These last few months, beginning in September, Whitewater’s Planning Commission has heard, and subsequently considered, a proposal for an urban (backyard) chicken ordinance. The proposal is not mine; I have been a mere observer of this effort. One may write about a topic, but only after months of careful observation, as in this case. I…
Local Government
Business, City, Food, Liberty, Local Government
The Game of Thrones Food Trucks
by JOHN ADAMS •
The Institute of Justice, the nation’s leading libertarian public interest law firm, asks a question about Chicago that would be as fitting of other cities’ regulators: Should the city of Chicago be in the business of protecting a few politically connected restaurateurs from competition? That is the question to be answered by a major lawsuit…
City, Government Spending, Local Government, Planning
Starting Backwards
by JOHN ADAMS •
Local governments find themselves, time and again, surprised when projects don’t go to plan. They’re often surprised when the politics of a project don’t go to plan. That surprise may have a hundred causes, but I’d guess one is among the most common: that plans advance not on their merits, but through ill-considered deals between…
City, Corporate Welfare, Government Spending, Local Government, Taxes/Taxation
The City of Whitewater’s 2013 Draft Budget: Crony Capitalism
by JOHN ADAMS •
So a multi-billion-dollar corporation (market cap $1.77 billion) wants thousands of taxpayer-dollars from a small city to fund a bus the corporation uses to shuttle her workers to and from other towns where they actually live. The city being imposed upon is Whitewater, Wisconsin, a tiny municipality, like many others, struggling just to balance her annual operating budget. Whitewater’s situation involves juggling to find ways…
City, Government Spending, Local Government
The City of Whitewater’s 2013 Draft Budget (Overview)
by JOHN ADAMS •
It’s budget season for the City of Whitewater, running into November, and in this post I’ll offer a few overview remarks. Subsequent posts will consider aspects of the budget in greater detail. The City of Whitewater’s Budget, not Whitewater, Wisconsin’s Budget. A bit of perspective — something lacking in past years — is in order.…
City, Economy, Local Government
Differing Accounts
by JOHN ADAMS •
From the Janesville Gazette, June 5, 2012: Brunner credits team effort for successes at Whitewater. From the Daily Union, August 22, 2012: Whitewater council mulls dismal budget assumptions. One might try to reconcile these accounts, of course, but the effort would be pointless. The former’s just an odd history, an ill-timed goodbye gift to Whitewater’s…
Freedom of Speech, Law, Local Government, New Media
First Amendment and Social Media in Federal Lawsuit Against City of Honolulu, Local Police
by JOHN ADAMS •
There’s a case in Hawaii, in federal court, that may limit a city’s restrictions on municipal webpages and social media. If municipal agencies establish Facebook or other social media pages, can they censor critical comments from among all other comments? That’s the question before the court in Hawaii, about the comments policy of the Honolulu…
Law, Liberty, Local Government, Open Government
Chetek, WI bans open public comments from council meetings
by JOHN ADAMS •
The elected representatives of Chetek, WI would rather their constituents ask permission to speak openly to those they’ve elected: Mum is the word in a local community after the mayor removes people’s ability to come into city council meetings and openly speak their minds. If residents of Chetek have something to say at city council…
America, Liberty, Local Government
The Municipal War Against…Vegetable Gardens
by JOHN ADAMS •
In America, and places beyond, homeowners’ vegetable gardens have become a target of municipal officials. They’re beautiful, offer fresh food, conserve water, and are peaceful uses of homeowners’ private property: yet for it all, vegetable gardens still offend officials’ laughable sense of what’s appropriate. That appropriateness in this case is little more than a dull…
City, Development, Green Energy Holdings, Local Government, Open Government
An Open Letter to the Interim City Manager on a Proposal between Whitewater and Green Energy Holdings
by JOHN ADAMS •
Good afternoon. Here’s a post to follow previous ones on this website, and a story today in the Janesville Gazette, about a proposal between the City of Whitewater and Green Energy Holdings for a waste digester. The project has been touted as a large one, but large claims for municipal projects require substantial justification. In…
Local Government, New Media, Open Government, Press
The Collapse of Serious Local News
by JOHN ADAMS •
When even a news outsourcing firm’s criticism of local journalism has a sad ring of truth, one can see how far newspapers have fallen. It’s also why bloggers and other citizen journalists now fill a role that some newspapers have abandoned. Journatic is a company that provides supposedly local stories to the American media, and…
City, Development, Government Spending, Green Energy Holdings, Local Government, Open Government, Press
Questions for the Press about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings
by JOHN ADAMS •
This week, I’ve posted a series of general questions about a proposed deal with Green Energy Holdings for a waste digester. See, Preliminary & General Questions about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings and Questions for the CDA about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings. (For a comprehensive list of all posts about this proposal,…
CDA, City, Development, Green Energy Holdings, Law, Local Government
Questions for the CDA about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings
by JOHN ADAMS •
Yesterday, I posted a series of general questions about a proposed deal with Green Energy Holdings for a waste digester. See, Preliminary & General Questions about a Proposal with Green Energy Holdings. (For all posts about this deal, I’ve a designated category.) Today, here are questions specific to the Whitewater Community Development Authority’s role in…
City, Local Government, Open Government
Top-Secret, Ultra Hush-Hush Quadruped Directive No. 17
by JOHN ADAMS •
The best approach for announcements in public policy & administration is a simple memo to the community. Open government is not only better in principle, it’s better in practice. Consider two ways to discuss an event. Let’s suppose the City of Whitewater’s municipal administration decides to erect a statue near Cravath Lake in honor of…