Common Council Special Session - Adoption of 2024 Executive Budget - November 8, 2023
Common Council Special Session - Adoption of 2024 Executive Budget - November 8, 2023
The Appleton Common Council held a special session on November 8, 2023, at 6:00 PM to adopt the 2024 Executive Budget. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Woodford with 14 alderpersons present, 2 excused, and the mayor abstaining from votes. The Council suspended rules to convene as the Committee of the Whole (acting as the Finance Committee) to consider budget amendments and the final budget resolution. After extensive debate on several proposed amendments, the 2024 Budget Resolution was adopted 10-3.
Committee Reports
- All budget items recommended by the Finance Committee from the October 28 Budget Workshop were approved en bloc, covering over 30 departmental and fund budgets including Wastewater, Water, Stormwater, Public Works, Sanitation, Wheel Tax, Subdivision Capital Projects, Parking, Human Resources, Risk Management, Health, Legal Services, Police, Fire, Valley Transit, Community & Economic Development, TIF Districts, Parks and Recreation, Library, Mayor, Council, Debt Service, General Administration, Room Tax, Finance, and various capital projects and special revenue funds.
Discussion Items
- Amendment 23-1362 (Flock Safety Cameras): Split into two parts: (1) Transfer $5,000 from Mayor Training/Conferences to Police for cameras — failed 3-10; a sub-amendment to reduce to $3,000 failed 6-7. (2) Transfer $3,000 from Poet Laureate program to Police for cameras — failed 4-9. Supporters argued cameras provide investigative tools and cost savings; opponents cited lack of identified locations, ongoing lease costs, and community support for the Poet Laureate.
- Amendment 23-1360 (Whitman Yard Waste Site Closure): Proposed $51,500 in savings by closing the site. Failed 1-12. Supporters cited duplication of services and operational savings; opponents noted lack of community input, impact on Grand Chute agreement, and quality-of-life concerns.
- Amendment 23-1361 (Parking Marketing Signage): Reduce allocation from $100,000 to $50,000. Failed 3-10. Proponent argued for a phased approach; opponents preferred starting with full funding.
- Amendment 23-1363 (Sunshine Committee / Council Training): Add $1,115 to HR for Sunshine Committee, reduce Council Training to $1,725 with equitable district caps. Failed 3-10. Debate centered on fairness and training needs.
- Amendment 23-1364 (Special Assessment Rate): Decrease R-1 zoning assessment to 75% to avoid sudden cost increases for homeowners. Failed 3-10. Proponents cited equity for residents in new subdivisions; opponents noted existing inequity with older neighborhoods.
- Amendment 23-1387 (CEA Zero-Turn Mower): Remove $100,600 from CEA for a mower, with proposed reallocation to forestry and parks. Failed 3-10. Staff testified the mower is nearing end-of-life (2,100 hours, 2,500-hour life) and is used year-round for mowing and snow removal; replacement funds had been saved over six years.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of Budget Workshop Minutes: 13-0.
- Report of the Committee of the Whole: Approved 13-0.
- 2024 Budget Resolution: Adopted 10-3, with Alderpersons Del Toro, Hartzheim, and Doran voting nay. The resolution authorizes a general fund levy of $39,131,000, special revenue levy of $2,092,000, issuance of $13,891,662 in general obligation notes/bonds, and $12,865,000 in water/sewer/stormwater revenue bonds.
- Reconsideration Motion: Failed 0-13, finalizing the budget.
- Adjournment: 8:31 PM.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening. I now call to order the Wednesday, November eighth, twenty twenty-three special session of the Appleton Common Council for the adoption of the twenty twenty-four budget. Please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. So we will close public participation and move on to establishing the order of the day. So we come now to item 23-1352. Suspend the rules of council to go into committee of the whole, acting as the finance committee to take up the finance committee budget workshop minutes. Is there a motion? We have a motion and a second to approve. And we're all set to vote. Please cast your votes. This requires a two-thirds vote. All right, the motion passes 13 to 0. The rules have been suspended. And with that, gonna hand it over to the finance committee chair. Good evening, everyone. So without uh any extra delay here, we'll get right into it. We have before us, we'll need a motion on let me bring that up here. All right, we'll need a motion to get the budget on the floor. Sorry. All right, we do have a appears to be a motion and a second. So we'll move right into the submitted amendments. Just a quick reminder that since these are amendments, they can only be amended, they cannot be amended twice. That would be to the fourth degree. So just keep that in mind as we get into the discussion this evening. So we will take up the first amendment on the agenda as it appears, which is 23-1360, which is to remove $5,400 from solid waste collection grass clipping fee revenue for closure of Whitman Yard site, remove $33,772 from solid waste collection salaries for closure of Whitman Yard site, sorry, yard waste site. Remove $13,528 from solid waste collection fringes foreclosure of Whitman Yard Waste site, remove $9,600 from solid waste collection miscellaneous equipment for closure of Whitman Yard Waste site for grand total of $51,500. Oh, sorry, did I miss that one? Okay. I'm sorry. Well, so we will okay. Sorry, we will take them up in order. So give me a little give me a little break here, please. So we'll go with 23-1362, which is the add $8,000 to police other contracts obligations for flock safety cameras. Remove $0.000 from dollars from mayor training slash conferences, remove three thousand dollars from poet laureate program from mayor other contracts obligations. All right, we have a motion and a second. So with this being uh an amendment submitted by Alder Dorn, I will give you the uh option to speak on this verse if you so please. Thank you. Floor is yours, sir. Um I guess first I just want to ask a sort of procedural question then because I had submitted these as two different amendments just on the off chance that maybe our colleagues would be supportive of one and not the other, but it appears here as just one amendment. So I just want to make sure if we're voting on them as one or voting on them separately. Uh they are on the agenda as one item. So at this moment it is as one item. Okay. Um because I had submitted them separately. Is there an option at this point to separate them out then for separate votes? Okay. Okay, I'll just make the motion then to separate, make them separate votes, I guess. All right, so I think it requires a motion. Oh, we don't think it's just a request and all requests. Okay.
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