On Tuesday, October 1, 2019, the Whitewater Common Council held their first meeting of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the Whitewater Municipal Building. The Common Council meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month to discuss ongoing projects around the city and upcoming events. The main topic discussed for this meeting was the budget for 2020 led by City Manager, Cameron Clapper.

Clapper began the presentation by stating the process of the budget approval. The budget delivery was presented during the meeting and the next step is to have the Finance Committee review it between October 10-24. Then the final presentation of the budget is brought to the Common Council on November 5 and if it is approved it will be brought to Public Hearing and Adaptation. This process goes through multiple people to make sure that the budget is in reasonable range. Clapper states in the beginning of his presentation, “Budget becomes a comprehensive document that becomes a valuable resource for the company.”

While reviewing the budget, it is shown that the budget for 2020 will be $9.8 million. This is a 2.5% increase compared to last years budget. With this increased budget, residents will have to pay more for their taxes due to the decrease of intergovernment revenues. Clapper explained, “Property taxes and intergovernment revenue is where we draw funds. Intergovernment revenue is beginning to get smaller.” The City of Whitewater is shifting their funds, which results in asking the residents for more and more.

The Common Council does have some goals related to this budget for the upcoming year. They are going to have debt management by limiting the annual Capital financing to an amount less than or equal to the value of debt principal retirement. They will also set aside 1% of the General Fund operating budget each year for contingencies. With these goals, they will create a balanced fund for the city.

In the 2020 budget, the residents will expect a 4% increase in Health Insurance along with an increase in wages. Clapper stated at the end of his presentation, “We are right on with the average risk in claims, 48% more likely to be in workers compensations.”

With the budget, the Common Council also had a few concerns during the meeting. They are concerned because there are limited funding sources as well as the limited fund balances. They are also concerned with the long term infrastructure needs around the city. Clapper stated, “We try to apply the revenues we receive to fund for specific purposes.” They have projects around the city that they are in the process of fixing up, so when they have funds they apply them to what needs to be worked on in specific areas.

Besides the budget, Matthew Sylvester-Knutson and Mark Elworthy presented a discussion about dissolving the Palmyra Eagle Area School District (PEASD). This operating referendum was on the April 2019 ballot but did not pass due to only 39% approving the move. The project will have to go through many people to get approval and if it gets approved to dissolve, changes would be effective July 2020.

The Common Council discussed a few more spending items at the end of the meeting. This included:

  • Walworth Avenue and Court Street Inlet
  • Amphitheater Installation
  • Clay Street Reconstruction
  • Uninterruptible Power Supply Replacement
  • Public Works Facility Study

These projects were moved at the meeting and will soon be put into motion.

For more information about Whitewater Common Council and their meetings visit https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/308/Common-Council.