Common Council Update for Week of October 28

The week of the fifth Wednesday of the month is normally an off week for the Appleton Common Council, but this week we'll hold one of the most important meetings of the year:

Finance Committee, Saturday, 8 am

The city's all-day review session for the 2020 budget is scheduled for this Saturday from 8 am until (typically) sometime in the late afternoon. At this meeting we'll have an opportunity to go department by department through the budget for the year ahead and members of the Finance Committee will have their first opportunity to propose amendments.

This year I wrapped up my initial review of the budget on October 21 and pre-submitted 71 questions to the mayor, directors and department heads. This week I'll work my way through those responses and prepare any follow-up questions I need to ask on Saturday.

From there, the budget schedule is as follows:

• Wednesday, November 6, 6 pm - The 2020 Budget Public Hearing
• Thursday, November 7 - Proposed budget amendments due to Finance Department
• Wednesday, November 13, 6 pm - 2020 Budget final deliberations and adoption.

You can see all of this week's meeting agendas and the full schedule at the city's Legistar page.

Keeping you informed on issues that may impact you around the city is one of my primary goals as an alderman. Good governance happens in the open, and I remain committed to raising awareness on the issues coming before us.

Common Council update for week of October 14

It's a busy time of year for the Appleton Common Council. In addition to our regular meeting schedule (and we have special committee meetings at 6:30 and 6:45 before a full council meeting this Wednesday at 7), here's what I'm working on:

2020 Budget Review

Two weeks ago members of the Common Council received our copies of the city's 2020 budget, a 675-page document outlining plans for our general fund, capital, utility and enterprise fund plans for the year ahead. I'm about halfway through my review at this point. Here's the schedule of upcoming budget-related events:

• Over the next few weeks individual departments' budgets will be on the agenda as informational items at their committees of jurisdiction for questions and discussion.
• The Finance Committee will meet all day on Saturday, November 2 to go department by department through the budget to make recommendations to the full council.
• On Wednesday, November 6 at 6 pm council will hold a public hearing on the budget to allow members of the public to speak on it.
• On Wednesday, November 13 council will make final decisions on any proposed budget amendments and adopt the final document.

Board of Review

This year for the first time I am a member of the city's Board of Review, the body tasked with deciding any appeals related to this year's property assessments. The board is scheduled to meet all day on Thursday and on Friday if necessary, and many members (including me) also participated in a recent half-day training to understand the rules and procedures.

Community Development Block Grants

Once I've completed my review of the budget I'll move over to reviewing hundreds of pages of documents submitted as part of applications for the non-governmental portion of the city's Community Development Block Grant funds. The Advisory Committee tasked with recommending a distribution of those funds will meet  for a half day on Tuesday, October 29 to compare notes on applications and put together a plan that meets the federal guidelines for distribution of these funds.

That recommendation will come before the Community and Economic Development Committee and full council in November.

You can see all of this week's meeting agendas and the full schedule at the city's Legistar page.

Keeping you informed on issues that may impact you around the city is one of my primary goals as an alderman. Good governance happens in the open, and I remain committed to raising awareness on the issues coming before us.