Good evening.

I now call to order the public hearing on the proposed 2026 Executive Budget and Service Plan for the Abilene Common Council.

Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

Roll call of Alders.

All are represented with the exception of Alder Persons Heffernan and Jones who are excused and Alder Persons Wolf and Sansel Martin.

Okay.

Roll call of officers and department heads.

All are represented.

Right.

The only item on this agenda is our public hearing.

This is 25 1342 public hearing on the 2026 proposed executive budget and service plan.

And this being a public hearing, a little different than public participation during council meetings.

I'm at a little bit more open.

We do have a sign-up sheet, so we'll take uh we'll take folks in the order they signed up, but uh, if you didn't have a chance to sign up, that's perfectly okay.

This is a public hearing.

So with that, we'll begin with Janice Quinlan.

Welcome.

Hello everyone.

I'm Janice Quinlan, 322 South Court in Appleton.

For many years, the League of Women Voters of Appleton Fox Cities has observed the city's budget process and spoken at these public hearings.

Our statements cover issues the league has studied and where we have reached consensus on the common good for Appleton's residents.

We support an open and transparent budget process.

Thank you to Mayor Woodford for your budget listening sessions and for online public access to all budget documents and alder person questions.

Special thanks to those alder persons who send out regular newsletters by email.

We subscribe to a few of these, and they provide us with timely information and background on city issues at budget time and throughout the year.

We commend the city for its plan to quickly replace the many ash trees lost to the Emerald Ash Borer, and the goal to plant a diversity of species as a protective factor in our urban forest.

Appleton's long-term flood mitigation program helps us prepare for heavy rainfalls such as we received in the spring of 2024.

Higher stormwater standards for development for developers is another measure of our better preparation for these events.

Demonstrated by our emerging leaf vacuuming program.

Grant programs, along with intergovernmental and nonprofit cooperation, are addressing our housing shortage in a variety of ways.

The complete street program creates a consistent framework for future street policies, while traffic calming retrofits provide safety for pedestrians and bicyclists.

The comprehensive plan process gave citizens many opportunities to be involved.

And the new avenue project includes East Central Regional Planning Commission, Audogamy County, and the Town of Grand Chute.

We support mass transit and regional transit organizations.

Valley Transit is an efficient way to provide transportation for those who need it.

While sharing costs with state and federal governments and other municipalities, we anxiously await the promised federal grant for the new Transit Center in downtown Appleton.

We support investments in energy efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles, such as the hybrid and EV cars and clean diesel heavy-duty trucks purchased by central agency.

We support public libraries as essential services.

Congratulations to Appleton and specifically Appleton Public Library for its well-deserved honor as the 2025 Wisconsin Library of the Year.

Our residents' heavy use of our new library demonstrates how essential our public library is to all levels of our community.

We support initiatives by the human resource department to attract and retain quality workers.

These include the Thrive Leadership Academy, programs for high potential employee leaders, wellness programs such as the Connecting Care Clinic, and ongoing employee recognition programs.

Overall, we are impressed with the expertise and professionalism demonstrated throughout the budget review sessions by our city's highly competent staff.

At a time when all levels of government are under fire.

Observing our city of Appleton budget gives us confidence in our local leadership.

We greatly appreciate the due diligence of common council members in their preparation for budget discussions.

And Mayor Woodford and city staff for crafting a budget that holds taxes in check while continuing to deliver quality services.

Considering inflation, we know that means doing more with less.

Appleton is a great place to work and live thanks to all of your work.

Thank you.

Next is Bob Molleter.

Good evening.

Thank you for allowing me to speak.

My name is Bob Molliter.

No relation to Amy for what that's worth to my knowledge, but maybe she got me any.

But I reside at 14 Lawrence Court downtown overlooking Jones Park, so you can probably know where the subject matter is going to be where I'm going to discuss.

It is a subject matter that I do feel that deals with the budget.

Okay, and that is the loud noise and the speeding that is consistently occurring in downtown Appleton.

I can't overemphasize the problems we're having with that.

I applaud the mayor for recently recognizing this as an issue that must be addressed.