking, when it became apparent that some of the issues on the agenda were going to take longer than anticipated, we tried to take testimony then table the issue, so we could take testimony on the next issue, saving the council discussion among ourselves for the end of the evening. While we successfully tabled the discussion on TIF for University Ave when it was clear that we couldn't quickly resolve it, some alders rejected tabling the Allied Drive issue while nearly a hundred citizens (ironically, many of them were from Allied Drive and they were the folks vocally urging us to move on to the paid sick leave issue) waited to speak about paid sick leave. Many just gave up and went home. Kids were falling asleep in the hallways. People were left standing because there were not enough seats in the council chambers.
This is no way to treat the public who have come to speak to the Common Council, regardless of if we agree with them or disagree with them. The democratic process depends on active citizens who should be allowed to address their government. While it sometimes becomes hard to actively listen to 4 hours of public testimony, that testimony is vitally important.
How to accurately predict how long a meeting will go is a fine art. Just when you think you know, something comes out of the blue that you are not suspecting and takes longer than anyone anticipated. It is an issue I have been working on since 2002 and some things have gotten better:
1. We changed it so that you didn't have to register between 6:30 and 7:00, but instead you can show up any time before speakers on done on the item you wish to speak to. This allows people to eat dinner and come to the council later if their item is later on the agenda.
2. We allow people with translators to have 6 minutes to speak instead of 3 to allow additional time for the translation.
3. We use a consent agenda to pass all the items that may have people waiting for but are not controversial. This way we can pass 80 - 100 items in one motion and anyone there on those items can go home.
4. When we have several items that were not on the consent agenda, we take the items with public speakers prior to the items that don't have public speakers.
5. When we only have a few people there to speak on some items that we think will be less controversial, we take their item first so they can go home and avoid sitting through long testimony on another item.
Clearly we have not done enough.
Here's some other suggestions I have heard:
1. Let anyone speak in an open forum at the beginning of the meeting, that way if they have to go home, they can. Others, if they so choose, they can speak when the item comes up on the agenda. (This is the way it is done at the Board of Estimates.)
2. Find a way to allow people to leave written testimony that would be read at the council meeting if they have to go home.
3. Have automatically scheduled "third meetings" every month and then cancel them if they are not needed.
4. Automatically end the meeting at midnight regardless of if we are finished and continue the following evening.
5. Start our meetings earlier.
All of these suggestions have their issues that make them difficult. And I think we need to spend some serious time trying to figure out how to do this better. I expect that Council President Austin King will make this a high priority for the Common Council Organizational Committee to work on.
Meanwhile, hopefully, we have learned our lesson (again, the hard way) and we will be scheduling a special meeting on Inclusionary Zoning instead of trying to deal with repeal and the various proposed changes on June 6th. I just hope we don't have to wait months to have this meeting!
Note: please excuse any badd grammar etc. i'm dead tired . . .
Read more!
Last year when the smoking ordinance and the lobbying ordinance were on the same agenda, it was a no-brainer that we were heading for a train wreck. However, I think the people who scheduled that meeting wanted it that way. They wanted to try to squelch the discussion on the lobbying ordinance by putting pressure on us to get to the public testimony on the smoking ban.
Last night, having learned our lesson from lobbying and smoking, when it became apparent that some of the issues on the agenda were going to take longer than anticipated, we tried to take testimony then table the issue, so we could take testimony on the next issue, saving the council discussion among ourselves for the end of the evening. While we successfully tabled the discussion on TIF for University Ave when it was clear that we couldn't quickly resolve it, some alders rejected tabling the Allied Drive issue while nearly a hundred citizens (ironically, many of them were from Allied Drive and they were the folks vocally urging us to move on to the paid sick leave issue) waited to speak about paid sick leave. Many just gave up and went home. Kids were falling asleep in the hallways. People were left standing because there were not enough seats in the council chambers.
This is no way to treat the public who have come to speak to the Common Council, regardless of if we agree with them or disagree with them. The democratic process depends on active citizens who should be allowed to address their government. While it sometimes becomes hard to actively listen to 4 hours of public testimony, that testimony is vitally important.
How to accurately predict how long a meeting will go is a fine art. Just when you think you know, something comes out of the blue that you are not suspecting and takes longer than anyone anticipated. It is an issue I have been working on since 2002 and some things have gotten better:
1. We changed it so that you didn't have to register between 6:30 and 7:00, but instead you can show up any time before speakers on done on the item you wish to speak to. This allows people to eat dinner and come to the council later if their item is later on the agenda.
2. We allow people with translators to have 6 minutes to speak instead of 3 to allow additional time for the translation.
3. We use a consent agenda to pass all the items that may have people waiting for but are not controversial. This way we can pass 80 - 100 items in one motion and anyone there on those items can go home.
4. When we have several items that were not on the consent agenda, we take the items with public speakers prior to the items that don't have public speakers.
5. When we only have a few people there to speak on some items that we think will be less controversial, we take their item first so they can go home and avoid sitting through long testimony on another item.
Clearly we have not done enough.
Here's some other suggestions I have heard:
1. Let anyone speak in an open forum at the beginning of the meeting, that way if they have to go home, they can. Others, if they so choose, they can speak when the item comes up on the agenda. (This is the way it is done at the Board of Estimates.)
2. Find a way to allow people to leave written testimony that would be read at the council meeting if they have to go home.
3. Have automatically scheduled "third meetings" every month and then cancel them if they are not needed.
4. Automatically end the meeting at midnight regardless of if we are finished and continue the following evening.
5. Start our meetings earlier.
All of these suggestions have their issues that make them difficult. And I think we need to spend some serious time trying to figure out how to do this better. I expect that Council President Austin King will make this a high priority for the Common Council Organizational Committee to work on.
Meanwhile, hopefully, we have learned our lesson (again, the hard way) and we will be scheduling a special meeting on Inclusionary Zoning instead of trying to deal with repeal and the various proposed changes on June 6th. I just hope we don't have to wait months to have this meeting!
Note: please excuse any badd grammar etc. i'm dead tired . . .
Read more!
Saturday, April 1, 2006
The Right Time for Paid Sick Leave
Every time the Mayor says that he supports paid sick leave, but it just isn't the right time, I cringe. I wonder if he realizes the impact that using those words has on people. I keep thinking of the quote about how the right time to do the right thing is always now, but I couldn't remember the exact words. So tonight, I googled "the right time" and found one of the quotes. Dr. Martin Luther King said, "The time is always right to do what is right."
