Holy (whatever), this is one huge mess this week. There are 4 meetings in legistar without agendas, 2 committees show up in legistar and aren’t on the weekly schedule and of the meetings that are scheduled 5 are in the middle of the day. No meeting on Tuesday for the election. Don’t forget to vote!

Via Forward Lookout | City Week Ahead

Government Spending, Local Government

Incentives in conditions of supposedly high demand

Still, it’s pretty much a circus monkey ransom note from folks who want to soothe our pain of having nearly zero vacant industrial space by giving them free land and cash to build industrial space that would attract tenants so quickly, they’ll notice we have “nearly zero” vacant class “A” industrial space just in time again for the next ransom note demanding more free land and money to build class “A” industrial space …despite high demand for it. Ad nauseam.

Via Janesville Industrial Space: Demand So High, Developers Need “Incentives” From Government To Build Supply @ Rock Netroots.

Victory Over City Hall

Score one for the “little guy”, as this week a Winnebago County Judge rules against the City of Oshkosh in its lawsuit against the founder of the Downtown Pub Crawl. The judge found that Joe Kubiak–the man that drama queen Mayor Steve Cummings once claimed was “holding the city hostage”–is not responsible for securing a special event permit or paying the fee for that permit. It ends a nearly two-year legal battle between the two sides–that only added more to the taxpayers’ expense.

My Two Cents: Who Says You Can’t Fight City Hall?

Law, Local Government, Newspapers, Open Government, Public Records, State Government, Wisconsin

Public Records Requests Are A Right, Not a Gift

So a local paper complains that a local school superintendent won’t comply with a public records request, won’t put the paper on a media contact list, and simply ‘must’ improve communications.

A few points –

1. Compliance with a public records request isn’t a ‘communications’ issue; it’s a legal issue, of rights of residents under Wisconsin law….

Via 4 Points About Public Records Requests @ FREE WHITEWATER.

Link

(Previously) secret meeting –

The Pope told Kim Davis to “stay strong” @ Althouse.

Business, Government Spending, Local Government, Press, Taxes, WEDC

Janesville Gazette Distorts meaning of Tax Incremental Financing

First of all, TIF districts were not designed or intended to be used by municipalities to “acquire” property or weaponized to allow private parties to acquire property through government force or below market value. But apparently, according to the newspaper’s new definition, that is how a TIF District works. The part about “charging” the cost of common areas and infrastructure to the district IS how it is supposed to be, but ironically, that’s not how the TIF works for Dollar General.

Via Local Tools Rework TIF Districts Into Tax Exempt Districts For the Oligarchs @ Rock Netroots.

Federal Government, Immigration, Local Government, Madison

Madison’s No Sanctuary

Homelessness, Local Government, Madison, Poverty

Homeless Madisonians v. Paul Soglin

Homelessness, Local Government, Madison, Poverty

Rousting the homeless

The Downtown Pedestrian Protection Ordinance would impose a time limit of one hour on the use of public benches and prohibits sitting, lying or lodging on public sidewalks and right-of-ways during most hours of the day. That prohibition would run from 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. for any city office properties, and from 5:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. for the rest of the downtown.

Madison Police would be required to give a verbal warning to anyone violating the ordinance, but after that violators would be subject to a fine of $100 for a first offense and $250 for a second or subsequent offense within one year of the first.

Via Mayor Soglin proposes sweeping ordinance aimed at homeless population.

Animals, Local Government, Regulations

When kangaroos are outlawed, only outlaws will have kangaroos

“Beaver Dam Common Council approved an amendment to the municipal code that redefines a service animal as a dog or miniature horse and not a kangaroo.”

Via Kangaroos out as service animals @ wiscnews.com.

Local Government, Misconduct, Police

Mothers of Homicide Victims Welcome Review of Beloit Police

WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and Sports

Local Government, Misconduct, Police

What Led to Beloit Police Leaders’ Suspension?

Local Government, State Government, WISGOP

Local control fades

“Republicans hate one-size-fits-all laws that take local control away, right? Nope! Remember when Republican Sen. Tom Tiffany tried to take away local control from communities effected by sand mining? It follows a pattern; they did that with billboards, cell towers, water quality in Dane County, and paid sick leave. So why not mines? Despite being…

Local Government, Madison, Poverty

Madison struggles with homelessness

“Remember the classic wooden benches in the lobby of the City-County Building? A grace note for the tired-of-foot taxpayer? Gone down the memory hole. Victim of Madison’s dominant political culture, its subservience to the Cult of Victimhood. Madison’s dominant political culture cannot bring itself to evict the vagrants befouling the seat of local government, so…

Local Government, Nannyism, Regulations

Local Gov’t Thinks Big

City leaders in La Crosse are considering whether to make it illegal to have upholstered furniture outside. #news3 http://t.co/SE4P9MFHtq — WISCTV News 3 (@WISCTV_News3) June 4, 2015

Local Government, Madison

Working Conditions

There has been no shortage of news stories over the months about the unsanitary conditions, the verbal abuse, drug abuse, and even sexual acts taking place among some of the homeless at the city-county building. As a result more than 190 employees from multiple city and county agencies in the building signed a strongly worded…