Stephanie Abbott

By JAMES KATES / Capstone Managing Editor

The Whitewater Common Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution decrying the effect of Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget cuts on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Walker proposes cutting $300 million from the UW System over the 2015-2017 biennium. UW-Whitewater would take a hit of $6.4 million to $8 million in each of those two years, said Councilmember Lynn Binnie, who co-sponsored the resolution with Councilmember Ken Kidd.

UWW is a “significant driver of economic development” and supports the “cultural climate” of Whitewater, Binnie said.

Kidd acknowledged that the council has no official say over the state budget, which must be approved by the Legislature before taking effect July 1.

“We understand that this is a symbolic gesture, but maybe if there are enough gestures of this type, we can reach critical mass,” Kidd said.

Councilmember Stephanie Abbott, who is active in Republican politics, expressed fears that the budget cuts would be a “huge hit” for the campus and said she hoped a more moderate approach would prevail.

Abbott, a UW-Whitewater graduate, credited the university for “much of what I am and have become.”

City Manager Cameron Clapper told the council that UW-Whitewater could “in theory” make up its budget shortfall by raising tuition $5,000 a year for all out-of-state students. UWW has a large number of students from Illinois.

However, there would certainly be “a drop in students coming from out of state” if the university raised tuition drastically, Clapper said. Also, a freeze on in-state tuition is likely to continue, further squeezing the UWW budget.

Regarding K-12 education, Clapper expressed disappointment that the budget would eliminate $150 per student in “categorical aid,” resulting in a $290,000 hit for the Whitewater Unified School District in the coming school year.

Meanwhile, Clapper told the council that Walker’s budget would have less drastic effects on the city’s finances. He expressed concern about a proposed moratorium on the state’s stewardship grant program, which supports land purchases by government and improvements to parks and recreation areas.

The budget would centralize property-tax assessment throughout the state by having assessments done by each county, rather than by cities, village and towns. Clapper said “open book” proceedings, which are informal reviews of disputed assessment values, still would be conducted locally.

Clapper and Common Council President Patrick Singer were in Madison on Wednesday to lobby for a “Partnership for Prosperity” sponsored by the League of Wisconsin Municipalities.

Municipalities have been stressed by state-imposed levy limits designed to hold down property taxes. The league’s plan calls for new state funding for job creation, levy limits indexed to inflation rather than just new construction, and increased transportation aids.

In other action Tuesday, the council:

• Approved an agreement allowing the Wisconsin Independent Network to use city-owned conduits along Main Street for fiber-optic cable.
• Endorsed a pact with UW-Whitewater to give the university access to the city’s emergency operations center in the event of a devastating emergency that required university police to relocate off campus.
• Approved a $20,000 contract with Strand Associates to oversee design and construction of an improved handicap-access ramp at the downtown armory. The current ramp does not meet the requirements of the Americans With Disabilities Act. The armory stairs also would be repaired. The entire project is expected to cost about $100,000.

By JAMES KATES / Capstone Managing Editor

City Manager Cameron Clapper delivered a lean 2015 budget to the Whitewater Common Council on Tuesday, with the draft document calling for a spending increase of just over 1 percent.

Clapper’s budget would spend $9,472,401 to fund city operations ranging from law enforcement to parks and recreation. About a third of that money would come from property taxes, with rest coming from state shared revenue, fines and fees, and other sources.

The budget must be reviewed and approved by the Common Council. Meetings are set for Oct. 21 and 28, Nov. 6 and Nov. 11. The budget is expected to gain final approval at the council’s regular meeting on Nov. 18 after a public hearing.

The property-tax levy for operations will rise just over 1 percent to $2,499,974. Under state law, the operations levy for 2015 can rise by no more than the amount of net new construction in the city for 2014.

The tax levy for debt service will rise by $28,222, to $571,760.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, whose campus is exempt from property taxes, will help out the city in other ways. The university will pay the city $169,553 in 2015 to participate in a police dispatch system that allows data to be shared quickly among city police, campus police and area sheriff’s departments.

