The Notes: Week of November 3 - November 7, 2025

Happy first week of November, Neighbors.  Can you believe it??  I know I can't.  The first 3/4ths (well, technically 5/6ths) of this year have flown by! 

We are now in the thick of "budget season" in City of Appleton government. Yesterday's Budget Saturday went off without any significant hitches.  I suspect that the mayor's proposed 2026 budget will be very soon be approved by the council without any significant amendments.  Not unlike most of you, I am never pleased to see municipal fees or taxes go up.  But I have to say that the projected property tax increase this year is relatively minor.  (See last week's blog post for the rates/calculations for the proposed property increase and how it will affect you.)  That does not minimize the fact that there is a property tax increase projected... but compared to what could have been proposed by the mayor for the coming year's budget, this projected City of Appleton property tax increase is quite minimal.  And absent a majority of the council willing to look for ways to make some significant cuts to some portions of the mayor's proposed budget, there really is no way to stave off any increase in property taxes at all.

This coming week brings another opportunity for you to let your voice be heard on the proposed budget.  See below for more details on the Public Hearing on the budget.  

And speaking of "see below"... here's your weekly rundown of all that's scheduled this Full Council Meeting Week:

Wednesday, 11/05/2025  

Appleton Public Arts Committee - 8am  Committee members have been asked to do some pre-work for this week's meeting.  There is a plan to change out the photos on the Welcome Tower in Houdini Plaza.  This time, instead of commissioning new works, some previously used panels will be swapped back in.  Committee members have been asked to choose their favorite twelve tiles from the current inventory of existing tiles.  The top vote-getters will be decided at this meeting.

Finance Committee - Special Meeting - 5:30pm  Since this committee has had some extra work in the last few weeks (with budget discussions and the Budget Saturday meeting), their regular meetings have been shuffled around a bit.  In order to move some regular action items forward to the council, they will hold a special meeting before the full council meeting.  Since the staff of the Finance Department have also been quite busy lately, there is not yet an agenda published for this meeting.  But if I see anything really important to share with you when it is finally published, I will let you know with a separate short post.  

Common Council - Public Hearing on the Proposed 2026 Executive Budget & Service Plan - 6pm  As is the case every year, the council will convene for a special meeting to allow public comment on the proposed upcoming budget.  Here is the official public notice for this hearing.  

Common Council (regular meeting) - 7pm  The mayor gets the ball rolling with five -- count 'em, five -- proclamations.  He will also request approval of two new appointees to the city's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and a reappointment of one member of the Appleton Redevelopment Authority.  Then we get right into the potential approval of everything that was last approved in committee meetings two weeks ago.  Here are the highlights:

• From the Municipal Services Committee: A revision of a state-municipal agreement that will require a bit more money from the City of Appleton for the reconstruction of Lawe Street (from College Avenue to Wisconsin Avenue) is up for approval.  The bad news is that some sidewalk improvements that the city will be making during the project are not reimbursable with state funding.  But the good news overall for this project is that the city's portion of the entire project has been reduced a great deal from the original agreement terms (from way back in 2023) as more state funding has become available since the signing of the original agreement.  
  
  
• From the Safety and Licensing Committee:  Two new "Class B" liquor licenses are on the table for final approval by the council.  I note this because these two applications are reserve licenses.  Reserve licenses are much more expensive that the regular/standard liquor licenses in the city ($10,600 as a starting point!).  These are the only "Class B" liquor licenses available in Appleton as the city has reached its quota (the state-law-mandated maximum) for number of regular/standard "Class B" liquor licenses.  As I mentioned in the last Committee Meetings Week blog post, I believe that there is much to be done in this city to curtail the disuse of regular/standard liquor licenses by closed or no longer actively operating establishments.  It is unfair for establishments who are ready, willing, and able to operate a new business in the city to have to pay so much more for a liquor license when there are regular/standard licenses going unused throughout the city.      
  
  
• From the City Plan Commission:  During the Committee Meetings Week public hearing and discussion of a special use permit for a limited-use shelter facility on the St Joseph Congregation grounds in downtown Appleton, there were only a couple of folks who came forward to express some concerns about the logistics surrounding the operation of this shelter.  The concerns were mostly about making sure that the grounds and neighboring areas stay clear of loitering and any debris (which they are concerned could come with folks awaiting admission to a shelter facility).  No one came forward to oppose the shelter facility itself as most recognize that it will be an important piece of the city's way of assisting the homeless in the city through the coldest months of the coming winter.  Commissioners recommended the approval of this special use permit to the council and I see no reason not to approve it.  Folks representing the congregation expressed great willingness to work with the concerned neighbors to allay the concerns they expressed.  So I believe that this will be an overall benefit to the city. 
  
  
• From the Parks and Recreation Committee: The one item sure to garner additional council discussion during this meeting is a proposed revision to the city's Naming of Public Parklands Policy.  As I've mentioned in many previous alderman blog posts in this regard, the city's current policy for park naming/renaming is perfectly satisfactory as it stands.  Its stated goal is to provide a "consistent and rational framework" for the naming of city park lands.  No revision is needed, in my opinion.  Members of this committee apparently do not agree.  What came from this committee's last meeting is a recommendation to approve the changes as noted below in bold:
  
  
  As you can see, there is nothing here that makes it worth voting to change a policy which has worked successfully for the city since the 1990s.  Ellen Kort Peace Park was named under the current policy, so there is no need for #7 in the above proposed amendment.  And the inclusion of "historical group or people" does nothing but muddy the waters for the already well articulated item #1.  The current policy is more than fair and leaves the door open for myriad of possibilities for new park names without compromising the stated purpose of the policy -- consistency. 
  
  Remember that the purpose of all of this is to name parks and parkland in local neighborhoods in the City of Appleton.  As such, the names chosen should most importantly reflect the neighborhood and the city in which a particular park stands, not some other abstract or current cultural concept.  The names chosen for parks should stand the test of time and best represent the neighborhood and city overall.  I believe that making the suggested changes does not accomplish that -- and indeed, could negatively impact that -- for our city.
  
  If you have not already lost all interest in this discussion, please share with me your thoughts in this regard.     
  
  
• From the Finance Committee: Up for approval is a contract for the exact amount of funding available -- coincidentally? -- for a "Sustainability and Resiliency Master Plan" for the City of Appleton.  The exact amount that the majority of the council (your alderman excluded) voted to allow for this is $107,625.  You might remember that the funds that they approved for this were funds borrowed by the city.  But the Finance Director searched elsewhere and "found" another source for the funds for this -- interest that the city earned through investing the city's allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).  I believe that these dollars are better spent elsewhere in this city, particularly in infrastructure investment.  What are your thoughts?   

As there are not any other really noteworthy items on the agenda for this week, I'll wrap up this post the same as I usually do: with a request for your feedback.

Do you have any thoughts, questions, ideas, or concerns with any of the items mentioned above?  Please share them with me.  I am always happy to hear from you! 

I hope that you have a great week ahead.  I look forward to sharing more with you next week.  So, join me again then, won't you?