A few items from a long Common Council session — Council chose an appointee to fill the open Aldermanic District 1 seat. After an initial 3-3 vote between Philip Frawley and Tiiu Gray-Fow, Council selected Philip Frawley. The process – as with the one used last December – was a good one. Applications, speaking in…
Local Government
CDA, City, Law, Local Government
The CDA’s Possible Purchase of Hundreds of Acres of Whitewater’s Public Land for a Dollar
by JOHN ADAMS •
Council’s scheduled to address the possibility of selling hundreds of acres of public land to the Community Development Authority for a dollar ($1.00). (It’s Item C-9 on tonight’s agenda.) The proposal’s been kicked around for months, but I’m curious if there’s been any positive headway since an April memo from the CDA’s Patrick Cannon, and…
City, Government Spending, Local Government, Planning
On the East Gate Project
by JOHN ADAMS •
Whitewater’s administration proposes renovating the area on the east side of the city, through which commuters and visitors arrive in Whitewater. I’ve posted on the project before. (See, About that story on Whitewater’s East Gateway Proposal: What’s Missing?) A few remarks: 1. The design is undeniably beautiful. 2. It would have been better to include…
City, Local Government, Politics
About those four (or five) Common Council applicants
by JOHN ADAMS •
Tomorrow night, Whitewater will choose between four (or perhaps five) qualifying applicants for an appointment to an open council seat for Aldermanic District 1. There are two quick points worth making. First, there were five applicants, but only four written submissions received by the clearly-stated deadline. (The fifth application helpfully advised, in the would-be politician’s…
Government Spending, Local Government, Taxes/Taxation
Credibility on Spending
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s much to be said about fiscal policy in Whitewater, and plenty of time to say it. In my previous post, The Crazy-Wrong Argument on Taxes, I addressed the ludicrous & selfish argument that public grants (in this case, for needless parkland purchases) would have no tax impact. Of course they would. Now people are…
Economy, Federal Government, Gluttony, Government Spending, Local Government, State Government, Taxes/Taxation, Walworth County, Wisconsin
The Crazy-Wrong Argument on Taxes
by JOHN ADAMS •
A succinct truth: money doesn’t grow on trees. Local government funds municipal projects in one of three principal ways: through local taxes & fees, local borrowing (debt in the form of bonds), or public money from other jurisdictions (grants from the state or federal government). These grants of state or federal public money are, themselves,…
Government Spending, Local Government, Planning, Press
About that story on Whitewater’s East Gateway Proposal: What’s Missing?
by JOHN ADAMS •
On Tuesday afternoon, Whitewater’s officials held an informational meeting about a proposed public-works beautification project on the east side of the city. It’s not a new idea; those following politics in town for more than a few years would have heard about earlier discussions along these lines. On Wednesday, the Daily Union published a thousand-word…
Anderson, Cartoons & Comics, Government Spending, Local Government, Press
Details
by JOHN ADAMS •
Crime, Daily Adams, Local Government, Official Misconduct, Photography, Police, Technology
Local Policing and Point-of-View Cameras
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a story about my town’s (Whitewater, Wisconsin’s) decision to equip its on-patrol officers with point-of-view cameras. A small video camera will record officer interactions with residents. Reportedly, all interactions will be recorded, and at the end of each shift, officers [will] download all videos into a general file that would get deleted automatically after…
Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Local Government
Part 2: Hey, Walworth County, How About Buying Over-Priced, Half-Unsuitable Parkland with Taxpayer Money!
by JOHN ADAMS •
I posted last week against a proposal for Walworth County to purchase nearly two hundred acres of overpriced, half-unsuitable parkland. Four days later, on Saturday, June 15th, the Janesville Gazette‘s editorialist wrote in support of the proposed purchase. For my original post, see Hey, Walworth County, How About Buying Over-Priced, Half-Unsuitable Parkland with Taxpayer Money!…
Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Local Government, Official Misconduct, State Government, University
The Disgrace that is the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
by JOHN ADAMS •
Sometimes one would prefer to be wrong, rather than right. The waste, errors, exaggerations, and lies of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation are such a case: Madison — Three Senate Democrats asked Wednesday [6.12] for a criminal investigation of Gov. Scott Walker’s signature job creation agency. The request comes after an audit last month found…
Business, Law, Local Government, Official Misconduct, Open Government
How Local Government Has It Easier Than Yelp
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yelp may be a popular website for positing restaurant (and other) reviews, but it has a controversy on its hands. Some businesses are complaining about Yelp’s practice of hiding some reviews behind a link (that is, where one has to click the link to see all posted reviews). Some restaurateurs contend that Yelp hides favorable…
City, Local Government, Politics
More about ‘Scenes from Whitewater’s Failing Drug War’
by JOHN ADAMS •
I’ve had both emails and a conversation with a journalist about yesterday’s post, Scenes from Whitewater’s Failing Drug War. I’ll summarize some of the topics of those messages and my replies. Shouldn’t the UW-Whitewater chancellor receive deference? I’m not sure what to make of this. It’s all-too-clear that Chancellor Telfer receives ample deference, and from…
Local Government, Open Government, Press, Public Records
Biting the Hand That Fed Him
by JOHN ADAMS •
Janesville City Manager Eric Levitt has decamped to Simi Valley, California. Readers will recall that Mr. Levitt touted the supposed benefits of a Generac-supporting ‘Innovation Express’ bus costing hundreds of thousands in public money. He kindly visited Whitewater last budget season to ask Whitewater taxpayers to kick in for a private company’s needs. (See, Whitewater’s…