UWW also will pay $361,850 to compensate the city for services delivered to the campus. This amount is up $5,905 from 2014.

The budget sets aside $87,000 for possible employee raises next year. Any raises will be distributed after a wage study is completed, Clapper said.

In his budget document, the city manager thanked department heads for their “diligent efforts” to maintain “very modest and responsible” spending plans for 2015.

The city budget, along with budgets for water service and water-treatment facilities, is available at the city’s Web site, www.whitewater-wi.gov, under the Finance Department tab.

In other business Tuesday, the council:

• Received a report on the Police Department’s new Cadet Program. Officer Jim Elder said the department will recruit 12 cadets from UW-Whitewater and other area schools to learn about law enforcement.

The volunteer cadets will assist with traffic control, ride along with officers and receive training in police procedures.

Elder said 26 criminal-justice students had applied so far for the 12 positions.

“This program will help us recruit some good candidates for officers,” Elder told the council. “It will allow these people to get exposure to the law-enforcement profession before they go to the police academy.”

• Heard from two top officials of the Whitewater Unified School District urging voter approval of a spending referendum Nov. 4.

District Administrator Eric Ruñez and Business Manager Nathan Jaeger noted that the referendum, if approved, would not affect the current tax levy for schools. The proposal would raise $1.2 million a year for four years, but it would replace a $600,000 operating referendum and a $600,000 project levy that are both expiring.

Spending by the district has leveled off since 2010, and employees are paying more toward health care and pensions. Money from the referendum would provide stable class sizes, student support services, new technology and maintenance, the WUSD officials said.

• Gave preliminary approval to a tree-cutting ordinance from Councilmember Ken Kidd.

The ordinance allows the city to maintain trees on private property that may pose hazards to other property or public property. Kidd said the ordinance is necessary because trees damaged by the emerald ash borer can quickly become brittle and dangerous when they die. The invasive pest has only recently been found in the area but may pose a significant threat in the near future, city officials say.

By JAMES KATES / Capstone political editor

Construction will start soon on Jefferson County’s new highway shop, but it may take a while to determine just how “green” the new facility will be.

The county’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved the first contract for the new shop, a $1.2 million deal with Miron Construction for precast concrete.

This amount was about $205,000 less than expected, which will free up money for other parts of the project, board Chairman John Molinaro said.

The board will receive more details from construction manager Maas Bros. next month, with the total cost of the facility currently estimated at $13.8 million, Molinaro said. The shop, which would include offices, garages, repair bays and storage sheds, will be built at the site of the now-demolished old Countryside Home on County Highway W in Jefferson.

Also on Tuesday, board members killed a resolution that would have instructed the county to investigate the possibility of using geothermal heating and cooling at the shop.

The move came after preliminary estimates showed that a geothermal system would take 66 years to pay for itself. The cost of having a consultant gauge the technology’s workability alone would be $30,000, Molinaro said.

Geothermal systems use piping and ductwork to tap into underground temperatures, making buildings warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

“We do have to look at green energy. That being said, geothermal does not make sense,” Supervisor Dick Schultz said.

In place of the geothermal plan, the board OK’d an amendment by Supervisor Jim Schroeder to have the Infrastructure Committee look further into energy-saving ideas for the shop.

Schroeder said any fixes would involve “retrofitting” the shop at a future date and would not delay the start of construction this summer. For now, heating would rely on natural gas and cooling on electricity.

County Administrator Ben Wehmeier told supervisors that contractors would deliver a “punch list” of energy-saving features already included in the plans when more bids are delivered to the County Board in April.

Even Supervisor Greg David, the board’s most outspoken proponent of sustainability, agreed that geothermal energy was not workable for the highway shop. Still, “to just slap some money down and take natural gas is a huge mistake,” he said.

