Category Archives: City Council

by | December 10, 2014 · 10:07 pm

Help Shape The Future Of Downtown South Milwaukee

Wanted: Lovers of downtown South Milwaukee, and its promising future.

The city is now accepting applications for membership on the new Downtown Advisory Committee, which will act as a key advisory group to the Plan Commission and city council as we shape the future of our city center.

The group will have nine members in all, with at least four of them being downtown business or property owners. I will personally nominate those members for consideration by the full common council. A plan commissioner will also be part of the committee, as will an aldermanic representative.

There will also be four citizen members. Want to be one of them? Please fill out this application. (You’ll recall that we instituted an application process for membership on our boards and commissions when I took office in April.)

This is an important committee, one that will play a major role in the development of our downtown plan and provide a necessary voice as we make some key decisions in the months and years ahead.

I love downtown South Milwaukee, and am bullish on its future. I hope you are too — and that you will consider being a part of the debate. We need passionate people to get in the game and continue our downtown momentum.

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by | December 9, 2014 · 10:51 pm

Listening To The Public On St. Adalbert

On Tuesday, we held the formal public hearing on the proposed Gorman & Co. development at St. Adalbert’s — and I want to thank everyone who spoke up to ensure their voices were heard on the issue.

This is democracy in action.

The common council heard dozens of comments over two-plus hours, some opposed, some in favor. The hearing stayed civil throughout, and I appreciate that. The crowd of close to 200 respected the ground rules, and I think that led to a better hearing.

One key point made the meeting: Gorman is offering to reduce the number of units in its proposed development from 37 to 31. A letter indicating that was read into the record.

Next up: The city council is expected to consider the rezoning proposal at its next meeting, Dec. 16 at City Hall. I’ll keep you posted.

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by | November 26, 2014 · 4:04 pm

A Focus On Economic Development

Economic development in South Milwaukee took two big steps forward Tuesday, with the City Council backing two key measures.

First, the council approved the hiring of an economic development coordinator for 2015. This 20-hour-per-week position will be a single point of contact when it comes to attracting and retaining business in South Milwaukee.

Marketing, relationship building, connecting business owners with assistance programs, ensuring proper procedures are being followed for opening a new business, coordinating our downtown efforts … all of these duties and more will be the responsibility of this critical new hire.

We’ll be posting the description soon. Stay tuned.

The council also approved the formation of a downtown advisory committee — another key part of our work in revitalizing our city center. This will be a nine-person committee that advises the Plan Commission and ultimately the council on issues related to downtown. It will be a key player in developing the downtown plan we’ll be embarking on in early 2015, but also regularly surface other ideas and issues related to our central business district.

The voice of business will be key here — the committee will include at least four downtown business/property owners, by design. There will also be four at-large members … and they’ll be asked to apply to be part of this group. It will be a brief application, but doing it this way will allow us to find people with the passion and skills necessary to lead this important effort. Stay tuned.

Here is the description of the committee.

Thanks for your continued support as we continue to drive economic development in South Milwaukee. I hope you’re as excited as I am about the progress we’re making.

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by | November 25, 2014 · 7:30 pm

Dollars And Sense: City Council Passes 2015 Budget

The South Milwaukee City Council unanimously passed the 2015 budget Tuesday night … one that maintains our first-class services while providing needed investments in some key areas to better our city.

You can see the document here. Some highlights …

  • The city tax levy is budgeted to fall 4.96% to just over $10 million, due primarily to the shift of fire hydrant maintenance fees from the property tax to a fee on property owners’ water bills. You can learn more about that decision here.
  • Tax rates are also decreasing, from $8.85 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in 2013 to $8.41 per $1,000 in 2014. This is the city tax rate only.
  • Revenues are budgeted to increase 5.95% to more than $9.3 million, again primarily due to the hydrant fee shift.
  • Expenditures are budgeted to increase 0.8% to $18.7 million.

Obviously, there is a lot more detail behind all of this, and I share a lot of those details in my previous post.

In the end, I am proud of this first budget — proud of the investments it makes in our people, services and promising future. We are spending wisely to grow our city, and stepping up our game in key areas like economic development, downtown planning, urban forestry and human resources.

And we’re just getting started.

On, South Milwaukee!

