Emergency Response

Most well managed emergency response agencies will manage the average response time within their area of responsibility. The goal is to save lives. This issue is lost when towns are contracting with cities, districts or non-profits for their emergency services. The main criteria becomes cost. Understanding that towns may lack good policy development processes, the emergency response agency considering the contract should evaluate their response time and only take what they can responsibly serve. Again, financially motivated agencies will take whatever the town is willing to give them.
The little bit of extra money isn't worth the potential loss of life. These scenes play out across Wisconsin regularly and I assume the only answer is for Town residents to realize that their lives are being toyed with for a couple extra cents of tax savings.

Revenue Evaluation at the Local level?

A good government revenue system should distribute the burden across residents in a manner that is consistent with the accepted norms of fairness and equity. These norms typically define fairness according to the relationship between the amount of revenue collected from residents and their respective abilities to pay the tax, charge, fee or assessment along with the benefits received by them from government programs. Three widely-accepted norms of fairness are:
Vertical Equity. This principle of fairness requires that the amount of revenue collected from residents with different income levels should reflect their respective abilities to pay the tax, charge, fee or assessment. Specifically, the cost of government as a percentage of income should not unduly burden taxpayers with limited ability to pay. Some would view this principle as satisfied by a proportional revenue system, where revenues collected are the same percentage of income for taxpayers at all income levels. Others believe that the principle requires that revenues collected as a percentage of income should be higher for residents with more income than those with less income (a progressive tax burden). To our knowledge, almost no one believes that revenues collected should be a higher percentage of income for less affluent residents than for those with more income (a regressive tax burden).
Benefits Received. A revenue system may be considered fair if the revenues collected are matched by benefits received by a resident from the government. This principle is most relevant when a cost is charged specifically for the purpose of providing a particular government service to a specific group of residents. Such “benefit charges” are impractical for much of government spending because the “benefits” received cannot be determined for each resident. Therefore, this principle is relevant mainly for certain types of selective fees, charges and assessments which are termed user fees.
Horizontal Equity. According to this principle, residents with similar abilities to pay a tax should pay comparable amounts of the costs. More generally, the principle of horizontal equity enjoins the government from levying charges that have arbitrary and peculiar distributions of costs across residents or from levying dissimilar tax burdens on taxpayers that are not justified by differences in their ability to pay or by distinctions in the benefits they receive from government programs.

Always Gray

The difference between a tax and a fee or charge is not always clear. A tax in its pure form is paid by citizens based on some criterion such as income, assets, or consumption spending in general or for particular items. There is no connection between the tax paid and the taxpayer’s use of any particular public service. A fee in its pure form is a business transaction, a quid pro quo, between a government and a resident in which one receives a specific service in exchange for voluntary payment. Those who do not choose to use the service do not normally pay. But there are many payments to government that fall into a gray area. For example, the fee charged for a driver’s license is a fee rather than a tax because one voluntarily chooses to apply for a driver’s license, and those who do not drive do not have to pay. But the revenue goes into the general fund and does not fund any specific services in exchange. The gasoline tax, on the other hand, is clearly a tax just like the tax on tobacco and alcohol. The revenue in this case, however, goes into the state’s highway fund and is used to maintain the roads used by buyers of gasoline.

Whose Winning?

It appears to me that highly developed countries (HDC) cannot continue to generate larger amounts of wealth through import replacing and exporting and expect less developed developing countries (LDDC) to reduce the income or wealth gap. There are always some examples of LDDCs that have closed the gap recently in a relatively short period, but this appears to be at the expense of HDCs rather than new wealth generation. Are HDCs generating wealth by replacing imports and generating exports, or does this mean that HDCs will need to allow the LDDCs to start the import-export process because the HDCs culture is to out-compete the LDDCs and their primary economic forces are better developed. There are quite a number of countries with large debts that are also large producers and exporters of commodities, most of which are suffering from a universal trend of declining prices. In general, these countries export more and more, to receive less and less. Under this scenario, the HDCs will have trouble generating enough new wealth to maintain their current standard of living. There has to be some sort of new wealth, either technology, natural resource or capital, generated within the HDCs to replace the wealth exported to the LDDCs. The economies of the HDCs need to produce products which are continuously more sophisticated and continuously more expensive, thus meaning that they could export less to maintain the same wealth. The force of technology in the form of innovation and improvisation will become the HDCs method for retaining wealth while the LDDCs accumulate wealth through import replacing and exporting. I believe that’s why cities with major research universities have been the rising stars in economic growth for HDCs.