David asked the board to consider options such as generating gas from biomass, which could provide “local sovereignty” and “keep those energy expenditures right here in Jefferson County” by using crops such as switchgrass.

Supervisor Dwayne Morris cautioned that the board had to keep “both science and taxpayer money in mind,” instead of approving any new technology before its costs are known.

Deputies’ contract approved

In other action Tuesday, supervisors approved a new three-year contract with LAW Local 102, the union representing sheriff’s deputies.

The pact will boost wages by 2.5 percent retroactive from the end of 2013, by 2.5 percent at the end of 2014, and by 3 percent at the end of 2015.

However, the contract will boost deputies’ required contributions into the Wisconsin Retirement System beginning in mid-2014. By mid-2016, deputies will be paying the same share into retirement as other public employees in Wisconsin.

Law enforcement is exempt from Wisconsin Act 10, the controversial law that eliminated public union bargaining rights and required employees to contribute about half of their pension investments from their paychecks.

Molinaro said the union had shown a “positive attitude” by recognizing fiscal realities, which allowed the deputies and the county to reach an agreement without arbitration.

Also on Tuesday:

—  The board approved the purchase of a property at 211 E. Washington St. for an estimated $112,000. A house on the lot will be demolished, and 12 new parking spaces will be created between two existing county lots.

—  County Clerk Barb Frank told supervisors that new voting machines known as ES&S Model DS200 would be deployed at polling places around the county in time for the April 1 election. The “user-friendly” machines have voters fill in ovals on their ballots, Frank said.

—  County Treasurer John Jensen told the board that tax delinquencies are down slightly, “which is a small sign that things are headed in the right direction” for the local economy.

—  The board extended its thanks to three supervisors – Sarah Bregant, Greg Torres and Pam Rogers – who will not be seeking re-election on April 1.

All 30 county supervisors will be on the ballot April 1. In addition to the three who are departing, six will face challengers. The board will meet at 5 p.m. on April 15, at which time new members will be sworn in and leadership elected.

By JAMES KATES / Capstone Managing Editor

The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a property-tax levy of $25.1 million and moved the county closer to construction of a new Highway Department shop.

The levy was approved as proposed by the County Board’s Finance Committee, after supervisors rejected several amendments that would have cut spending, mostly on parks projects.

The countywide tax rate for 2014 will be 4.2655 mills, meaning the owner of a home assessed at $100,000 will pay $426.55 in county property taxes.

Some residents will pay slightly more for library and health services that are provided and billed only in some communities. Including those charges, the levy will be just over $27 million.

Supervisors on Tuesday also approved initial stages of bonding for the new Highway Department shop, which will replace the landlocked facility south of Puerner Street in Jefferson. Total project costs, including construction of two satellite facilities, are expected to exceed $17 million.

The new highway shop will be built on the site of the old Countryside Home on County Highway W on the southwest side of Jefferson. It will include garages, repair facilities, salt storage, a truck wash and offices.

County Board Chairman John Molinaro said demolition of the old Countryside Home would be finished by January.

After several years of debate, the new highway shop is “pretty much a done deal,” he said. The county will begin issuing bonds next month and will hire a construction supervisor to oversee the project, he said.

Most amendments rejected

Supervisors approved one budget amendment, for $1 million in additional bonding for the highway-shop project. This provision will allow the county to pay itself back for costs of demolishing the old Countryside Home. That money will then be used to tear down the old highway shop on Puerner Street. That site will be sold.

Otherwise, all the amendments weighed Tuesday were rejected. The board voted down a proposal by Supervisor Jim Schroeder to authorize $3 million in extra bonding authority for construction of a Waterloo-to-Oconomowoc bicycle trail. The trail, as yet unapproved, would cost $15 million, $12 million of which could be paid by state and federal grants.

Supervisor Richard Jones, chairman of the Finance Committee, said the bike trail was a worthy project, but he argued against weighing down the highway-shop bond issue with unrelated spending.