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by | November 6, 2014 · 7:07 pm

Public Hearing On Proposed St. Adalbert’s Development Set For Dec. 9

The South Milwaukee City Council voted tonight to schedule a public hearing on the proposed Gorman & Co. development at the former St. Adalbert’s site.

The hearing was set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at City Hall.

This will be an official opportunity for the public to be heard — in front of the city council — on this issue. A vote up or down on the project will then be held at a future meeting. I’ll keep you posted.

You can find more information on the development on the city website.

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by | October 23, 2014 · 8:37 pm

Council Roundup: Potential New Police Labor Deal And More

News and notes from Tuesday’s meeting, in addition to the South Milwaukee Pink Day activities …

  • Police deal. The council voted to approve a new three-year labor agreement with the South Milwaukee Professional Police Association Local 201. The deal — which would run from Jan. 1, 2015, through Dec. 31, 2017 — includes a 2% pay raise each year over the life of the contract and other minor changes from the current deal. The union still must ratify the deal.
  • Downtown Committee. The council also discussed a proposal to form downtown advisory committee and referred the matter back to the Legislation & Permits Committee to work out more details and draft an ordinance, likely for action at our Nov. 25 meeting. I brought this proposal forward as another opportunity to drive downtown redevelopment. This committee — which I propose to be a mix of business/property owners and residents — would be out front in helping develop our downtown plan while also regularly advising the council, administration and others on issues related to our city center. More to come soon on this, the downtown plan and the hiring of an economic development to assist in all of this … and stay tuned for opportunities for you to get involved! I’m excited about where we’re headed in downtown South Milwaukee. I hope you are too.
  • New police captain. I want to congratulate Peter Jaske, who has been named a new South Milwaukee police captain by the Police and Fire Commission. The council recognized the promotion Tuesday night. Jaske, who previously was a lieutenant, replaces Terry Olson, who has retired.
  • Eagle Scout. We honored another Eagle Scout, Joel Dereszynski. I congratulate this fellow (soon to be) St. Thomas More graduate and am happy to recognize his accomplishments. Here is the proclamation we gave Joel.

The council next meets Nov. 25 to consider the 2015 budget. The budget will be published next week — look for a post on the budget in coming days — with a public hearing scheduled for Nov. 24.

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by | October 8, 2014 · 10:10 pm

Council Roundup: Oct. 7, 2014

Quick roundup from Tuesday’s South Milwaukee City Council meeting …

  • The South Milwaukee Police Department formally received its WILEAG accreditation, as I wrote about.
  • The council accepted, with regrets, the retirement of South Milwaukee Police Capt. Terry Olson, a 29-year veteran of the department. Wrote Capt. Olson in his note to the council: “I can only hope that the contributions I have made during my career were enough to justify the bounty that I have received.” His contributions were significant, he will be missed.
  • The council also voted to increase recycling fees by 5% both in 2015 and 2016. By doing this, we expect will be able to fully fund the program without requiring the use of budget fund balance come 2016. With the changes, the annual recycling fee will be $53.04 per single family residence in 2015, plus a $4.41 hazardous waste disposal fee per dwelling per year. Those fees move to $55.69 and $4.66 per year, respectively, in 2016.
  • The council also voted to change City Hall hours, effective Feb. 9, 2015 — following the end of the initial tax collection season. The new hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a half-hour lunch for employees. Hours are currently 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with an hour lunch for employees. We believe the earlier start will better serve residents.

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by | September 21, 2014 · 2:58 pm

Council Roundup: Dispatch Investment, St. Adalbert’s Development, School Proclamation

From Tuesday’s South Milwaukee City Council meeting …

  • The council agreed to keep our police and fire dispatch services in-house — and invest what could be more than $400,000 on new dispatch equipment in coming months. This was a decision a long time in coming, and it’s one I know the council (and the city administrator and me) did not take lightly. I generally support exploring consolidation and contracting as options for select city services — I think you have to in this era of lean budgets — and we certainly did our homework in this case. But you need a willing partner in discussions about sharing services, and we had trouble finding one. Meanwhile, risks increased with our outdated equipment coming to the end of its useful life. So we decided to invest in what we’re doing in South Milwaukee. And now that we’re committed to providing this service long-term, it’s up to us to find ways to enhance it where and when possible. We will try our hardest to do that.
  • We also heard a few details about a development proposed for the former St. Adalbert’s school, gymnasium, church and rectory. Gorman & Co. is proposing 31 apartments for the existing buildings, to be funded in part with historic building tax credits from the state. Formal plans will be presented before the Plan Commission at our meeting Monday (tomorrow), with plans for a public information meeting and formal public hearing in the days and weeks after that. I’ll keep you posted.
  • We also gave a proclamation to the South Milwaukee School District, for their AdvancED accreditation. Congratulations again to the district for this terrific honor.

