Council Reform?

Email to all alders, FAQs and press release.

EMAIL

From: “Clear, Mark”
Date: March 16, 2016 at 9:00:12 AM CDT
To: All Alders
Subject: Governance reform initiative from Clear and Ahrens

Dear Colleagues,

Today we (Clear and Ahrens) are launching an initiative to make some significant changes to the city’s committee structure that will re-balance the powers of the legislative and executive branches and strengthen the Council’s ability to shape the budget and future investment in our neighborhoods. The attached press release is going out simultaneously to this email.

The key reforms include:
– The Council President will make all alder appointments to City Committees. This reform will bring integrity to the appointment process by ensuring that Alders are appointed by someone who is accountable to them.
– The Board of Estimates will be renamed the Finance Committee and all members will be appointed by the Council President. This reform will make a significant improvement in the Council’s ability to represent the public in the budget deliberation process.
– Council leadership will serve two year terms to improve continuity and institutional knowledge
– The Common Council Organizational Committee will be renamed the Common Council Executive Committee for clarity to the public on its function.

These reforms build on the work of the CCOC Subcommittee on Strategic Plan and Priorities and will bring the Madison Common Council in line with other Councils around the state which control their own committee assignments and manage their own budget deliberation process. The vast majority of cities in Wisconsin govern their finances with a committee of alders (see notes below). Having the Mayor both write the budget and chair the budget committee reduces the influence of residents and local neighborhoods to ensure that public dollars are invested where they are needed most. One of the purposes of a legislative branch of government is to ensure local priorities are given due attention and their fair share of city resources. This means both special projects as well as the nuts and bolts of city services (snow removal, speed humps, etc.)

As the primary legislative committee for fiscal issues, it is only reasonable that the members should be appointed by the Council President and chaired by a member of the committee. Separation of powers in a democratic government work best when the integrity of each body is assured. The Mayor will continue to have the power to appoint the vast majority of all committee members; we simply want the right to make our own appointments.

Next Steps:
– Drafting of ordinance amendments by the city attorney’s office
– Introduction (target date 4/19/16).
– CCOC 5/17/16
– Consideration by council 6/7/16

Your support would be welcome; the members of the CCOC subcommittee have already indicated so (DeMarb, Zellers, Bidar, Phair, Cheeks). Please contact the council office if you are interested in sponsoring at introduction; we will circulate the draft language as soon as it is available.

You may also wish to post the attached FAQs on your Common Council Blog and your social media outlets.

Please don’t hesitate to contact either of us with questions. Without replying to all of course.

Mark and David

Notes:
– Board of Estimates is an anachronism from state statutes. Other than Madison, only the City of La Crosse has a Board of Estimates which in their case includes the Mayor, Finance Director and 9 Alders. They only meet three times a year, and the majority of finance work is conducted in La Crosse’s finance committee which consists of 8 alders.
– Other example finance committees:
– – Racine: Personnel and Finance Committee consisting of 5 Alders
– – Green Bay: Finance Committee consisting of 4 Alders
– – Kenosha: Finance Committee consisting of 6 Alders
– – Wausau: Finance Committee consisting of 5 Alders
– – Waukesha: Finance Committee consisting of 4 Alders

FAQs

FAQs on Government Reform Initiative
Q.What are the major reform proposals?
A. There are two major parts to the initiative:
First, that Alder committee appointments should be made by the Council President rather than the Mayor. Second, that the Board of Estimates be renamed the Finance Committee and that its members should elect the chair rather than have the mayor as a voting member and chair of a legislative committee.

Q. Why are these initiatives necessary? What problems do they address?
A. These initiatives rebalance powers between the executive and legislative branches of city government. For the legislative branch to have integrity as a separate branch of government it should appoint its own members to committees and chair the committee overseeing city finances.

For the Council to have integrity as a separate governing body, it must have the authority to “run its own house.” Currently, the Mayor appoints Council members to committees. We propose that the Council President have that authority. The Mayor would retain the authority to appoint all citizen members of city committees.

Q. How will this benefit the public?
A: As the legislative body, the Council is closest to the residents of the city. Members regularly meet with constituents, local groups and have a greater immediate awareness of the issues closest to our communities. Rebalancing powers and resources between the legislative and executive branches enhances local control and a more responsive government.

Q: What are the proposed changes to the Board of Estimates?
A: First, we propose to change the name of the body from the archaic “Board of Estimates” to a more descriptive “Finance Committee.” Second, committee membership would be comprised of seven Alders selected by the current Council President with a preference for appointing past Council Presidents. Third, the Chair would be elected by the Committee.

To some degree this rebalances the powers of the Mayor who writes the budget, appoints the members of the committee that reviews the budget and then chairs the same committee.

Q: Are these initiatives an attack on the Mayor?
A: These proposals address an ongoing systemic problem that persists whoever is mayor. Even if these proposals were to be implemented, the major power in city government would continue to reside with the mayor (executive). The mayor would continue to appoint senior managers and oversee all departments, have a Mayoral staff of four Deputies and six assistants, develop the budget and even chair the meetings of the council.

Q: Do the proposed changes represent common and best practices in governance?
A: The practice of instituting separate and equal branches of government is thousands of years old. However, more immediately (and locally) they also represent the most common practice of governance in most Wisconsin cities, state government and Dane County. ∙

Q: Are there any other improvements proposed in the initiatives?
A: The other proposed reforms are to make the office of Council President a two year term. This will provide greater continuity in leadership. One year terms in office are extremely rare.

Second, we propose to change the name of the Common Council Organizational Committee to the Common Council Executive Committee for clarity to the public on its function.

Q: Is there a timetable for the introduction of the measures?
A: The earliest date for introduction is the council meeting of April 19th. We hope the reform measures will be approved by the Council on May 17.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Ahrens and Clear launch City Government Reform Initiative

Alders David Ahrens and Mark Clear launched a City of Madison Government Reform Initiative today, proposing a package of changes that would strengthen the Council’s ability to shape the budget and future investment in neighborhoods. Alder Ahrens called the initiative “a reasonable next step to ensure the integrity of Madison’s democratic government.”

The initiative includes creating a finance committee appointed by the Council President to replace the current Board of Estimates, which is appointed and chaired by the Mayor. Alder Mark Clear, having served as Council President, said the change, “will allow for greater clarity for the public, and improved legislative oversight of the budget process.”

A second change would put the Council President in charge of Alder committee appointments currently made by the Mayor. Citizen committee appointments would continue to be made by the Mayor.

The reforms were spurred by discussion in a Council subcommittee on strategic plans and priorities, to help bring Madison in line with typical practices in Wisconsin cities, and to balance the responsibility of the executive and legislative branches, especially in the budget process.

Additional changes include extending council leadership terms to two years instead of one, and renaming the Common Council Organizational Committee to the Common Council Executive Committee for clarity to the public on its function.

Reiterating the value of these proposals the public, Alder Ahrens said, “We are a city committed to strong democratic institutions and accountable government. These reforms will position the Common Council to be more responsive to our neighborhoods and their priorities.”

All members of the Council subcommittee have indicated support for the measures (Council President DeMarb, President Pro Tem Cheeks, former Council Presidents Bidar­Sielaff and Clear, Alders Phair and Zellers). After drafting formal language, the reforms will be introduced in April and could be enacted into law by mid ­May.

COMMENTS
For me, this might make the council feel better, but how will this help the public? What benefits will we see?