The agendae for meetings scheduled at City Hall in the coming week demonstrate the vast array of problems addressed by the committees, the Council, and by the staff of the city government.
First the miniscule: there's a fellow in town who wants to become a bartender. I won't mention his name, but it's in the material attached to the agenda of the Public Services & Safety Committee meeting of Feb. 10th. He filled out the city's Application for Beverage Operator's License and submitted it on January 9th.
One of the questions on the application is [emphasis in orginal]: "Have you been convicted of a misdemeanor or ordinance violation with the past five (5) years (e.g., speeding, OWI, disorderly conduct, driving without a license, etc.)?" The applicant answered "No".
Each application for Beverage Operator's license is submitted for a background check. On Jan. 13th, Angela Biebow of the Neenah Police Department wrote to Captain Howard Fuerst recommending that the application be denied since the applicant had been fined within the past five years for possession of drug paraphernalia and for disorderly conduct. The recommendation went through Captain Fuerst's hands as well as those of Lt. Jeff Malcore and Deputy City Clerk, Angie Voldsness.
In a certified letter dated Feb. 4th to the applicant, Ms. Voldsness wrote that the Public Services & Safety Committee might recommend that the Council not approve his application. She invited him to attend the meeting to explain his reasons for failing to disclose the fines.
That's the small stuff. You may think it's beneath notice, but the City Council is required to accept or reject every bartender's license. That's the way our system is set up.
Now, the huge stuff. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has laid out very stringent requirements for municipalities regarding storm water runoff. Neenah has to build a number of storm water retention ponds that help filter out some high percentage of sediment so that it doesn't get into Lake Winnebago or the Fox River. There's a timetable and, if memory serves, 2013 is the drop-dead year for all the ponds to be in place.
Now all this construction of retention ponds must take place without help from the state. You've heard of unfunded federal mandates? Well this is an unfunded state mandate. According to Mayor Scherck, Neenah will have to come up with over $7 million in total to pay for these ponds. There's no option, at present, other than an increase in the tax levy to pay for them. A mandate is a mandate.
So at Monday's Finance and Personnel Committee meeting, they'll consider the Mayor's request for paying a $300 membership fee to a new "unincorporated nonprofit association" of "all communities subject to Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System" regulations. "The purpose of the group is to advocate on storm water issues before the DNR, the Governor's office, and the Wisconsin Legislature." That is, the city will join with other communities to... well "fight the DNR" is a tad too strong. More like band together to state the city's case alongside places like Milwaukee, De Pere, West Bend, and Manitowoc that have already signed on. With a united front a stronger case can be made to the DNR than could be made separately.
I've wondered what the city will do to mitigate the crushing burden of this mandate. Here is a significant step towards relief.
That's what city government is all about: from approving bartenders' licenses to figuring out where to find millions of dollars to satisfy state mandates.