So I pulled out a few books I have upstairs to find some more of his words and I re-read the Letter from Birmingham Jail . . . the letter to his fellow clergyman starts about by his explanation that he wants to defend the claims that his arrest was "unwise and untimely". I found the following passages that seem to apply to the situation here in Madison and throughout the United States for those people who do not have the right to stay home with a sick child or to be hospitalized, without the fear of losing their job or their housing because they cannot pay their rent. I'll let Dr. Martin Luther King's words, from another place and time, (while not directly the same situation, still applicable to today's struggle for racial and economic justice) speak for themselves. And I sure hope that the Mayor's office will think about Dr. Martin Luther King's words next time they use phrases like: "He continues to feel this is not the time to be doing this."
So I pulled out a few books I have upstairs to find some more of his words and I re-read the Letter from Birmingham Jail . . . the letter to his fellow clergyman starts about by his explanation that he wants to defend the claims that his arrest was "unwise and untimely". I found the following passages that seem to apply to the situation here in Madison and throughout the United States for those people who do not have the right to stay home with a sick child or to be hospitalized, without the fear of losing their job or their housing because they cannot pay their rent. I'll let Dr. Martin Luther King's words, from another place and time, (while not directly the same situation, still applicable to today's struggle for racial and economic justice) speak for themselves. And I sure hope that the Mayor's office will think about Dr. Martin Luther King's words next time they use phrases like: "He continues to feel this is not the time to be doing this."
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct-action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!". It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant "Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."
I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically believes that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a "more convenient season." Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.
I had also hoped that the white moderate would reject the myth concerning time in relation to the struggle for freedom. I have just received a letter from a white brother in Texas. He writes: "All Christians know that the colored people will receive equal rights eventually, but it is possible that you are in too great a religious hurry. It has taken Christianity almost two thousand years to accomplish what it has. The teachings of Christ take time to come to earth." Such an attitude stems from a tragic misconception of time; from the strangely irrational notion that there is something in the very flow of time that will inevitably cure all ills. Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.Read more!
Saturday, March 4, 2006
The last few days perspectives on paid sick leave . . .
A few sick leave stories from the past few days . . .
MY GROCERY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
I went to the grocery store Wednesday night after a neighborhood meeting to pick up a few things. I got all my groceries and went to the check out. As I was checking out, the clerk sneezed, and she covered her face with her hand when she sneezed . . . then picked up my groceries and kept running them through the scanner and grabbed the receipt and handed it to me. Now, I'm not a germophobe to the extent that one of my co-workers is (tee hee, you know who you are!) but, I was a little concerned that someone who was sick was handling my groceries and handing me my receipt after she just sneezed on her hand.
Then . . . as the bagger is finishing bagging my grocery, another worker comes up and says to her, "why don't you go home, hope you feel better."
And I left the grocery store with a strong desire to wear rubber gloves as I was putting away my groceries and wipe them down with some sanitizer . . .
EVICTION PREVENTION
So, Friday, I was talking to one of my co-workers and sharing with her how much money we had raised for the Housing Crisis Fund. We were pleased with the generous response from the community and remarking how a relatively small amount of money to many of us can sometimes mean the difference between a bad landlord reference or eviction and a clean tenant record.
My employee was telling me about a person who came in and needed assistance. The person was talking about all of her housing issues and the employee kept trying to figure out what had happened to have this employed person fall behind on their rent. Turns out, she needed less than $100 because she had to stay home from work due to illness. That was the amount she made in those few days that she had to miss work. My employee was remarking that the paid sick leave ordinance really would have made a difference to this person. We then lamented that with all the statistics that we gather, we don't count how many people need eviction prevention are due to a few missed days of work due to illness.
A ROOMMATES DILEMNA
I was talking to a friend who had helped cover their roommates rent last month and wasn't in a position to do it again. Their roommate was really sick and as my friend put it "obviously shouldn't be going to work", but only had a few dollars and couldn't make the rent. So the roommate went to work anyways. This person was going to be serving food to people all evening.
For every story of alleged "beer flu" there are stories like the ones above. I heard/experienced three of them in three days . . . no doubt the paid sick leave ordinance would effect people's lives every day, not just the ones who are sick . . . but those who are likely to become sick as a result of sick people coming to work. Read more!
MY GROCERY SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
I went to the grocery store Wednesday night after a neighborhood meeting to pick up a few things. I got all my groceries and went to the check out. As I was checking out, the clerk sneezed, and she covered her face with her hand when she sneezed . . . then picked up my groceries and kept running them through the scanner and grabbed the receipt and handed it to me. Now, I'm not a germophobe to the extent that one of my co-workers is (tee hee, you know who you are!) but, I was a little concerned that someone who was sick was handling my groceries and handing me my receipt after she just sneezed on her hand.
Then . . . as the bagger is finishing bagging my grocery, another worker comes up and says to her, "why don't you go home, hope you feel better."
And I left the grocery store with a strong desire to wear rubber gloves as I was putting away my groceries and wipe them down with some sanitizer . . .
EVICTION PREVENTION
So, Friday, I was talking to one of my co-workers and sharing with her how much money we had raised for the Housing Crisis Fund. We were pleased with the generous response from the community and remarking how a relatively small amount of money to many of us can sometimes mean the difference between a bad landlord reference or eviction and a clean tenant record.
My employee was telling me about a person who came in and needed assistance. The person was talking about all of her housing issues and the employee kept trying to figure out what had happened to have this employed person fall behind on their rent. Turns out, she needed less than $100 because she had to stay home from work due to illness. That was the amount she made in those few days that she had to miss work. My employee was remarking that the paid sick leave ordinance really would have made a difference to this person. We then lamented that with all the statistics that we gather, we don't count how many people need eviction prevention are due to a few missed days of work due to illness.
A ROOMMATES DILEMNA
I was talking to a friend who had helped cover their roommates rent last month and wasn't in a position to do it again. Their roommate was really sick and as my friend put it "obviously shouldn't be going to work", but only had a few dollars and couldn't make the rent. So the roommate went to work anyways. This person was going to be serving food to people all evening.
