We’re in a transition in Whitewater, from one political culture to another. Years are yet to go in this metamorphosis, but signs of that transition are all round. Old Whitewater (a group, not a person; a state of mind, not a chronological age) is still on its feet, but it’s more stumbling than walking.

Reactionary Messaging —

Let’s suppose that a city administration proposes (and a city council approves) money to subsidize a multi-billion-dollar corporation’s employee bus route. That city would be Whitewater, that corporation Generac.

After spending money like this, Old Whitewater did what it often does: simply describe the mistake in less embarrassing terms. Instead of the Generac Bus, one was supposed to call it the Innovation Express. The idea, of course, was that the bus was not merely, in effect, a gift to one business.

But this declining faction cannot even stick to a flimsy re-naming effort. Only a few weeks after the introduction of the new name, here was a published update in a weekly report admitting who’s really calling the shots:

“I had the opportunity to talk to Generac officials today and they are very pleased with the progress of the Innovation Express to date.”

Oh, brother! Imagine not being able to speak consistently with the talking point’s of one’s own creation. Naming a bus with a term that’s meant to show independence from a single corporation doesn’t work if one shows that the corporation’s opinion is the one that truly matters, as a first resort.

There’s Old Whitewater: less interested in being right than in grabbing at anything in a futile attempt to look right. It’s a mental tic – and shoddy policy — to grasp for support from any institutional authority one can find to justify a poor proposal. It’s a contradictory message, in this instance, too.

At least you know — it’s still really the Generac Bus.

Whitewater’s Common Council met Tuesday, and among the topics, there was a discussion of whether to publicize delinquent taxpayers’ debts, and whether to modify parking restrictions in the downtown. (All of the Council were at the session.)

The agenda for the meeting is available online.

Publicizing Taxpayers’ Unpaid Personal-Property Taxes.

Many cities publish lists like this, and the best place would be the Web (rather than a print publication like Whitewater Register). It must true that the City of Whitewater’s website gets more visitors than the Register has subscribers – it’s probably not even close.

Downtown Parking on Saturdays.

The discussion concerned the request of some downtown merchants who wanted less restrictive Saturday parking (so patrons could enjoy a longer stay), as against the opinion of others preferring a two-hour Main Street limit (to spur parking turnover in front of stores).

Patrons coming outside to find tickets on their cars, after dining at a restaurant or bar, are understandably irritated at a surcharge on their spending.

A few points seem reasonable:

(1) Employee parking. No employee should be parking his or her vehicle at an empty spot on Main Street during a work shift. Any employer who lets this happen has no respect for his or her own interest. If a car in one of these spots is an employee’s car, that’s one too many.

That’s true now under the practical restriction of a two-hour limit, but it would be as true with unlimited parking – employees and owners should never take the prime spots.

(Employees and owners shouldn’t be smoking out front, either – that’s an activity for an alley behind one’s shop. Merchants who let employees smoke out front have insufficient respect for their customers.)

(2) Enforcement of parking violations. Enforcement that that affects businesses but involves no personal harm should be done with discretion. Revenue-collection for parking tickets during peak Saturday game times is simply counter-productive. Community Service Officers should exercise discretion by forbearance.

Ticketing during these times doesn’t make the city more orderly – it just angers patrons and turns them into former patrons.

(3) Merchant solidarity. Merchants should be trying to hang together on these questions, and if they cannot, they should at least be together to discuss their concerns. All the downtown merchants should be talking with each other about these topics.

By the way, a landlord who has a vacant store and an empty storefront has one thing too many. You’ll not sell space by leaving the space wholly empty. Empty storefronts, like empty shelves, have the look of failure that keeps customers and tenants away. If you’re not decorating the storefront (with something more than a FOR SALE sign and the faded lettering of the last tenant’s logo), you’re inhibiting your success and making the place look like a rat’s nest, both.

(4) Merchandising, chamber lobbying, enforcement, sanitation. These are separate roles.

There were lots of smart people taking part in this council discussion. This city and her merchants should come to a satisfactory arrangement. A fair amount of time went into this, but that’s for the best.

We could stand more discussions about actual business conditions for merchants in the city.