Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Some council members wanted more oversight of expenses, but others saw the move as micromanaging and less efficient. The Committee of the Whole voted against making any changes to the city policy.
The city's purchasing policy will remain as it has been, but not after some debate on how much can be spent before the Common Council has to review it. The discussion occurred Tuesday night at the Committee of the Whole meeting. Generally expenses that were included in the council's approved budget do not need another look, unless they exceed the expected amount. Department heads can approve expenses up to $25,000, with the Mayor's approval also needed for those higher than that. However, Alderman Dan Soltysiak challenged the policy stating that the Common Council was charged with the oversight of finances, not the mayor, and said they should be the ones signing off on expenses over $25,000. "This would provide another layer of checks and…
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Nearing an end after about two months of discussion and debate at the Committee of the Whole, it's now the public's turn to weigh in.
The 2013 city budget is nearing completion, and just needs your input before the Common Council discusses it on Oct. 23. The public hearing notice has been posted for Monday, Oct. 22 at City Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m. Some of the highlights during the process included a $1.1 Million investment in Park Arthur as a part of the total Parks and Recreation Department budget. In addition, recent discussion surrounded some of the smallest expenditures in the budget for Muskego Senior Taxi and Jammin' on Janesville. To view the proposed City of Muskego Budget, click here. To read over specific Committee of the Whole meeting minutes regarding the budget, click here. In addition, please check out any of the stories related to the budget discussions…
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Along with minor facelifts at park, paving will expand parking and is approved during Committee of the Whole's latest chapter in the budget process; public will get a chance to weigh in Oct. 22.
Idle Isle has come under fire as being a neglected park, and the Committee of the Whole agreed, approving recommended improvements for the park in 2013. A previous walk-through meeting of the Parks Board, which included aldermen and the mayor, helped to point out areas of need in the park, which many have felt needed more attention than it had been getting. Improvements will include paving and extending the existing parking area to include 20 additional spots at a cost of $30,000. This is hoped to alleviate overflow parking at a lot two blocks away. In addition, dumpster enclosures will be renovated for $1,750, and additional paving will be done to improve existing paths as well as create a new path between the parking area and the …
Sunday, September 9, 2012
The combined $24,000 in the 2013 budget for Jammin' on Janesville and Muskego Senior Taxi has aldermen wondering how to handle these repeated requests for funding from community organizations.
While the city has said yes to repeated funding requests from Jammin on Janesville and Muskego Senior Taxi, aldermen are now talking about when to pull the plug—and how to keep the community funding system fair. Aldermen started talking about the issue during Thursday's Committee of the Whole meeting about the 2013 budget, and realized they aren't sure how to handle repeated requests from organizations for city funding. Requests in the 2013 operational budget include $19,000 from the Chamber of Commerce to help support the three events of Jammin' on Janesville, as well as $5,000 for Muskego Senior Taxi. Many aldermen started to question whether these requests should remain separate line items in the budget or if it was time for the city …
Monday, August 27, 2012
An aging controls system that regulates the temperature in the two city buildings has come to the end of its lifespan, and now one has failed, prompting an earlier-than-hoped request to fund replacement.
A visit from George Wolwark, who is Muskego's maintenance man, at the budget meeting on Wednesday wasn't necessarily planned, but deteriorating conditions with the control systems that operate heating and cooling (HVAC) prompted an early request, and it may cost more than $100,000. Wolwark explained that the controls for the library and city hall boilers and chillers are aging, and he had been working on a proposal to anticipate a failure. However, as a failure has already occurred with the library's controls, he told the Committee of the Whole that the request can't wait for 2013. "Right now the library's system, which was installed in 2000, has failed, and it's now running in a default setting," he explained. While it's not 90 degrees …
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Committee of Whole will start scrutinizing capital budget, which begins a long process of reviewing spending requests.
The 2013 budget process for the city starts on Thursday, with a special meeting of the Committee of the Whole reviewing the capital expenditures portion of the budget. Capital projects include the purchase of equipment or property for a future benefit to the city. The committee will meet in the Alderman's room of City Hall at 6 p.m. Additional budget sessions have been scheduled for Wednesday, August 22 and Tuesday, August 28 at 6 p.m. The public is invited to sit in on these sessions.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
The city hopes to help motorists - residents and visitors alike - find their way to parks, schools and other resources, without making the signage itself too confusing.
In one way, it's nice to know Muskego has so many places people would want to go: parks, schools and city services to name a few. However, when driving past a sign pointing to each at 35 to 45 miles per hour, it may get just as frustrating as not having any directions at all. That is the happy medium the Common Council was hoping to reach as it reviewed the proposed signage plan, which will literally point motorists in the right direction. "The feedback we got during the Lake Park debate was that people, even many residents, can't find our parks, so we're hoping to make it easier to get to these places," said Jeff Muenkel, city planner during the Committee of the Whole meeting Tuesday night. However, there was concern about having too much…
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Residents come forward at eleventh hour to halt bidding process for construction of recreational trail, citing concerns over loss of trees and saying the road is too dangerous for anyone to ride bikes, even on an offroad trail.
They've been a part of every road plan, in part to allow residents to ride bikes and walk around the city, however a planned recreation trail to run along Tess Corners Drive has come under fire by residents who feel the loss of trees and the cost isn't warranted. The matter was initially aired as part of a Committee of the Whole meeting last week, and was again discussed Monday Night at the Parks and Recreation Board meeting. The issue puts residents who supported a path because of safety concerns for people wanting to walk or ride along the road against those who feel the path still wouldn't provide safety for bikers or pedestrians. Christine Nelson, a resident who lives on Tess Corners Drive, told the committee on April 10 the path would…
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Noah Fiedler will step down at the end of March from his seat as 7th District alderman.
As city officials start seeking replacement for outgoing Alderman Noah Fiedler, the 7th District representative made it clear that he has truly enjoyed his time in office. Fiedler, who has been on the council for five years, decided to resign from office because of family and work obligations. His resignation is effective at the end of March. Asked if he had any regrets in his time on the council, Fiedler stated almost immediately: "No — there are no regrets that I have. I've loved serving the city, loved my job as alderman." "I can't single any one thing out" he said when asked to cite a particular success. "We've tackled a lot of difficult issues and made a lot of progress. I guess if there was a single accomplishment for the city, I …
Friday, January 13, 2012
A round up of items discussed and decided at Tuesday's meetings includes beverage sales, noise ordinance and whether closed session items are considered part of public portion of meetings.
Here's a summary of the discussion and decisions at the Finance, Committee of the Whole and Common Council meetings on Tuesday night at City Hall.
Less Government
8:33 pm on Wednesday, April 24, 2013
I think technically a common council as well as the mayor are charged with oversight of finances. In our system of government a council approves the budget and the mayor has day to day oversight of the operations of the city government. This sounds like a power grab by some members of the council. more ›