Can We Do That?

The Constitution of the United States of America does not mention local governments. As a result, local governments are created by and regulated by the state. There are many types of restrictions on local governments.
One restriction is a court decision, referred to as "Dillon's Rule" which has been applied to municipal powers in many states. Dillon's Rule is derived from written decision by Judge John F. Dillon of Iowa in 1868. It is a cornerstone of American municipal law. It maintains that a political subdivision of a state is connected to the state as a child is connected to a parent. Dillon's Rule is used in interpreting state law when there is a question of whether or not a local government has a certain power. Dillon's Rule narrowly defines the power of local governments. The second part of Dillon's Rule states that if there is any reasonable doubt whether a power has been conferred on a local government, then the power has NOT been conferred. This is the rule of strict construction of local government powers.
Advocates of local government autonomy started pushing for Home Rule legislation nation wide. Wisconsin adopted home rule legislation in 1911 that was eventually declared unconstitutional in the state. The only recourse for advocates of municipal home rule, therefore, was amending the constitution. In 1924, the Wisconsin Constitution was amended to establish municipal home rule. Municipal home rule consisted in limiting legislative power in the area of local affairs by carving out a sphere of city and village influence over local affairs and government. The amendment permitted cities and villages to determine their local affairs and government, subject only to other provisions of the Wisconsin Constitution and to legislative enactments of statewide concern that uniformly affect every city and village.
It should be note that the amendment did not grant home rule authority to counties or towns. Municipal home rule jurisprudence consists largely in setting the boundaries between those areas of local affairs and government that are within the legislative purview of cities and villages and those areas that are of statewide concern and, therefore, subject to control by the legislature.
It turns out that the home rule constitutional amendment is not a substantial impairment to legislative enactments affecting cities and villages. The reason may be because the terms of the amendment are limited to “local affairs and government” and, for most practical purposes, “local affairs” have statewide impact and are therefore of statewide concern.
What does this all mean? City Councils are not the independent powers they sometimes try to be; they are really just tools of the State. Any Council needs to be careful that they don’t abuse their police powers or exercise powers they don’t have. The police power is a vague concept that encompasses the power of the government to promote the public welfare by restraining and regulating the use of liberty and property. The Council needs to know if they have the authority to exercise police power and then they need to reasonably exercise the police power. The also need a clear public purpose.

Maps We Can All Use

City staff wants to have access to integrated images, detailed maps, and property-level maps on our computers that can link us to a wide range of enterprise data used for various city functions. The question is what solution is the best one for us? We have accumulated or have access to significant amounts of data with no method for linking them to the daily managers who need the information.
We have now reached the point where a decision needs to be made. We had planned on hiring a GIS specialist and using arcview on a central server. There are other solutions available that may serve the city better. Because there are technology barriers for most of the staff in updating the information and utilizing the information, we need to work the process through to understand what will provide the city with the best system for serving the community.
Who can handle this problem and how is this important service going to be provided?

Ethics Still Matter

Ethics laws are put in place primarily to promote government decisions that are made through impartial and proper channels so the public can have confidence in the integrity of its government.
Councilmembers are agents of public purpose and hold their positions for the benefit of the public. As recipients of this public trust, they are expected to conform their official acts to those that are consistent with that trust. They must discharge faithfully the duties of their position, regardless of personal considerations, recognizing that the public interest must be their prime concern.
Councilmembers may not use or attempt to use their position to obtain financial gain or anything of value or any advantage, privilege or treatment for the private benefit of the member or their immediate family, or for an organization with which the member or their immediate family member is associated.
Although Councilmembers are trying hard to do what they believe is right when discharging their duties and exercising their authorities, they can sometimes run afoul of local ordinances and state statutes relating to their conduct. Sometimes the penalties imposed on them can be criminal in nature and they can have far-reaching ramifications to their lives. They are provided the materials to help make them aware of the possible pitfalls that may be “out there” so they can avoid them.

