Two interesting perspectives on Wednesday night’s Madison City Council Budget votes:
- Kristian Knutsen (Posted Thursday @ 10:52p.m.):
Coming from another perspective, Brandon urges a no vote against this budget since it has a 4.35% increase, stating that no cuts were made “This isn’t the mayor’s budget. The mayor set a clear challenge to us, 4.1,” Brandon states. “We are playing into the state government’s perception, what they portray about us, is that we are big spenders,” he continues. “All we are doing is inviting more levy limits, and at worst, TABOR.”
Konkel says “we could have done this if we really wanted to,” referring to the failure of the hotel room tax hike, which she states would have brought the levy down to 4.03, also lamenting the failure of several amendments to provide services to the indigent. “I know how I’m going to vote,” Webber says, while Bruer commends the council for the tenor of this year’s budget process. “This administration unlike others in the past did more truth in budgeting,” he says of the mayors role, continuing by pointing out cost-cutting measures undertaken by city departments in his defense of the budget and its process. “To go through all those hours and all that energy,” Bruer says, “I have no problem going out to my constituency and defending this increase” due to its “balance” of attention.Knutsen also live-blogged the meetings (which is fabulous)
- Dean Mosiman (posted 01:10 a.m. 11/18/2005)
The tax hike, Cieslewicz said, is the third lowest in the past two decades.
It’s now time for the state to back away from tax caps, let cities make budget decisions based on their own values, and for the state to try to fix how it funds municipalities, the mayor said.
Ald. Zach Brandon, 7th District, who led the group that made the 4.1 percent tax cap pledge, offered the lone harsh words about the budget.
“Do you know what this is saying to the rest of the state?” he said, adding that Madison will become a “poster child” for its inability to contain spending and taxes.”