For every story of alleged "beer flu" there are stories like the ones above. I heard/experienced three of them in three days . . . no doubt the paid sick leave ordinance would effect people's lives every day, not just the ones who are sick . . . but those who are likely to become sick as a result of sick people coming to work. Read more!
Stop the Slogans!
During the smoking debate it was "Ban the Ban" and "Save Madison Jobs" - and various members of the council were Nazi's and a long list of other things I probably shouldn't repeat.
Now, during sick leave it's "Stop the Mandates!" And we're still Nazi's and a long list of other things I probably shouldn't repeat.
While these gimmicky slogans are cute and all, communicating with elected officials and committee members through slogans is completely ineffective. And if it isn't obvious, calling us names is doubly ineffective.
Now I'm not naive enough to think that these folks actually want to affect change. In fact, I believe the not so clever slogans and radio ads that they paid PR firms to produce are nothing more than an appeal to get people riled up and generate new members for their various organizations.
However, there may be a few people out there who actually want to affect policy, instead of just claiming they want to affect policy. Here's a few tips if you want to be effective:
a. Know what the ordinance actually says.
b. Don't trust your lobbying group to give you accurate information, you'll be sadly disappointed.
c. Offer concrete examples of how the ordinance effects you.
d. Offer suggestions on how the ordinance could be changed.
During the 4 hour long paid sick leave hearing in front of the Economic Development Commission one advocate took detailed notes. The advocate had the highlighter ready to highlight all suggestions that came from the business community to see if such suggestions would be viable changes to the ordinance. After 4 hours, the highlighter was used exactly 0 times, yup, not once. Not one single suggestion on how to improve or change the ordinance . . . but how many people do you think repeated the slogan "Stop the Mandates!" Not a very effective use of their time! Read more!
Now, during sick leave it's "Stop the Mandates!" And we're still Nazi's and a long list of other things I probably shouldn't repeat.
While these gimmicky slogans are cute and all, communicating with elected officials and committee members through slogans is completely ineffective. And if it isn't obvious, calling us names is doubly ineffective.
Now I'm not naive enough to think that these folks actually want to affect change. In fact, I believe the not so clever slogans and radio ads that they paid PR firms to produce are nothing more than an appeal to get people riled up and generate new members for their various organizations.
However, there may be a few people out there who actually want to affect policy, instead of just claiming they want to affect policy. Here's a few tips if you want to be effective:
a. Know what the ordinance actually says.
b. Don't trust your lobbying group to give you accurate information, you'll be sadly disappointed.
c. Offer concrete examples of how the ordinance effects you.
d. Offer suggestions on how the ordinance could be changed.
During the 4 hour long paid sick leave hearing in front of the Economic Development Commission one advocate took detailed notes. The advocate had the highlighter ready to highlight all suggestions that came from the business community to see if such suggestions would be viable changes to the ordinance. After 4 hours, the highlighter was used exactly 0 times, yup, not once. Not one single suggestion on how to improve or change the ordinance . . . but how many people do you think repeated the slogan "Stop the Mandates!" Not a very effective use of their time! Read more!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
That darn EDC . . . hates the public?
So, prior to the second attempt the Economic Development Commission made to have a public hearing on paid sick leave, another controversy of sorts threatened to flare up, got resolved, then became an in issue again. What is it with EDC and "public process"? Do the chair and alder realize that this is a government committee, subject to open meetings laws and other laws to ensure that the sun shines on government activity, and not a private enterprise?
At first, a representative from Healthy Families, Healthy Cities was told that people had to register on time and late registrants would not be able to speak? What? That didn't sound right cuz that is not the EDC's standard practice and I couldn't imagine them turning businesses away because they registered late. So the representative from Healthy Families, Healthy Cities talked to another staff person and confirmed, late registrations would be accepted.
So, fast forward to the hearing. Apparently, they only had the room reserved until 9:00, so as people were registering, they were told that they might not be able to speak if it got too late. I talked to at least two people who, after being given the impression they wouldn't get to speak, left. I know when I showed up, very late, around 8:15 I was told there wouldn't be time for me to speak, so I registered and wrote on my sheet that I wanted to speak but there was no time. I was told that testimony would end at 8:45, so I stayed to watch the last half hour of testimony.
Imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw it was 9:05 and Mark Bugher, the chair of the commission was announcing that they could use the room longer than what they were originally told. At that point and for the last 15 minutes as he read through many registration slips, most people had gone home, perhaps because they were told that if they didn't get to speak by 8:45 they wouldn't get to speak. Also, because he said the room would be available longer, I went up and had to tell them that there were more speakers who wanted to speak. Four of us who were there and registered were able to speak, but I don't know why the chair didn't originally have our registration slips.
I'm not sure what was going on, I know that there were staffing issues as Katherine Naherny has retired and Michael Gay is out on medical leave, but shouldn't the alder and chair know better by now? It seems they have one controversy after another when it comes to public process and understanding that they are a government committee that has to follow rules.
At first, a representative from Healthy Families, Healthy Cities was told that people had to register on time and late registrants would not be able to speak? What? That didn't sound right cuz that is not the EDC's standard practice and I couldn't imagine them turning businesses away because they registered late. So the representative from Healthy Families, Healthy Cities talked to another staff person and confirmed, late registrations would be accepted.
So, fast forward to the hearing. Apparently, they only had the room reserved until 9:00, so as people were registering, they were told that they might not be able to speak if it got too late. I talked to at least two people who, after being given the impression they wouldn't get to speak, left. I know when I showed up, very late, around 8:15 I was told there wouldn't be time for me to speak, so I registered and wrote on my sheet that I wanted to speak but there was no time. I was told that testimony would end at 8:45, so I stayed to watch the last half hour of testimony.
Imagine my surprise when I turned around and saw it was 9:05 and Mark Bugher, the chair of the commission was announcing that they could use the room longer than what they were originally told. At that point and for the last 15 minutes as he read through many registration slips, most people had gone home, perhaps because they were told that if they didn't get to speak by 8:45 they wouldn't get to speak. Also, because he said the room would be available longer, I went up and had to tell them that there were more speakers who wanted to speak. Four of us who were there and registered were able to speak, but I don't know why the chair didn't originally have our registration slips.
I'm not sure what was going on, I know that there were staffing issues as Katherine Naherny has retired and Michael Gay is out on medical leave, but shouldn't the alder and chair know better by now? It seems they have one controversy after another when it comes to public process and understanding that they are a government committee that has to follow rules.