Topeka Drive Final Report

The purpose of authorizing LM Contract 1-2009 was to have the City Council direct the Manager to award the job to the lowest responsible bidder for the N. Topeka Drive Project. There where seven bids received at the March bid letting. The Manager recommended that Council direct the Manager to sign the contract with LMS Construction. The Manager recommended awarding the alternate bid as because of the amount of the base bid.

Prior Council Action:
• In August of 2008, staff received approval from Public Works Board to authorize staff to present a Capital Budget Plan with the N. Topeka Drive Project scheduled for completion in 2009.
• In November of 2008, City Council approved a budget with the N. Topeka Drive Project.
• In November of 2008, City Manager determined to bid 100% of the project work rather than exclude the standard city portion of the work from the contract.
• On March 17, 2009, the City Council reviewed the proposed bids for the project and voted to approve awarding the bid for contract 1-2009, N. Topeka Drive Project to LMS Construction for $613.669.52.

Summary:
• In December of 2008, staff discussed and proposed a planning process and schedule for options for completing the project with the Manager.
• By January of 2009, information was being gathered on material prices, intergovernmental contracting, contract modification and legal issues.
• Based on this information and discussion with residents the storm sewer design was substantial modified from the original budget amount.
• By February of 2009, the bid documents were complete and ready to be advertised for the construction of storm sewer, curb & gutter, water main, sidewalk, road base and pavement for N. Topeka Drive Project.
• LMS Construction did some minor sanitary sewer work in April of 2009.
• They started the water main construction in April of 2009 and completed the work by the end of April.
• They then began storm sewer construction, pavement and base removal in May and completed this phase by the end of May and started the storm sewer installation. There were some work delays because of natural gas main installation, power line replacement, telephone line replacement and cable TV line replacement.
• They completed the storm sewer work by mid June and began installing the new base and completed related work by July 4th.
• Yeske Construction laid the new curb and gutter and then we waited weeks for the concrete to cure.
• The B.R. Amon laid the base course by July 30th and laid the surface course on by August 7th.
• The special assessment sidewalks were completed by the end of August.
• LMS Construction completed landscaping for this year by August 30th.
The project was substantially completed in a timely matter and this project was completed for $591,431.90 which was $22,237.62 less than the Contractor’s unit bid contract.

Walgreens is Selling What?

The Walgreen Drug Store operations are located on a property that is currently zoned PB, Planned Business District. At this time the property owner is requesting the ability to sell alcoholic beverages—liquor and beer—from the premises in addition to the pharmacy and general merchandise operations. The information provided with the application indicates that the proposed operations will be conducted entirely within the existing building. No building addition is proposed.
Drug stores and general merchandise operations are uses permitted by right within the PB, Planned Business District. In addition, liquor store uses are also a permitted use. The sales of alcohol will be secondary to the sale of “general merchandise,” and are not intended to supplant the primary operations or use of the premises. Because of this, the typical concerns—noise, disorderly behavior, loitering, etc.—associated with an establishment selling alcohol are minimized.
A Class “A” intoxicating-liquor/beer license authorizes the retail sale of intoxicating liquor for consumption off the premises where sold and in original packages and containers. This is the type of license a typical liquor store must have.
Management has indicated through the site plan where the sales area will be located. The site plan also indicates that they only plan to sell beer and wine, although the license requested allow for the sale of liquor. The Council may want to add restrictions to the license, such as, beer and wine only or no sales may occur after 9:00 p.m. etc. In addition, a locked storage area is available inside the building to accommodate for extra inventory. All locked areas will be controlled by management personnel. The store’s existing security is higher than we normally see in a establishment selling alcohol.
The management has indicated that the management staff will become licensed by the State, and remaining sales staff will be trained in the proper techniques for selling alcohol—requiring identification, packaging, etc. Persons under 18 years of age will not be allowed to sell liquor.

