I receive a steady volume of email, only a portion of which I post. I respond to other messages privately. Sometimes, I’ve received messages that dislike the tone of FREE WHITEWATER. The concerns usually fall into two categories: (1) the tone is too critical, and (2) more people would read FREE WHITEWATER if the tone…
City
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Hirings without Oversight?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Under the Wisconsin Statutes that provide for the scope and authority of a Police and Fire Commission, there is a requirement that the Board Shall Approve a Department’s Subordinates. “The chiefs shall appoint subordinates subject to approval by the board.” 62.13(4)(a) A review of the minutes of our Whitewater PFC reveals that citizen approval of…
City, Development, Economy, Free Markets
Student Housing in Whitewater
by JOHN ADAMS •
Readers of FREE WHITEWATER know that I have been opposed to a restrictive, anti-market approach to student housing. Whitewater’s leading critic of student-rental housing is dentist-politician Dr. Roy Nosek. Nosek has mentioned, more than once, that student housing is a ‘death-knell’ for a neighborhood. Recently, I offered three posts critiquing Nosek’s understanding of basic market…
City, Fire Dept
Police and Fire Commission?
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Citizen Complaints
by JOHN ADAMS •
One measures the strength and honesty of an organization not merely by what it asserts, but by its willingness to allow others to test its assertions, so that it might be open to better practices. It is in this way that the lack of an authentic, accountable citizen complaint process illustrates so much of what…
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Performance Generally
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the fifth post in my series on the Whitewater Police and Fire Commission. The first post was an introduction to the series, and the second post cited the authority of our PFC under Wisconsin law. The third post suggested reasonable standards for Whitewater’s PFC. The fourth post discussed meeting minutes. Let’s consider PFC…
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Minutes
by JOHN ADAMS •
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Reasonable Standards
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the third post in my series on the Whitewater Police and Fire Commission. The first post was an introduction to the series, and the second post cited the authority of our PFC under Wisconsin law. In this post, I will suggest reasonable standards for Whitewater’s PFC. Every reasonable person can agree on a…
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Importance and Authority.
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the second post in my series on the Whitewater Police and Fire Commission. The first part was an introduction to the series. In this post, I will outline the powers of our Police and Fire Commission (PFC) under Wisconsin law. The PFC is a legally-authorized and required commission under our law. It both…
City, Police
Police and Fire Commission: Introduction
by JOHN ADAMS •
Readers know that I am a critic of the Whitewater Police Department, and its chief, Jim Coan. In this series, I will consider our Police Commission, and its role — by law and practice — in overseeing the Whitewater Police Department. My views on the city are those of a libertarian, and libertarian thinking informs…
City, Development, Free Markets
Planning Commission Meeting for December 10, 2007 (Part 2)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This post is part two of my coverage of the December 10th Planning Commission meeting. I posted Part 1 earlier. Residential Space on the First Floor of a Downtown Building. A prior Planning Commission session debated, and the Commission rejected, two residential units for the first floor of the old Hallmark store building on Main…
City, Development, Free Markets
Planning Commission Meeting for December 10, 2007 (Part 1)
by JOHN ADAMS •
Two items stood out for me from the December 10th meeting: (1) a discussion of a sign for a downtown restaurant, and (2) a request of an owner to rent a first floor apartment in the back of the old Hallmark store location. I’ve mentioned before that while one’s opinions should not change from forum…
City
Common Council Meeting for December 4, 2007
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ll make two quick comments on the Common Council meeting for December 4th, 2007. First, there’s a serious point to be made about how tax incremental financing is less advantageous and riskier than appears. That’s not apparent until years after a district is established. Tax incremental financing — old or new — should be a…
City, Development
Planning Commission/Architectural Review Board for November 26, 2007
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ll catch up on my coverage of the Planning Commission with a post on its November 26th meeting. One topic stood out: should the Planning Commission meet once or twice a month? Under the rules of the Planning Commission, the chairman can make that decision, but he sensibly allowed it to be a board decision.…