- First, they keep their EDC report secret until they can hold a press conference, leaving questions about how or if the committee ever voted on the thing.
- They don't understand the issue of negative quorum and quorum by email while discussing TIF and potentially held illegal meetings.
- They allow members of the committee to be present by phone for quorum purposes, tho I have never seen another city committee do that.
- They don't seem to think that open meetings laws apply to them and try to take informal testimony from the public during their first attempt at a public hearing on paid sick leave.
- And now, most recently they mislead the public regarding their ability to speak to the commission.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
The Chamber of Commerce said what?
I got this email this afternoon . . . and fell off my chair. Is there no end to the arrogance of the Chamber of Commerce . . . remember that study they released, where they botched simple arithmetic and made all kinds of erroneous assumptions . . . the report that was so laughable on its face that it was embarrassing that they ever let it see the light of day . . . those same folks are now having "issues" with a report put out by the Healthy Families, Healthy Cities campaign. Here's the e-mail . . . .
Well, at least the Healthy Families, Healthy Cities folks will try to answer the questions to the best of their ability and try to add to the conversation, unlike the Chamber of Commerce who seems to care more about whipping the business community into a frenzy and putting out propaganda based on flawed studies than helping solve important public policy issues.
I mean seriously, how many of their members don't offer paid time off that can be used for sick leave? Is this really an issue for their members? Are their members the "bad eggs" in the community who force sick employees to come to work? If so, can I get a list of restaurants and bars and other places of public accommodation that are members of the Chamber of Commerce and have sick employees coming to work . . . I think I'll avoid them during the flu season . . . Read more!
Members of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce have heard many claims from the Healthy Families, Healthy City Coalition and others on mandatory paid sick leave. HFHC has released a 3-page report from the Economic Policy Institute which provides some employment and benefits data, but does not provide the level of detail needed to fully understand who it would impact in the City of Madison and surrounding communities.Ummmm . . . . before they start demanding answers to questions . . . shouldn't they answer a few of the questions put to them about that piece of propaganda "Chicken Little Report" crap they put out . . .
Therefore, we've sent a list of questions designed to clarify the issue and add meaningful information to ongoing discussions. We hope that the answers received will also be useful to you and other public officials as you make your decision on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Delora
Delora Newton
Director of Public Policy
Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce
Well, at least the Healthy Families, Healthy Cities folks will try to answer the questions to the best of their ability and try to add to the conversation, unlike the Chamber of Commerce who seems to care more about whipping the business community into a frenzy and putting out propaganda based on flawed studies than helping solve important public policy issues.
I mean seriously, how many of their members don't offer paid time off that can be used for sick leave? Is this really an issue for their members? Are their members the "bad eggs" in the community who force sick employees to come to work? If so, can I get a list of restaurants and bars and other places of public accommodation that are members of the Chamber of Commerce and have sick employees coming to work . . . I think I'll avoid them during the flu season . . . Read more!
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Chamber of Commerce inciting class war?
I was watching the video stream of Stuart Levitan's show Access City Hall. The episode I was watching was with Ald. Robbie Webber and lobbyist Jennifer Alexander from the Chamber of Commerce and Vicky Selkowe, Healthy Families, Healthy Cities campaign and lobbyists Delora Newton, Chamber of Commerce (formerly lobbyists for Smart Growth Madison Inc.) talking about the paid sick leave ordinance.
I couldn't believe my ears! How out of touch is the Chamber of Commerce?
On the one hand, the supporters of the paid sick leave ordinance were talking about families who are going to get evicted cues they can't pay their rent because they lost pay due to time off because they were sick or to take care of sick family members.
On the other hand, the Chamber of Commerce was talking about having to not give employees tuition reimbursement or pension plans.
WTFO? How much of a bigger disconnect could there be. Does the Chamber really believe that the same employees who are on the edge of being evicted have jobs where their employers offer tuition reimbursement and pension plans as benefits?
Somehow, I don't think those are the employers that are going to have issues with the paid sick leave ordinance. My guess is their policies already offer vacation and sick leave that exceed the ordinance as proposed.
Seems as tho the Chamber of Commerce is trying to get middle class folks concerned that their benefits will go away because this ordinance will force employers to take away middle class benefits in order to give "benefits" like paid sick leave, that most of us take for granted, to "those people". Class war anyone? Read more!
I couldn't believe my ears! How out of touch is the Chamber of Commerce?
On the one hand, the supporters of the paid sick leave ordinance were talking about families who are going to get evicted cues they can't pay their rent because they lost pay due to time off because they were sick or to take care of sick family members.
On the other hand, the Chamber of Commerce was talking about having to not give employees tuition reimbursement or pension plans.
WTFO? How much of a bigger disconnect could there be. Does the Chamber really believe that the same employees who are on the edge of being evicted have jobs where their employers offer tuition reimbursement and pension plans as benefits?
Somehow, I don't think those are the employers that are going to have issues with the paid sick leave ordinance. My guess is their policies already offer vacation and sick leave that exceed the ordinance as proposed.
Seems as tho the Chamber of Commerce is trying to get middle class folks concerned that their benefits will go away because this ordinance will force employers to take away middle class benefits in order to give "benefits" like paid sick leave, that most of us take for granted, to "those people". Class war anyone? Read more!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
EDC Comedy of Errors & Violations of Open Meetings Laws?
So, yesterday, the Economic Development Commission (EDC) scheduled a public hearing on paid sick leave during the Common Council meeting - where we were discussing inclusionary zoning. Obviously, not a very thoughtful thing to do. (Hell, even Terrence Wall wrote a letter asking who scheduled - or allowed to be scheduled - two controversial topics for the same time. Yup - pigs are flying, hell is freezing over and the world is coming to an end, T and I agree on something!)
However, something happened, and the meeting wasn't properly noticed. This happens from time to time and I don't think it was anything the EDC commission or staff did, or didn't do, that caused this to happen. I actually think it is unfortunate that the meeting had to be cancelled, because I know how much work goes into getting a good turn out at a public hearing. It also sends a terrible message to the public when they take the time to show up - for nothing.
So, even tho it was poorly planned, I am disappointed the meeting had to be cancelled.
But . . . what happens next, is pretty inexcusable.
