The Notes: Week of February 14 - February 18, 2022

Happy Midway-Through-February, neighbors!  Thanks for joining me back here for another Full Council Week.

The Library Board Finance Committee (meeting Tuesday, 02/15/2022, at 9am), the Library Board Building and Equipment Committee (meeting Tuesday, 02/15/2022, at 10am), and the Library Board Personnel and Policy Committee (meeting Wednesday, 02/16/2022, at 4pm) start off this week and of course, the full council meets on Wednesday, 02/16/2022 at 7pm.  

On the agendas for the Library Board sub-committees are (among other things) a review of the library's materials budget for 2022, the proposed temporary relocation of the library piano to the Neenah Public Library during the upcoming construction phase of our library, and a discussion of the establishment of 2022 performance goals for the Library Director.  

Wednesday evening's agenda for the full Appleton Common Council has few "items of excitement" from last week's committee meetings but there are some items which may be separated for further discussion:

• The mayor will recommend a candidate to fill the city's Finance Director position.  Current director, Tony Saucerman, is retiring on 03/01/2022, and the mayor would like the council to approve the appointment of Deputy Director, Jeri Ohman -- who has been with the city's Finance Department since 2018 -- to Finance Director.  I expect this to be an "easy pass" for council members.
  
  
• From the Municipal Services Committee: The council will be asked to approve a 2022 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a 2022 pilot program for Bird electric scooters.  The MOU includes some changes to the program for 2022 which were noted here.  Though there may be some discussion and further questions for clarification on this, I expect this program to continue in 2022 as a further trial to hone in on what works and what doesn't for our city.  Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns on electric scooters in Appleton so that I can pass on those concerns to city staff as we move into warmer "scooter weather" in 2022. 
  
  
• From the Utilities Committee: The committee approved a request by a citizen for a minimal credit for water use in mid-2021.  The request is from a landlord whose tenant did not alert her to a constantly running toilet which led to excess accidental water usage.  The tenant subsequently refused to pay the water bill which led to the landlord seeing these charges passed on to her.  Though the request for a credit is a small one monetarily ($65.98), the ask is really a large one and sets a precedent for future requests from any number of water utilities users.  While I would like to simply grant this $65.98 credit to this landlord, the facts are that the water was used (whether it was warranted or not) and it is the ultimate responsibility of home owners (including landlords) to be aware of water usage on their properties.  If we grant this exception and credit, what's to stop a large commercial/industrial user from requesting a much larger credit from the water utility for "accidental" water use in the future?  Though this credit is a small one, other water utilities users will ultimately foot the bill for this tenant's/landlord's accidental use.  I don't believe it a burden that other water utilities users like you should have to bear, no matter how minimal.  
  
  The City of Appleton offers a free program for all water utilities users called Aquahawk.  I recommend you sign up for this service as it will alert you to any excess (accidental or not!) water usage so that you can avoid what occurred at this landlord's property.  I also suggest that all landlords contact the city's water utility to determine how they can sign up to be alerted on behalf of their tenants (as the ultimate responsibility rests upon landlords).  I expect there to be a bit of council floor discussion in this regard and I expect that, should this item not return to the Utilities Committee for further discussion, I will vote against granting this credit for the reasons I noted above.  Let me know what you think!
  
  
• The big hot topic during last week's committee meetings -- the Finance Committee discussion of the "funds diversion resolution" mentioned here, here, and here -- will not be heard in full council this week.  The Finance Committee last week agreed to further hold the item in committee until their first March 2022 meeting.  Not to worry, though, neighbors!  I will be attending that committee meeting and keeping you up-to-date on what comes of that resolution, the reallocation (or not) of those funds, and the status of the city's branding project which was essentially killed by the five members of this committee instead of seeing the light of day in full council as it should have (since its initial approval was by the full fifteen-member council). 
  

That wraps up the pressing items in city government right now, folks.... unless, of course, you have something important and pressing to add.  In that case, please contact me and share your thoughts/opinions/ideas.  I'm always interested in what you think is most important about how your city serves you!

Please have a great Super Bowl Sunday (go Bengals -- because who doesn't like an underdog?), a lovely Valentine's Day (whether you have a valentine or are your own valentine), and an excellent week ahead.  Until next Sunday.... !