Supervisor George Jaeckel proposed cutting $55,000 from the Parks Department budget — $40,000 for a ski-trail groomer and $15,000 for a utility vehicle. He proposed shifting the money to the Sheriff’s Department. That plan, too, was rejected by the board.

Supervisor Greg Torres brought forth four amendments: to defund the farmland preservation program ($85,000); to eliminate a proposed $10,000 disc-golf course at Carlin Weld Park; to remove $45,000 in spending for parks equipment; and to eliminate construction of a $13,000 well at Garman Nature Preserve in Waterloo.

“If we’re truly in the dire straits that we’re told we’re in,” the money allotted to those items should be put in the general fund instead, Torres said.

Supervisor Glen Borland, chairman of the Parks Committee, said the county should be striving to increase the variety of recreational opportunity in the parks, especially for young people.

“Kids can only run the trails and look around for so long before they start looking for something else to do,” Borland said. He and other supervisors said parks were an asset for economic development.

The board rejected all of Torres’ amendments, with Torres himself voting against his own amendment on the Garman Nature Preserve well after hearing arguments on why the well was needed.

Limits on tax levy

Under state law, the county is allowed to increase its levy by no more than the value of new construction over the past year. For Jefferson County, this amount for the new budget was just 0.6 percent, or $155,000.

Molinaro said it was becoming increasingly difficult to live within the levy limit.

“We’re at the mercy of inflation like everyone else,” he said. Already, the county has had to cut back on maintenance projects such as highway resurfacing, which will have to be dealt with in the long run, he added.

Jefferson County employs more than 550 people. Its major services include the Sheriff’s Department and jail, health and social services, road construction and maintenance, administration of the courts, and parks.

Overall county spending in the 2014 budget is $84.3 million, including the bond issue for the highway shop. In addition to the tax levy, county government is funded by the county sales tax of 0.5 percent, fees, fines, and state and federal money.

By JAMES KATES, Capstone Managing Editor

Water – purifying it, conserving it and preventing it from going where it shouldn’t – dominated the agenda for the Whitewater Common Council on Tuesday.

The council agreed to request a quote from engineering firm Strand Associates to do a stormwater mitigation study. The action follows a string of complaints from Whitewater residents about flooded streets and basements after heavy rains.

Some residents “are having significant flooding in their basements on a regular basis,” said Councilmember Lynn Binnie, who added that Woodland Drive in his west-side district is a major problem area.

Streets Superintendent Chuck Nass agreed that Woodland Drive is “one of the worst areas in the city” and also cited flooding around the Home Lumber Co. on the city’s south side.

Law may be inadequate

Nass said the city’s ordinance governing stormwater abatement for new construction may need to be tightened.

Builders are obeying the existing law, but larger pipes and culverts are needed to clear away water, he said.

In a related action, the council also reminded citizens that smoke testing of city sewers would begin next Monday.

Workers will pump non-toxic, odor-free synthetic smoke into the sewers. The testing will occur on the west side of the city in an area bounded by Peninsula Lane on the north and Walworth Avenue on the south.

The test will indicate where water is entering the system where it shouldn’t – for example, from sump-pump drains or gutter downspouts. Too much water from improper sources can overload the sewers and – in the worst case – force an illegal discharge of untreated sewage into creeks during heavy rains.

Smoke should appear during the test only from vent stacks. Anyone noticing smoke from other sources is asked to call the city.

Before the tests, “Folks are urged to pour water down drains they don’t ordinarily use,” such as basement floor drains, to fill the trap and prevent smoke from entering, City Manager Cameron Clapper said.

Software can monitor usage

In a high-tech twist on the water issue, the council approved a $500 contract with H2Oscore for software to monitor water usage.

The software will allow any city water customer to view an Internet “dashboard” tracking their water use, said McGee Young, a Marquette University political science professor who developed the program. Use is voluntary.

Young and faculty from several other schools, including UW-Whitewater, have been refining the software for more than a year. It is already in place in Milwaukee, Waukesha and Grafton.