Apparently the city staff found out that morning that the meeting wasn't properly scheduled. According to one of the city attorneys I bumped into, they spent alot of time on the phone that day, trying to explain that the EDC couldn't hold the meeting. Sometime later in the day, Robbie Webber started asking questions about why she didn't see the meeting on line. Hmmmm . . . .it appeared that while the meeting notice was in Legistar, it was not on the weekly schedule. Problem is, the weekly schedule, specifically the one posted in the hallway of the City-County building, is the official, legal public notice. According to state law, it has to be posted at least 24 hours before the meeting starts, so the meeting had to be cancelled.
Anyways, the meeting wasn't properly noticed and apparently they knew that in the morning, but alders didn't get a notice of cancellation until 3:45. Prior to getting the notice, I found out about the cancellation from someone who saw Alder Webber's questions and called the staff and they were told not to show up. The staff's explanation to alders was as follows:
What's even more frustrating, is this is not the first time committees have tried to hold a public hearing when they didn't have a legal meeting. Back when I was first on the council, in 2001, the Section 8 Landlord Committee (I forget the technical name) wanted to allow people to speak on an issue when they didn't have a legal meeting (in that case I thought it was also not a legally noticed meeting, but it could have been lack of quorum.) And they tried to hold the meeting anyways and they were told they couldn't do it. This prompted Dorothy Borchardt to sponsor an ordinance change that would have added the following language to our ordinances regarding quorum:
Open meetings laws can be frustrating from time to time, but we can't just violate them (or the spirit of the law) because it is convenient. Open meetings laws serve a purpose. They are there to ensure that the public has knowledge of meetings where public decisions will be made. They are there to give fair notice. In this case, many people were told not to show up and they didn't. To move forward with any type of meeting, formal or informal, legal or illegal was just wrong. We're not running a business here. This is government, and we have laws to protect the public that guide our actions and any attempt to get around those laws should not be supported by staff and should be strictly discouraged.
Read more!
However, something happened, and the meeting wasn't properly noticed. This happens from time to time and I don't think it was anything the EDC commission or staff did, or didn't do, that caused this to happen. I actually think it is unfortunate that the meeting had to be cancelled, because I know how much work goes into getting a good turn out at a public hearing. It also sends a terrible message to the public when they take the time to show up - for nothing.
So, even tho it was poorly planned, I am disappointed the meeting had to be cancelled.
But . . . what happens next, is pretty inexcusable.
Apparently the city staff found out that morning that the meeting wasn't properly scheduled. According to one of the city attorneys I bumped into, they spent alot of time on the phone that day, trying to explain that the EDC couldn't hold the meeting. Sometime later in the day, Robbie Webber started asking questions about why she didn't see the meeting on line. Hmmmm . . . .it appeared that while the meeting notice was in Legistar, it was not on the weekly schedule. Problem is, the weekly schedule, specifically the one posted in the hallway of the City-County building, is the official, legal public notice. According to state law, it has to be posted at least 24 hours before the meeting starts, so the meeting had to be cancelled.
Anyways, the meeting wasn't properly noticed and apparently they knew that in the morning, but alders didn't get a notice of cancellation until 3:45. Prior to getting the notice, I found out about the cancellation from someone who saw Alder Webber's questions and called the staff and they were told not to show up. The staff's explanation to alders was as follows:
| |
Ok - first the meeting isn't properly noticed, then the notice of cancellation goes out much later than it should have . . . but next, it gets even wierder . . . .the staff was telling advocates for the ordinance not to show up. They called the EDC members and told them not to show up . . . but at the same time, they were planning to hold an informal meeting. They even put it in writing:Alders - FYI - in case you were planning on attending this evening's EDC
From: Lisa Veldran To: ALL ALDERS Date: Tuesday - January 17, 2006 3:45 PM Subject: CANCELLED - EDC Public Hearing on Sick Leave Ordinance
Public Hearing on the Sick Leave Ordinance - Lisa, Council Office
>>> Katherine Naherny 01/17/06 2:56 PM >>>
Most unfortunately, the meeting notice did not get posted to the weekly
calendar and physically posted in the City County Bldg. It was sent to the
Clerk via email by by P&D staff last week but apparently was "lost" as many
other items were last week in the email conversion and it was not caught until
this morning.
Since this hearing has been widely publicized in other ways, I conferred with
Michael May on how to proceed.
It would be a violation of the open meetings law to hold the meeting so the
EDC will not hold an official meeting. The EDC Chairman Mark Bugher and I
will go to the meeting site, explain to those who attend what happened and
have an informal meeting with those who may want to share thoughts and views.
The EDC Chairman Mark Bugher and I will go to the meeting site, explain to those who attend what happened and have an informal meeting with those who may want to share thoughts and views.Um . . . if this isn't a technical violation of the open meetings law, this is definitely a blatant attempt to get around the open meetings law. I'm kind of shocked that city staff would encourage this activity. Holding an informal meeting - where some people were told not to show up - vs. an official meeting doesn't sound legal to me.
What's even more frustrating, is this is not the first time committees have tried to hold a public hearing when they didn't have a legal meeting. Back when I was first on the council, in 2001, the Section 8 Landlord Committee (I forget the technical name) wanted to allow people to speak on an issue when they didn't have a legal meeting (in that case I thought it was also not a legally noticed meeting, but it could have been lack of quorum.) And they tried to hold the meeting anyways and they were told they couldn't do it. This prompted Dorothy Borchardt to sponsor an ordinance change that would have added the following language to our ordinances regarding quorum:
"(3) Attendance and Quorum.This ordinance was placed on file. (In City committee language, "placed on file" means "killed" or essentially removed from consideration.) I'm quite certain it was placed on file because it didn't meet the open meetings law requirements. So, the fact that Mark Bugher, the chairperson of the EDC and Katherine Naherny, staff to the EDC, tried to hold the public meeting - and simply call it informal, is all the more bothersome.
(a) If at any board, commission or committee meeting, a quorum is not secured within fifteen (15) minutes of the officially scheduled meeting time, the board, commission or committee shall adjourn without taking any action, except that it may set a date and time for its next meeting.
(b) Notwithstanding Subdivision (a), above, if members of the public have appeared to address the board, committee or commission, in compliance with applicable rules, pursuant to Sec. 3.27(4)(f), the members shall allow them to speak and shall see that a record is kept of the general substance of their comments.