Mulberry Street

The City Manager submits this request to move $9,000 of funds from the Clerk-Treasurer’s operating budget to the Street Department operating budget to accommodate the funding of the mill and overlay work completed on Mulberry Street. The Street Superintendent received a proposal from B.R. Amon & Sons with three options. The city selected option 1 which was to mill bad areas 2” deep and furnish, place and compact 2” inches of hotmix asphalt in one lift with the city hauling the millings for $32, 226. The proposal is included in the packet. B.R. Amon ultimately billed the city $49,900 for the work completed which is 54% over the proposal. B.R. Amon did provide $49,900 worth of work and material. I think that staff was a little surprised that the contractor was willing to spend an additional $17,674 of city money without any notification before providing the additional work. Ultimately, with this transfer – we will be able to cover the cost. The overall budget amount will remain the same; the specific line items are being adjusted.

Lake Mills Snow

Snowplowing Policy
The snowplowing program is designed to open traffic lanes to safe travel during and after a snowfall event. The street department uses labor, equipment, gas, salt and sand to complete this phase of snow removal. The city generally completes the plowing of city streets prior to 7:00 a.m. for safe traffic to work and school, to reduce conflicts with morning traffic and to begin downtown snow removal operations. This work is performed following a priority pattern designed to provide service to the greatest number of motorists where the need is the most crucial. The street system maintained by the City includes "Major Streets", "Local Streets" and several alleys that are prioritized based on traffic volumes. The City has a "Bare Pavement" level of service policy for number “1” priority streets.
Street Priority
1. Major streets such as Main Street, Lake Street, Mulberry Street and Madison Street.
2. Local streets with steep grades and sharp curves.
3. The remainder of the local residential streets and courts.
4. Parking lots, alleys and cemetery roads.
The attack plan in the City’s snow removal and ice control efforts will obviously vary considerably depending on the storm event. A sleet storm would be primarily an ice control operation involving salt spreaders. A less than 2" snowfall would find salt spreaders and plow trucks concentrating on number "1" and “2” priority streets. Number "3" and “4” priority streets may only be salted on these small events. Larger Snows (2" or more) would show an initial concentration on the number "1" and “2” priority streets with an ongoing effort to keep them open during the snow event and additional effort applied to number "3" and “4” priority streets. Overtime plowing and ice control would begin on local streets once the accumulations reach approximately 2" and the major streets are completed.
Ice control (salting) operations should be initiated when street conditions are determined by the senior police officer on duty to generally prohibit the safe control of vehicles either city wide or at specialized locations (intersections, hills). The senior police officer on duty shall notify the street foreman of this determination. To effectively provide ice control, the Department uses the application of road salt. Rock salt, even with its known environmental draw backs, is still the principal element used for ice control purposes. Occasionally, sand is mixed with salt or calcium chloride to increase traction during ice storms or periods of extreme cold. However, the use of sand is generally avoided as it tends to fill and clog storm drains.
The department will not plow any snow during initial salting operations. This allows the salt to begin reacting and reduces ice packs.
The department will use salt at the minimum amounts recommended by the American Public Works Association (APWA) for specific weather conditions. This is to reduce water runoff issues.
The department will only use sand for ice control operations when temperatures are consistently below the effective level of salt. This reduces silting in Rock Creek and improves street safety.
Snowplowing operations should be initiated when there is an accumulation of one (1) inch or more of snow, significant drifting or when the street foreman determines to initiate snowplowing operations with the goal of one hundred percent (100%) of the city streets being significantly cleared by 7:00 a.m.
There are extenuating circumstances to these policies in every snow event. The Police Department may call and request salting because of slippery conditions, wind conditions may require special actions, time of day may require plowing before staff leaves work or because of school issues. City staff makes every effort to make the best decision for the set of circumstances presented.
Level of Service - Observed or desired pavement conditions at various points in time, during and after, winter weather events.
Based on available resources
1. Pavement condition goals at various times
2. Level of effort for various storm conditions
3. Priority, timing and type of treatment for various locations

Politics and Public Administration

I enjoyed reading about Tulsa, Baltimore and Annapolis discussing moving to the City Manager form of government. I do truly believe that it is the best form of city government. The problem is the need supporters feel to oversell the product. Wilson originally oversold public administration because he wasn’t able to fully articulate his theories and definitions of public administration. The problem for him then as now is the constant tension in the selection of a point for balancing between political issues of democratic responsiveness and administrative efficiency.

