Alder Gerhardt Budget Amendment Message
For more information on all the amendments, click here.
My amendments reflect some of my top priorities:
Preparing for climate change (#10, #11, #29)
Protecting the environment and our urban forest (#12, #21, #27, #1)
Improving community wellbeing (#23)
This is a tight budget, so I proposed several monetary offsets (#1 and #2) and unique funding structures to minimize the impact to property taxes, provided everything passes.
Preparing for climate change
Climate change impacts are here and are already affecting the city, especially through serious, frequent flooding events. We must begin dealing with these impacts immediately.
#10 will allow us to reduce future emissions and save us money in the long run, with no impact on property taxes. #11 will allow more funding to plant native vegetation as a stormwater management technique; it takes time for plants to root and we have to start immediately. #29 will allow for more committee discussions on climate change issues and testimony from neighbors regarding stormwater issues.
#10 Reinstate Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Fund (Gerhardt)—Read & Watch
#11 Increase Stormwater Vegetation Management (Gerhardt)— Read & Watch
#29 Increase Resource Conservation Committee (RCC) Meetings from 8 to 10 (Gerhardt)— Read & Watch
Protecting the environment and our urban forest
#12 will fund the Swan Creek Monitoring Station, a USGS station that will track Fitchburg’s impact on this waterway, which leads directly to the Waubesa Wetlands; many organizations have signed on to financially support the station with us, but it needs to be in the budget to move forward. Right now, as we grow rapidly, we have no idea what impact we’re having on our environment; this data is essential to making responsible decisions about how we grow.
#21, #27 and #1 are all related. The Tree Advisory Committee is developing a much needed tree protection ordinance in 2021. In order to make this happen, we need a part time position (#21) to support to our forester, who only works part time and is responsible for more than 3,100 trees in parks, more than 5,000 trees along streets, and numerous wood lots like Mickelson Woods. In order to fund this position, I’ve provided an eq1uivalent offset (#27) which will allow us to apply gas savings towards protecting our trees; based on the last four years of gas data, we have overbudgeted for gas in the coming year, and this will reduce that slightly (there will be much room left for gas prices to grow) to free up funding in the budget.
#12 Add Swan Creek Monitoring Station Installation and First Year Monitoring (Gerhardt)— Read & Watch
#27 Increase Tree Advisory Committee Meetings from 4 to 6 (Gerhardt)— Read & Watch
#1 Reduce Unleaded and Diesel Gasoline Price Assumptions (Gerhardt)— Read & Watch
Improving community wellbeing
#23 is a new concept that involves directing a portion of the fines and forfeitures revenue stream (parking tickets, court fines, etc.) into a fund for community wellbeing. Investing the money paid as fines and forfeits back into the community is an acknowledgement that investment is the best way to address societal problems. This is meant to be the beginning of a long-term effort to direct this revenue stream back into the community. As the city continues to provide more community support over the years, hopefully the fines and forfeitures revenue stream will begin to fall as a reflection of a healthier community. This proposal starts the contribution at 5% with the hope that it will increase over the years.