Open meetings laws can be frustrating from time to time, but we can't just violate them (or the spirit of the law) because it is convenient. Open meetings laws serve a purpose. They are there to ensure that the public has knowledge of meetings where public decisions will be made. They are there to give fair notice. In this case, many people were told not to show up and they didn't. To move forward with any type of meeting, formal or informal, legal or illegal was just wrong. We're not running a business here. This is government, and we have laws to protect the public that guide our actions and any attempt to get around those laws should not be supported by staff and should be strictly discouraged.
Read more!
Sunday, January 15, 2006
"One Sneeze Away . . . "
Today's Wisconsin State Journal has an opinion piece by Susan Lampert Smith about the rhetoric in the "Chicken Little" report the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce bought from NorthStar, Inc. So many have been focused on the glaring error that their claims that this could cost the City up to $21 million in property taxes when in fact the high end, if you accept all their assumptions, is actually $750,000. (By the way, Dean Mosiman, I've said it before and I'll say it again, BEST REPORTER IN TOWN - always fair, consistently at least 99.5% accurate and very thorough. We need more reporters in town like Dean. Even when he does a piece I don't like, I can respect his work.)
Susan's column reminded me of something that I was trying to forget. I can't believe the insensitivity of the language in the report (sorry, it's been taken off their site, but I can e-mail it to you):
What do you do if your kid has chicken pox and they can't go to daycare? If you skip work, you don't get paid and you can't pay your rent. What do you do if you are hospitalized because your appendix explodes because you didn't take time off and go to the doctor like you probably should have in the first place? Now, not only do you have doctor bills you can't pay, but you are missing work and again, could be evicted because you can't catch up on your rent. We hear stories like this every week. To suggest this is about someone becoming homeless because of a cold is just plain cold-hearted and judgmental.
And the realtors complain about a joke by the mayor, at least it wasn't done by one of their own.
p.s. This is the craziness Susan was talking about in the report . . .
Other Externalities
The ramifications of compliance with the mandatory sick leave law or any law that adversely affects business within a small defined geographical area also extend to environmental health and personal and community safety. Firms’ leaving the city for outlying communities leads to urban sprawl. Commuting out of the city increases smog and other pollution from increased vehicle miles traveled. It also adds a large cost to employee work expenses in terms of time (for example, substituting commuting time for family time) and vehicle operation costs if they live in the city and must commute to their jobs outside the city.
Increased traffic congestion on the main thoroughfares increases commuting delays, fuel consumption, and accidents. Greater gasoline consumption leads to higher gasoline costs. Fuel taxes will need to rise to fund increased road building to alleviate traffic congestion and improve motorist safety. Insurance costs will rise to cover the greater incidence of traffic related injuries and property damage. Automobiles will wear out faster, requiring more frequent replacement. Household budgets would be significantly impacted by these added costs, affecting worker financial well-being.
Commuting to work out of the city will increase the need for sick leave time off as employees commute back into the city to see their doctor or care for children in school or another dependent that resides near their home in the city. Vehicle speeds may also increase as commuters try to minimize their sick time taken for personal or dependent care, raising safety concerns for other motorists and pedestrians. The increased time away form work can also jeopardize worker employment status.
Many of the workers affected by the mandatory sick leave law do not have adequate transportation for commuting to jobs outside the city. Their jobs will simply be put out of reach. Read more!
Susan's column reminded me of something that I was trying to forget. I can't believe the insensitivity of the language in the report (sorry, it's been taken off their site, but I can e-mail it to you):
The support for the mandatory sick leave ordinance seems to center on the conclusion that in Madison 46,000 workers (and their families) are a sneeze away from homelessness. The baseline reality is that many Madison small businesses will be hurt by a mandatory sick leave policy.and in this quote by Jennifer Alexander in the press release:
“Those who support the ordinance say many employees in Madison are one sneeze away from homelessness,” said Jennifer Alexander, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce.I think her comments shows the insensitivity and callousness that the business community has a reputation for and that is really sad because there are alot of hard working small businesses and big businesses that do alot for our community. It is elitist, insensitiveve and shows a complete lack of understanding of some of the leading causes of homelessness and furthers that reputation of the business community.
What do you do if your kid has chicken pox and they can't go to daycare? If you skip work, you don't get paid and you can't pay your rent. What do you do if you are hospitalized because your appendix explodes because you didn't take time off and go to the doctor like you probably should have in the first place? Now, not only do you have doctor bills you can't pay, but you are missing work and again, could be evicted because you can't catch up on your rent. We hear stories like this every week. To suggest this is about someone becoming homeless because of a cold is just plain cold-hearted and judgmental.
And the realtors complain about a joke by the mayor, at least it wasn't done by one of their own.
p.s. This is the craziness Susan was talking about in the report . . .
Other Externalities
The ramifications of compliance with the mandatory sick leave law or any law that adversely affects business within a small defined geographical area also extend to environmental health and personal and community safety. Firms’ leaving the city for outlying communities leads to urban sprawl. Commuting out of the city increases smog and other pollution from increased vehicle miles traveled. It also adds a large cost to employee work expenses in terms of time (for example, substituting commuting time for family time) and vehicle operation costs if they live in the city and must commute to their jobs outside the city.
Increased traffic congestion on the main thoroughfares increases commuting delays, fuel consumption, and accidents. Greater gasoline consumption leads to higher gasoline costs. Fuel taxes will need to rise to fund increased road building to alleviate traffic congestion and improve motorist safety. Insurance costs will rise to cover the greater incidence of traffic related injuries and property damage. Automobiles will wear out faster, requiring more frequent replacement. Household budgets would be significantly impacted by these added costs, affecting worker financial well-being.
Commuting to work out of the city will increase the need for sick leave time off as employees commute back into the city to see their doctor or care for children in school or another dependent that resides near their home in the city. Vehicle speeds may also increase as commuters try to minimize their sick time taken for personal or dependent care, raising safety concerns for other motorists and pedestrians. The increased time away form work can also jeopardize worker employment status.
Many of the workers affected by the mandatory sick leave law do not have adequate transportation for commuting to jobs outside the city. Their jobs will simply be put out of reach. Read more!
Saturday, January 14, 2006
EDC Playing Games with Meeting Dates?
According to the City of Madison website, the Economic Development Commission (EDC) set the following meeting dates which are the first Wednesday of the month. However, they seem to be consistently meeting on dates that inevitably conflict with other meetings on the same or similar topics.