Still, Wilson was making a simple statement – “Seeing every day the things which the state ought to do, the next thing is to see clearly how it ought to do them.”[1] The “what ought to be done” was clearly a part of the American political system that Wilson wanted to preserve. What he wanted to change was the “how it ought to be done” part of the governmental system. Wilson wanted the American system of government to produce the desired outcomes and felt that bureaucracy joining forces with scientific management[2] would provide an efficient way to deliver the public goods and services.

Wilson could have been overwhelmed by the issues of public policy formulation, policy execution and monitoring and evaluation of policy outcome and failed to take any action. Instead, Wilson must have decided that it was better to use the separation between the political environment and public administration to change the governments of his time.

There are so many issues that get dropped when attempting to change form of government. Just the selection of the City Manager can make a huge difference in the functioning of the government. The charter organization and the Council's commitment to formulating policy and not legislating administrative orders. The expectation of total separation of policy and administration on the executive side becomes points of confrontation. The way schools teach government and make an elected executive practically a religious requirement.

Wilson, at some level, recognized the dichotomy of politics and public administration. He discusses the fact that there are no lines of demarcation and that there are problems of trying to separate the elements of each. I don’t think he believed that the pure efficiency of outcomes generally pursued by scientific management would adequately deal with the overlay of political environments.

Wilson decided to advocate a politics-administration dichotomy saying that administration would best be done outside the sphere of politics. This wasn’t a methodological base for orthodox public administration, but an opening shot at the existing spoils system.[3] Still, this dichotomy prompted the development of the so-called "Technical Theory of Public Administration." This tradition was based on a system that relied on hierarchy, unity of command, political neutrality, recruitment and promotion on the merit principle, public service accountability, objectivity, and probity. [4]

The success of our government depends on the quality of the legislation generated from the political process providing for the operationalization of public administration. Given the broad nature in which legislation is framed and the political climate within which public administration takes place, public administrators are often directly or indirectly given authority to frame the legislative question and then interpret delegated legislation. Due to the sociocultural factors of American democracy, its evolving intellectual expectations and its inferred values, democracy and thus public administration are not constituted by a single set of principles and concepts.[5] Being time and place bound, and acknowledging changes in our culture and levels of development within our society and country, public administration is forever in ferment and a state of flux. This is the nature of our system and is to be welcomed as it reflects the dynamics of our government and the discipline.[6]

The citizens of these cities should believe that the City Manager form of government is neither a paradigm nor a panacea, but more fairly represented by this Churchill statement "the worst form of government, except for all the others." The government seeks to "improve" things in terms of making social arrangements more just, but there are so many variables in the administration that they should start with modest expectations for success and work up from there. In the words of T.S. Eliot: “There is only the trying; the rest is not our business.” The City Manager and his staff is the government’s toolbox for trying.


[1] Wilson, Woodrow (1887). The Study of Administration, Political Science Quarterly, 2 (June):197-220.
[2] Taylor, Frederick W. The Principles of Scientific Management (New York: Harper and Bros., 1911).
[3] Imasato, Shigeru. Toward a Public Science: A Paradigm Shift of Public Administration. Journal of Law and Politics (March, 1993).
[4] Dwivedi, O. P. Challenges in Public Administration from Developing Nations. University of Guelph, Canada. November 1, 2001.
[5] Jones, Chuck O. An Introduction to the Study of Public Policy. Brooks/Cole Publishing Company. 1984 (Third Edition)
[6] Abakholwa Sindane, “Public Administration vs. Public Management: Parallels, divergences, convergences and who benefits? ” (September 2003)

Lake Mills' New Judge?

Historically, the electors of the city elect the Municipal Court Judge. The judge appointed the Municipal Court Clerk, who served and will probably continue to serve at the direction and pleasure of the Judge.

The Municipal Court was and still will be convened at such times as the judge determines, and it enters judgment or dismisses matters that come before it as the court deems just. Ordinance violations cited by police officers, the building inspector or fire inspector are all referred to the jurisdiction of the Municipal Court. Most traffic law violations are also matters for the Court’s determination. All judgments entered by the court are reviewable by the Circuit Court if an appeal is brought within twenty days of any judgment.

The City Attorney represents the City as Prosecutor in all matters brought before the Municipal Court.