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by | September 3, 2014 · 10:49 pm

City Council Roundup: Pay Increase, Burger King, Fire Hydrants

Additional news and notes from Tuesday’s South Milwaukee City Council meeting …

  • The council gave final passage to a $50 monthly pay raise spread over the next three years. It would take effect after the April 2015 election. The vote was 7-0, with one abstaining.
  • The council also voted 7-1 to give final approval to the Burger King restaurant proposed for the Walmart outlot on North Chicago Avenue. Construction is expected to begin this fall, with an opening yet this winter. I welcome Burger King to town.

The council also approved a shift in how we handle the “fire hydrant rental fee.”

Fire hydrants cost money to maintain, and we have traditionally put that cost on the tax levy. In an era of strict levy limits, that has been a burden on our city budget, as these costs increase. (For example, between 2009 and 2011, the actual expense for hydrant rental went up by more than $160,000, so our budgets had to reflect this increase – and the increase over the levy limit had to be absorbed in other parts of the budget.)

Going forward, these fees will shift from the levy and be added as a fee on your water bill.

What does this mean for you? The average homeowners will now see a fee which is estimated to be $26.12 each trimester ($78.36 annually) on their water bill, with the rate set on the size of their water meters. The fee is actually smaller than what homeowners are currently paying through the levy. That can happen because nonprofits — exempt from property taxes — will now begin paying this fee, thus “spreading out” this cost across more entities, similar to how we handle other water and wastewater fees.

While I recognize the added burden this will place on nonprofits, I support this shift from levy to fee as a more sustainable approach for our budget. Shifting this expense to the water/wastewater bill does mean the 2015 levy will have to decrease by the same amount (more than $600,000). But by moving the hydrant rental fee now, the levy reduction will be based on the current year’s hydrant expense … avoiding the impact of future water rate increases.

The Public Service Commission will determine the exact rate to be charged for each meter size in the coming months. And I’ll keep you posted.

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by | September 1, 2014 · 8:19 pm

Sharing Perspectives: Joint School Board, City Council Meeting Set For Wednesday

As mayor, I want to work closely to build on our already strong partnership with the South Milwaukee School District.

That’s why I’m glad to report that the South Milwaukee School Board and City Council are holding a joint meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, at the district office.

The meeting actually begins with the district’s annual budget meeting, where they set their tax levy. (I’m looking forward to seeing what one of these meetings looks like.) Then we’ll meet together to talk about our budgets, construction and development updates and potential areas of collaboration.

Here is the formal agenda. I hope you can attend.

It only makes sense for our two governmental bodies to work together where we can. We are already doing that, and this is another example of that commitment.

(And a special thanks to Superintendent Rita Olson and School Board President Patricia Bordak for their work in organizing this. They brought forward the idea, and I’m happy we can make it happen.)

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by | August 27, 2014 · 10:39 pm

Council Backs Aldermanic Pay Raise

South Milwaukee alderpersons would see a $50 monthly pay raise spread over the next three years under an ordinance change under consideration.

Common council members are currently paid a base salary of $525 per month, with the council president making $575. They also receive $100 per month for expenses.

Under the ordinance passed 7-1 (with one alderperson abstaining) at the Aug.  19 meeting …

  • The base salary and stipend would be combined into one salary figure.
  • Starting April 1, 2015, that salary would be $655 per month ($705 for the council president).
  • One year later, it would move to $665 per month ($715 for the council president).
  • Then, in 2017, it would increase to $675 per month ($725 for the council president).

So it’s a $50 increase spread over three years.

This is the first increase in council pay since 2009. Before that, the last increase was in 2001.

And while I would have likely voted against it as an alderman — I’m not convinced this is the right time for a pay raise — it’s a reasonable compromise from what was first proposed at our July meeting.

The aldermanic raise still needs final passage before it becomes law. It got its first reading and passage at the Aug. 12 council meeting. It will be discussed again at Tuesday’s council meeting before potentially getting its second and third readings.