The first meeting they scheduled on repealing the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance was scheduled on Tuesday, November 15th. This was not a regular meeting date for the Economic Development Commission, as they regularly are scheduled for the 1st Wednesday of the month. This also happened to be the first night of the budget meetings for the Common Council. I drove out to the Water Utility building to attend the meeting scheduled right before the Council meeting, but they did not have quorum, so we all went away.
They subsequently had a meeting on Thursday, December 1st at which they didn't take action on inclusionary zoning. I was able to attend this meeting, but had to skip several neighborhood meetings to do so since they rearranged the agenda and attended to other issues first.
The next meeting they scheduled on inclusionary zoning was scheduled on January 9th at 5:00. Not so surprisingly, this was also the same date the Plan Commission was scheduled to take up inclusionary zoning. And the same time the Board of Estimates was supposed to talk about the TIF request for the Gorman project on the 800 block of E Washington Ave in my district.
Now, on Tuesday, November 17th 5:30 - 9:00, they have another meeting scheduled the same evening as a Common Council meeting to hear from the business community about paid sick leave. And this, despite the fact that the Equal Opportunities Commission tried to hold a joint public hearing on the ordinance on December 14th. What's the purpose of this second public hearing?
Anyone sense a pattern? Think this is coincidence?
Normally, an alder on the committee or a staff person would point out such obvious conflicts in scheduling and the meetings would be re-scheduled. Could the Economic Development Commission members and staff be doing this on purpose? Or are the alder and the staff not serving their committees very well? Could it be that the Economic Development Commission actually doesn't want the alders to hear personally from the business community about paid sick leave? Is it just me, or does it seem that they don't really want to have a discussion about the issues with all sides represented? Just like they don't seem to support doing anything about creating an economic development plan. Read more!
The first meeting they scheduled on repealing the Inclusionary Zoning ordinance was scheduled on Tuesday, November 15th. This was not a regular meeting date for the Economic Development Commission, as they regularly are scheduled for the 1st Wednesday of the month. This also happened to be the first night of the budget meetings for the Common Council. I drove out to the Water Utility building to attend the meeting scheduled right before the Council meeting, but they did not have quorum, so we all went away.
They subsequently had a meeting on Thursday, December 1st at which they didn't take action on inclusionary zoning. I was able to attend this meeting, but had to skip several neighborhood meetings to do so since they rearranged the agenda and attended to other issues first.
The next meeting they scheduled on inclusionary zoning was scheduled on January 9th at 5:00. Not so surprisingly, this was also the same date the Plan Commission was scheduled to take up inclusionary zoning. And the same time the Board of Estimates was supposed to talk about the TIF request for the Gorman project on the 800 block of E Washington Ave in my district.
Now, on Tuesday, November 17th 5:30 - 9:00, they have another meeting scheduled the same evening as a Common Council meeting to hear from the business community about paid sick leave. And this, despite the fact that the Equal Opportunities Commission tried to hold a joint public hearing on the ordinance on December 14th. What's the purpose of this second public hearing?
Anyone sense a pattern? Think this is coincidence?
Normally, an alder on the committee or a staff person would point out such obvious conflicts in scheduling and the meetings would be re-scheduled. Could the Economic Development Commission members and staff be doing this on purpose? Or are the alder and the staff not serving their committees very well? Could it be that the Economic Development Commission actually doesn't want the alders to hear personally from the business community about paid sick leave? Is it just me, or does it seem that they don't really want to have a discussion about the issues with all sides represented? Just like they don't seem to support doing anything about creating an economic development plan. Read more!
Friday, January 13, 2006
"Chicken Little" Part II - How embarrassing.
Ouch.
I'm nearly speechless. I just posted this on thedailypage.com:
Q: When does $21,000,000 equal $750,000?
A: When the Chamber of Commerce buys a study on paid sick leave from NorthStar Economics.
Talk about having egg on your face . . . from the WSJ yesterday . . .
I'm nearly speechless. I just posted this on thedailypage.com:
Q: When does $21,000,000 equal $750,000?
A: When the Chamber of Commerce buys a study on paid sick leave from NorthStar Economics.
The study suggests a $4.2 million to $20.1 million hit on the city's budget. But even if all the study's other contested assumptions are used, the State Journal's review suggests that the revised impact on the city's budget would range between about $150,000 and $750,000. Read the rest of the article here.
Talk about having egg on your face . . . from the WSJ yesterday . . .
But Brandon said he welcomed the study, echoing Alexander's past complaints that local empirical data was not available to guide debate.ouch. How can someone who claims to know so much about a budget and taxes make such a big mistake. Wasn't it obvious to him how far off the numbers were . . . a few basic simple calculations were enough to see there were problems. Read more!
"For the first time we're dealing with real numbers," he said.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
"Chicken Little" Report - How Paid Sick Leave will Destroy the Universe
So, does anyone really believe that the City of Madison is going to lose
and that businesses will lose $75 million
(Note: $60M in wages is $1,538 per employee, which means that would be a payroll cost of $21.36 per hour per person and all 39,000 employees would have to be full time and take all 9 days of sick leave. How many people making that kind of money do you think don't already have paid sick leave?)
Those are just some of the claims made in the Chamber of Commerce's Paid Sick Leave Report they recently bought from NorthStar Economics, Inc. (It was on their website earlier today, but disappeared.) Part of a study and its conclusions are based on a survey of 96 Chamber of Commerce members. Do you think those survey answers were unbiased? As we have seen, this is hardly an apolitical group of people and one might suspect that their members have political motivations to answer the questions in a particular way. Alder Austin King made this analogy earlier today:
Interestingly enough, they seem to have no problem making authoritative statements in their report but offer no data, to make statements such as the following:
There is so much about the Chamber of Commerce and friends' (Tavern League, Realtors, Common Sense Coalition) latest attempts to be politically active that is just so . . . comical.
Finally, I have a few rather random thoughts about all of this, and although I'm going to name names here, these are not meant to be personal attacks. I just have to point out some interesting inconsistencies and absurdities. I think these folks have to start taking responsibility for their actions.
First up, for no particular reason - Daniel Guerra, small business owner and Executive Director of Building Wisconsin, Inc.
