The Whitewater Common Council met on Tuesday, 4.20.21.
The recording of the meeting is embedded above. The amended agenda for the meeting is available.
A few remarks on selected items of the agenda —
1. Council Officers. Council re-elected unanimously Lynn Binnie as council president and Jim Allen as president pro tempore. (Video, 04:00.)
2. Council Members on Boards & Commissions. (Video, 19:20.) Council members will serve for 2021-2022 on several boards or commissions:
Alcohol & Licensing: Gregory Majkrzak, Carol McCormick, Matthew Schulgit
CDA: Jim Allen, Lisa Dawsey Smith
Landmarks: Matthew Schulgit
Library Board: Brienne Brown
Parks & Recreation: Carol McCormick
Planning: Lynn Binnie (regular)Brienne Brown (alternate)
Birge Fountain: Jim Allen
Board of Review: Lynn Binnie, Jim Allen, Matthew Schulgit, Gregory Majkrzak
Tech Park Board: Brienne Brown
Fire & Rescue: Lisa Dawsey Smith
Public Works: Jim Allen, Matthew Schulgit, Carol McCormick
Finance: Lynn Binnie, Gregory Majkrzak, Lisa Dawsey Smith
Community Involvement: Lisa Dawsey Smith
Equal Opportunities Commission: Brienne Brown, Lynn Binnie
3. Neighborhood Services. Whitewater has a new Neighborhood Services director, Chris Bennett, having started in that position in late March. (Video, 23:00.)
4. Whitewater Police Department Liaison. Through Walworth County, the department now has an embedded Community Crisis Liaison, Amanda Akridge. (Video, 27:20.)
5. Tax Incremental District 4 Closed. (Video, 44:20.)
6. Community Participation. Whitewater’s city manager and council recommended residents to serve on municipal boards and commissions, and the council approved those recommendations without discussion. (Video, 44:50.)
7. Asides.
Government officials exercise authority not only by law but also through community influence. As Whitewater has become increasingly fragmented (see The Subcultural City), community influence is harder to exercise. Many residents likely don’t know the names of their council members, biennial listings on a ballot notwithstanding.
Only if controversial issues flare will some council members or board members become familiar to their constituents. In that circumstance, a person’s role and title won’t matter nearly so much as his or her ability to navigate the controversy of the moment. Don’t you know who I am? means almost nothing as against let me show you how I address these problems.
It wasn’t always this way in Whitewater; it’s this way now.
Whitewater’s discussion of tax incremental districts won’t be meaningful; the city already plans new districts.
Whitewater’s council may again meet in person in June. (Video, 57:10.) Whatever value meeting in-person may have had as an expression of solidarity with frontline workers has long since passed. This municipal council, and the school district’s board, have lagged trends elsewhere.