(By the way, mayoral pay is $925 per month, and the expense allowance is $125.)

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by | July 7, 2014 · 5:09 pm

Council Update: Investing In Infrastructure

Recapping last Monday’s special South Milwaukee City Council meeting, primarily held to ensure two late-filing local bars get their liquor licenses in time to stay open effective July 1 … which they did.

Topping the agenda was approval by the council to move ahead with significant road projects, including …

  • Advertising for bids for reconstruction of 17th Avenue between Milwaukee and Rawson later this summer.
  • Spending more than $485,000 for various asphalt pavement repairs. In all, at least 59 areas throughout the city were identified as needing repair, some with longstanding issues and some due to the terrible winter. About 25 of the repair areas are “frost boils,” while the others are deteriorated asphalt.
  • The council also voted to spend $93,350 to synchronize the traffic lights on Rawson Avenue, which is great news for people (like me) who drive this road often. A federal grant is covering $57,000 of the construction costs.

The council also gave final approval to an ordinance banning rummage sales downtown — on Milwaukee Avenue between Ninth and 13th and 10th Avenue between Rawson and Marquette.

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by | July 2, 2014 · 10:43 pm

Up For A Nice Walk Through Town?

Here’s a good opportunity to get a weekly walk in this summer …

Alderpersons Lisa Pieper and Joe Bukowski are leading a series of walks from City Hall to the South Milwaukee Downtown Market each Thursday starting July 17. Meet at City Hall at 6 p.m.

Here is the flyer.

Thanks to Alderwoman Pieper for leading this initiative and for the support of the South Milwaukee Fire and Health Departments in making it happen!

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by | June 19, 2014 · 7:47 am

Busy Council Meeting On Tuesday … Including Dealing With Downtown Rummage

News and notes from Tuesday’s South Milwaukee City Council meeting …

First, on rummage sales in front of downtown stores. I think they cheapen the look of our (and any) downtown — and I’ve seen too many in the past year. I can think of at least five different commercial storefronts that have “hosted” rummage sales since last summer.

With that in mind, I asked the city attorney to draft an ordinance specifically banning these, and the council gave initial passage to one Tuesday. Simply, if it receives final passage at our July meeting, no rummage sales will be allowed along Milwaukee Avenue between 9th and 13th and 10th Avenue between Rawson and Marquette.

This does not ban sidewalk sales, or existing businesses putting select items outside their store to catch the eye of potential customers. The ordinance specifically allows that. What it does it keep store owners and others from selling their junk outside their business.

I think that’s a small win for downtown, something we can do as we begin the discussion (and action) around the big ideas and solutions we need for our city center. That is coming soon.

Among other actions taking by the council Tuesday …

  • The council approved several new mayoral appointments. Welcome on board Tim Talaska, Jenn Medved and Heather Page, and welcome back Pat Bordak. Thanks for your willingness to step up and provide your passion, energy and ideas to these boards and commissions.
  • The council also recognized the hiring of three new firefighters, including Captain Brad Sibley, Lt. Kurt Egner (promoted from within) and firefighter Tyler Anders.
  • The council has approved a variety of liquor licenses at recent meetings. Tuesday’s batch included one for the former Bully’s liquor store at 1232 Milwaukee Ave. Bully’s has been closed for months and I’m told will reopen soon.
  • Our next regularly scheduled council meeting is at 7 p.m. July 15. We are also holding a special “call” meeting to approve a couple liquor licenses, among other issues, at 6 p.m. June 30.

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by | June 15, 2014 · 10:21 pm

Bringing New Faces, New Ideas To Our Boards And Commissions

Tuesday night, I’ll be nominating four residents to serve on our volunteer boards and commissions — talented people who are willing to sacrifice their time to use their talents and passions to make South Milwaukee a better place.

And I thank them for it. They are:

  • Police and Fire Commission: Heather Page
  • Library Board: Pat Bordak (who is being reappointed) and Jenn Medved
  • Traffic Commission: Tim Talaska

Do you want to serve on a board or commission? I’d love to hear from you. As I’ve written about, I’ve “opened up” this process to encourage people to apply for these important roles vs. seeking people from my circle of friends, colleagues and acquaintances — a decision that is already paying off.

There are openings on our boards and commissions throughout the year, so apply now, and we’ll keep your application on file.

Learn more, and get an application, here.

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