I recently attended a Communities United meeting where they reaffirmed their support of inclusionary zoning and opposed repeal of the ordinance. Daniel is the current chair of that group. When they discussed someone speaking at the council meeting regarding their position, Daniel claimed that he couldn't do it because his position at Building Wisconsin prohibited him from taking public positions on political matters. However, he had no problem being quoted in the Chamber of Commerce press release as follows:
Next, Ald. Zach Brandon
Ald. Brandon's comments in the Wisconsin State Journal article on the report are as predictable as it gets. First, the scare tactics.
Surprisingly, he then makes a rather astonishing comment.
This brings me to my third name to drop - Chairman Mark Bugher & the Economic Development Commission
If the the Economic Development commission and Alder Brandon and the Chamber of Commerce/Common Sense Coalition/Tavern League don't have local empirical data, how do they know the city is losing jobs? And why is this the first time they're dealing with real numbers? How do they make decisions about economic development without data? What is the Economic Development Commission doing if they don't have real numbers? What are they doing to get them? And why don't they want to have an economic development plan for the City?
Sigh . . . how long before we can look at some data that is real and determine if this anti-business rhetoric has any basis? And when will the City have an economic development plan? Read more!
- 37 - 185 businesses
- 6,000 jobs
- $4 - $21 million in property taxes
and that businesses will lose $75 million
- in wages ($60M)
- and compliance costs ($15M)
(Note: $60M in wages is $1,538 per employee, which means that would be a payroll cost of $21.36 per hour per person and all 39,000 employees would have to be full time and take all 9 days of sick leave. How many people making that kind of money do you think don't already have paid sick leave?)
Those are just some of the claims made in the Chamber of Commerce's Paid Sick Leave Report they recently bought from NorthStar Economics, Inc. (It was on their website earlier today, but disappeared.) Part of a study and its conclusions are based on a survey of 96 Chamber of Commerce members. Do you think those survey answers were unbiased? As we have seen, this is hardly an apolitical group of people and one might suspect that their members have political motivations to answer the questions in a particular way. Alder Austin King made this analogy earlier today:
Asking Chamber of Commerce members if they are going to leave Madison if we pass a paid sick leave policy is like if he had polled Democrats right before the last election and asked them if they were moving to Canada if George Bush won the election. Both are likely to yield a high number of people who say yes, and a very small number of people who would actually follow through.More disturbing in the report is the claim that the City of Madison would lose $4M to $21M. First of all, as Alder Austin King points out, that is 15.5% of our total annual projected tax revenue of $135,680,761. (see page 10) [Yes, I checked the math $21M/$135,680,761 = 15.477% and the source] And given that commercial property is only 31% of the land value that is taxed in the City (see page 2) that means we would have to lose half our commercial real estate as a result of this ordinance. [Yes, I checked the math $5,648,462,400/$18,283,569,200 = 30.89% and the source.] This is so absurd on its face it is hard to know how to respond.
Interestingly enough, they seem to have no problem making authoritative statements in their report but offer no data, to make statements such as the following:
The minimum wage increase has caused businesses to hire fewer workers, delayed, decreased or eliminated pay increases; decreased benefits such as health care and retirement contributions; increased prices and cut service levels.Additionally, they obviously hadn't read the ordinance, or had no problem grossly mischaracterizing the ordinance when they said that the ordinance "will require a business with more than five employees to provide 70 hours of paid sick leave per year if the employee works more than 12 hours per week." Actually, what the ordinance says is that you have to offer 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked if a person works more than 12 hours a week. So if someone works 12 hours a week, they would only be offered 20.8 hours of sick leave, not 70.
There is so much about the Chamber of Commerce and friends' (Tavern League, Realtors, Common Sense Coalition) latest attempts to be politically active that is just so . . . comical.
Finally, I have a few rather random thoughts about all of this, and although I'm going to name names here, these are not meant to be personal attacks. I just have to point out some interesting inconsistencies and absurdities. I think these folks have to start taking responsibility for their actions.
First up, for no particular reason - Daniel Guerra, small business owner and Executive Director of Building Wisconsin, Inc.
I recently attended a Communities United meeting where they reaffirmed their support of inclusionary zoning and opposed repeal of the ordinance. Daniel is the current chair of that group. When they discussed someone speaking at the council meeting regarding their position, Daniel claimed that he couldn't do it because his position at Building Wisconsin prohibited him from taking public positions on political matters. However, he had no problem being quoted in the Chamber of Commerce press release as follows:
“Taking care of our employees is just good business,” said Dan Guerra, a Madison small business owner. “But, mandating economic policies on small business is killing us. The city has to consider the cumulative effect of all the mandates they have showered on us in the past 18 months. It’s time to stop the mandates and save the jobs.”Interesting when he can make political statements and when he can't.
Next, Ald. Zach Brandon
Ald. Brandon's comments in the Wisconsin State Journal article on the report are as predictable as it gets. First, the scare tactics.
The alder is definitely skilled in using republican fear tactics in his political rhetoric. And of course, just like the republicans, its all about the taxes. But I'm amazed he really believes these numbers? Doesn't he realize something doesn't make sense?The study, obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal on Wednesday, found that even under more modest projections, the law would blow a $4.2 million hole in the city's operating budget.
The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce commissioned the report as part of its continued fight against the proposal, and has planned a morning news conference to discuss the findings today.
Ald. Zach Brandon said such a big hit to the city's tax base could spell disaster.
"That would mean the elimination of some very important services, or a shift in the property tax burden," said Brandon, who opposes paid sick leave. "Because there wouldn't be businesses paying it, the average homeowner's taxes would go up."
Surprisingly, he then makes a rather astonishing comment.
Interesting . . .But Brandon said he welcomed the study, echoing Alexander's past complaints that local empirical data was not available to guide debate.
"For the first time we're dealing with real numbers," he said.
This brings me to my third name to drop - Chairman Mark Bugher & the Economic Development Commission
If the the Economic Development commission and Alder Brandon and the Chamber of Commerce/Common Sense Coalition/Tavern League don't have local empirical data, how do they know the city is losing jobs? And why is this the first time they're dealing with real numbers? How do they make decisions about economic development without data? What is the Economic Development Commission doing if they don't have real numbers? What are they doing to get them? And why don't they want to have an economic development plan for the City?
Sigh . . . how long before we can look at some data that is real and determine if this anti-business rhetoric has any basis? And when will the City have an economic development plan? Read more!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)