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.