“This shows how we can build stronger communities by promoting sustainability,” Young said.

In other action Tuesday, the council:

• Heard from Clapper about development of the city budget, which takes effect Jan. 1.

Clapper estimated the valuation of properties in Whitewater for tax purposes at $625.8 million for the coming year, up 1.3 percent. City financial analyst Molly Parrish also told the council that a five-year slide in property values appeared to be leveling off.

Nonetheless, Clapper said the city is relying too much on state shared revenue, because state law limits the city from raising property taxes any more than the rate of new construction.

State and federal money accounts for two-thirds of Whitewater’s spending, and overall city spending in inflation-adjusted dollars is less than it was in 2003, Parrish said.

Parrish’s full analysis is available on the city Web site, under the “Finance” tab.

Clapper will deliver a proposed budget to the Common Council on Oct. 1, and the goal is to approve the plan on Nov. 19 after several meetings.

• Approved a letter of intent with Trane Inc. to have the company audit the city’s heating, ventilating and air-conditioning operations and serve as a contractor for new systems that would save energy.
• Voted to eliminate four 15-minute parking spaces, two on either side of First Street just south of Main Street, making them regular two-hour spaces instead.
•  Approved the transfer of a Class B liquor license at the Downstairs Sports Bar and Grill, 204 W. Main St., to Semavi Vedziovski, doing business as Day N Nite Inc.

By JAMES KATES, Capstone Managing Editor

A grass-roots campaign to limit political spending won solid backing Tuesday in non-binding referendums in Whitewater and Fort Atkinson.

Ballot questions sponsored by a group called Move to Amend were approved by an overwhelming majority of voters. The tally in Whitewater was 1,013-198; the result in Fort Atkinson was 1,312-395.

The referendums recommend amending the U.S. Constitution in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, that removed limits on corporate and labor spending in elections.

In a hotly debated 5-4 ruling in 2010, the court said the First Amendment barred any limits to independent spending in support of candidates. The result was to open the floodgates for special-interest money that supported candidates outside their regular campaign organizations.

The Move to Amend proposal declares that corporations are not people and as such do not have constitutional rights. It also says money is not speech.

Tuesday’s votes demonstrate “the overwhelming support that citizens have for a constitutional amendment to return control of the democracy to the citizens,” said Dan Fary of the Town of Oakland, who coordinated the Fort Atkinson campaign.

James Hartwick, a UW-Whitewater professor, said the numbers indicated “the strong bipartisan support to get big money out of elections.”

Move to Amend affiliates in Wisconsin hope to hold more referendums and eventually persuade the Wisconsin Legislature to approve a resolution of support for the initiative.

Amending the Constitution is not easy, however. An amendment must be approved by a two-thirds vote of both the U.S. House and Senate, then ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states.

Only 27 constitutional amendments, including the 10 that make up the Bill of Rights, have been approved since the Constitution was written in 1787. The most recent, ratified in 1992, specified that passage of any law on congressional pay would not take effect until the next term of Congress.

While admitting that Whitewater’s resolution was only “symbolic,” Hartwick told UWW students in February that the vote could lead to real action.

“As individuals you can do what you want” to promote candidates, Hartwick said. “But what we’re saying is money is not speech, and it can be regulated.”

He added: “The system is not broken. It’s fixed.”

Move to Amend, which claims a membership of nearly 250,000 people, says on its Web site that local affiliates sponsored referendums in more than 150 communities across the nation during last November’s election. Voters approved all of them.

Opponents say Move to Amend’s strategy is counterproductive, even if its aims are laudable. In The New Republic, commentator Mark Schmitt dismissed talk of amending the Constitution as “distracting mischief.” The “corporations” that would be denied speech rights would include advocacy groups of every stripe, from the National Rifle Association to the American Federation of Teachers.

