Good morning.
Whitewater’s Tuesday forecast calls for a mostly cloudy day, with high temperature of fifty-four degrees.
There are two principal public meetings scheduled for Whitewater today. At 4:15 PM, there will be a meeting of Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission. Later, at 6:30 PM, there will be a meeting of Whitewater’s Common Council. The Common Council agenda is available online.
Much of the Council sessions over these coming weeks will address Whitewater’s 2012 municipal budget. A copy of the budget proposal is online.
I’ve commented on past budgets and budget processes, and this year will be no different. Expect from a few a reflexive defense of whatever this municipal administration proposes, as though every word were etched in stone at Sinai. Even before deliberations begin, there will be a rush to crow about how skillfully prepared the budget is, how strong is the condition of our small city, and how right is everything in town.
It’s false, as anyone who lives here knows. Demonstrating as much is the least a sensible person could do. Conditions will not be made better by pretending all is well.
It’s not well, for so very many people here.
There’s a context to this, and so an order: what matters most, conditions as they are, and what should be done about them. There’s plenty of time to make that case.
There may be a context to our conditions, but some things – and some animals – start out fresh. (There’s my poor effort at a transition.) Here, via the Huffington Post, something delightful: