Conflict over Common Council Agenda

Conflict Over Common Council Agenda Items 

The Whitewater Common Council meeting Tuesday night began with unrest amongst the council members. 

Council member James Allen had complaints about the agenda. 

Allen said that he had made several requests for items to be added at the end of the previous meeting. However, the items allegedly requested were not added to the agenda.

“(It’s) sad and ironic, almost shameful,” Allen said.

In accordance with the Transparency Ordinance, all items to be discussed at Common Council meetings must be posted on the agenda 24 hours prior to the meeting. 

However, the council does have the authority to vote items into the agenda during the meeting if they are deemed to be of high urgency.

Council President Lynn Binnie asked if the matters Allen wanted added could wait until the next meeting. Allen said that the issue of missing items was, “not a matter of urgency. It’s a matter of asking three or four times.”

The council voted in favor of adding all four items on Tuesday.

Added to the agenda was an opportunity to discuss concerns with code enforcement training in the city. Allen’s main concern was the lack of training being given to neighborhood service officers. 

Allen expressed disappointment in the fact this item has not been addressed at an earlier meeting. He claimed City Manager Cameron Clapper had promised this to be addressed one year ago.

The item had not been addressed on any agenda in the last year. 

Clapper apologized and said this item would be a priority for him. He said that he had been working quietly on this project with the neighborhood service director and will come to the next meeting with more material on what has been done. 

The council will draft a letter to Spectrum internet to receive a component needed to better stream meetings to the public. 

Citizens who wish to not attend the meeting in person can watch it through their cable at home. However, there is a component missing that must come from Spectrum to ensure a quality stream. 

Allen said that Whitewater is not the only affected city and others throughout the area have the same problem with the company. 

Ironically, Allen requested for the council to follow the Transparency Act more closely as it is “ignored more often than not” in previous meetings. 

He said he has noticed on multiple occasions city hall staff members are staying late to finish their work. Allen blamed city staff for the errors in the agenda, believing they hadn’t gotten their work to the city clerk on time. 

Clapper acknowledged he was aware employees staying late.

“There are other elements at play here for why staff stays late to finish,” Clapper said. 

Whitewater hopes to launch a Youth Build Program. 

The program takes high school students and teaches them the skills to assist in building homes for their community. It provides students an opportunity to learn trade skills and opens alternate career paths for students who do not which to go to college. 

The council is concerned that the program may take students away from Whitewater public schools. The city receives state funds for every student that is enrolled in the district.

Allen requested that the council hold an open discussion for the public to discuss their concerns on local development projects. No date has been set for this discussion.

Also on Tuesday:

• The council approved waiving the cost analysis and appraisal fee for the LS Power facility.
• The council did not approve a roof replacement for the wastewater treatment plant and bidding on the project will be made public. 

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