The American Civil Liberties Union has broken with most other liberal political organizations by opposing the amendment. The ACLU “does not support campaign finance regulation premised on the notion that the answer to money in politics is to ban political speech,” the organization says.

A proposed constitutional amendment based on Move to Amend’s campaign has been introduced in Congress but has not been acted upon.

John Molinaro

Wow, this is water.

By JAMES KATES, Bugle Managing Editor

The Jefferson County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously endorsed a plan to build a new Wisconsin College of Osteopathic Medicine on the site of the former St. Coletta School for the disabled in Jefferson.

The college, which would occupy about 20 acres of the site now known as Sanctuary Ridge, would be “a huge boost to the Jefferson County economy,” board Chairman John Molinaro said.

Gregg Silberg, a osteopathic physician who is leading the effort, told supervisors that osteopaths are well-positioned to fill the need for primary care in rural and underserved communities.

“We know for sure we’re coming to Jefferson,” Silberg said, adding that college officials hope to enroll the first class in the fall of 2015.

Role of osteopaths

Osteopaths diagnose illness and prescribe drugs just as medical doctors do, but they employ a “hands-on” method that emphasizes holistic wellness, Silberg said.

Wisconsin needs about a thousand new physicians every year, 80 percent of those in primary care, he said. Students at the new college will do two years of study on campus, then fan out around the state for two years of clinical training.

If the college can draw students from Wisconsin, then have them do residencies in the state, about 90 percent of them will stay in Wisconsin, Silberg said.

Molinaro emphasized that the county will help with logistics but is not able to provide financial support for the college. The City of Jefferson has pledged $500,000 toward site development, which it hopes to recoup later through property-tax payments.

Interim administrator named

In another matter, the board named Kathi Cauley as interim county administrator beginning April 1. She will fill in for Gary Petre, who is retiring after more than seven years in the job.

Cauley will serve as the county’s top non-elected official while continuing in her post as director of human services.

The board has launched a search for a new county administrator with the help of a professional consulting firm. Supervisors hope to name a new administrator by the end of May, Molinaro said.

In other action Tuesday:

• Supervisors delayed the purchase of the old Countryside Home property as a site for a new county highway shop.

The county sold its former nursing home along County Highway W several years ago to a private developer for $500,000. Development efforts failed, and the abandoned property is now owned by the Bank of McFarland.

Pressured by federal regulators to liquidate bad debt, the bank offered to sell the site to the county for $200,000. The county agreed, provided that all asbestos was removed from the building. The bank said it spent $330,000 doing that.

Recent inspections have indicated that more asbestos may be located in a tunnel beneath the building. Further asbestos removal may cost as much as $150,000, Molinaro said.

The county needs a clearer picture before it buys and demolishes the building, so the bank has extended the closing deadline beyond the board’s next meeting, which is April 16.

• The board rejected a proposal from the Infrastructure Committee for a $77,215 contract with Barrientos Design to do architectural and engineering design work for the Lake Mills highway facility along Interstate 94. The county wants to add a salt shed at the site.

Supervisors rejected the contract on a 20-8 vote, with two members absent, after some on the board said the contract should have been opened for bidding.

“To me, this just doesn’t pass the smell test,” Supervisor Steve Nass said. Supervisor Jim Schroeder criticized what he called the “secretive” nature of the project.

Molinaro told reporters afterward that the county would solicit bids for the work, but he thought it was unnecessary.

“Nobody hid this,” Molinaro said. “There have been at least four committee meetings where this has been discussed publicly.”

Because Barrientos knows the project and has done preliminary work already, “there’s a 99.99 percent chance” it will end up being the low bidder anyway, he said.

• The board approved a $100,000 economic-development loan to Rushing Waters Fisheries of Palmyra to help with a $1.2 million expansion.

The loan must be paid back over seven years at a 2 percent interest rate, and is contingent on Rushing Waters adding at least five full-time jobs at the site.

• Supervisors approved a resolution declaring April 2013 as Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month.