The big difference is that after forty years Judge Kiessling is retiring and a new Judge will be elected. Combine this with the fact that the City has also joined with the Town to form a joint court system and there is potential for substantial change in Lake Mills judicial system. Ordinance 1053B established the Municipal Court of the City and Town of Lake Mills. The Ordinance states:

Municipal Judge: Such Court shall be under the jurisdiction of and presided over by a Municipal Judge, who shall be an attorney licensed to practice law in Wisconsin, and who shall reside in either the City of Lake Mills or the Town of Lake Mills at the time of his or her election and throughout his or her term of office.

1. Such Munici­pal Judge shall be elected at large in the spring election for a term of two (2) years commencing on May 1. All candidates for the position of Municipal Judge shall be nominated by nomination papers as provided in § 8.10, Wis. Stats., and selection at a primary election if such is held as provided in § 8.11, Wis. Stats.

2. The City Council of the City of Lake Mills and the Board of Supervisors of the Town of Lake Mills s­hall provide for a primary election in the event that more than two candidates file nomination papers for such position of Municipal Judge, as provided in § 8.11(1)­(a), Wis. Stats., and such primary election shall be held on the third Tuesday of February as provided in § 5.02(22), Wis. Stats.

3. Because a Municipal Court has previously been established by the City of Lake Mills, and because the Judge presiding over the Court has been elected to a term of office until May 1, 2010, the Judge of the previously established Municipal Court shall preside over the newly organized Municipal Court for the City and Town of Lake Mills until the end of the existing term.
This is the end and beginning of a new era!

Another Year

The City has completed another Budget and related tax levy. Congratulations to the Lake Mills City Council for bringing in a reduced tax rate, lowering taxes and maintaining community services. In these challenging economic times - this sort of budget process shows that the City had a plan and was able to follow through on it.

State Caps

The State of Wisconsin allows Cities and Village to increase their General Fund Levy based on their property tax base growth and a State-identified base of 3.00 percent on the previous year’s maximum allowable levy plus the unused cap from two years prior. For 2010, the City is allowed an 8.37 percent increase in the General Fund Levy. The approved 2010 Budget levy increase is at 3.94 percent. The based on the levy limit work sheet, the city will still have $296,900 of unused cap space.

Talking Budget

During City budget discussions, it’s important to know the meaning of several terms. The property tax levy is the total amount of revenue that a local unit will collect through the property tax in one year. The gross levy is the total amount of taxes billed including the portion paid by the state through state tax credits. The net levy is the gross levy minus the state credits. The mill rate is the rate of taxation expressed in terms of dollars of property tax per $1,000 of value. For example, a tax rate of .02400 or 2.4% is equal to 24 mills or $24.00 per $1,000 of value.
Assessed values are the property values determined for individual parcels of property by the local assessor. Equalized value is the state-determined full market value of all property within each jurisdiction. Equalized values provide a means of comparing different jurisdictions, even if they are assessed at different percentages of market value. Dividing the total assessed value by the equalized value produces a district’s assessment ratio. All taxable property is classified as either real estate or personal property.
The City annually adds net new construction to the existing assessed values and divides that number by the gross levy to determine the gross mill rate. If you want to determine what your gross taxes are before state tax credits are applied, you must multiple your assessed value plus any net new construction by the gross mill rate.
The City’s Budget has an increase in the gross levy of $25,600 which when applied to the assessed values plus net new construction results in a lower gross mill rate. This means that most people in the City of Lake Mills will pay slightly less in City taxes this year than they did last year.

Census

Well, I have to breakdown and complete the BAS now that the budget is done. The Boundary and Annexation Survey is an annual survey of all incorporated places and all counties conducted by the Census Bureau to determine the correct legal limits and related information as of January 1 of the survey year. I haven't seen a BAS since I arrived in Lake Mills. The Census provides a 45 page book on how to make changes to the map. This is why everyone else passed on the opportunity to update the maps and it fell to me. Now I love working with maps, but there are all these little details to TIGER that make reading and understanding mapping issues important when using your red and purple pencil.
Once the map is done – the forms come. I did this once ten years ago in Mahomet – I don’t remember a thing.

Revaluation Procedures & Schedule

1999 Full Revaluation performed, all property information obtained by on-site inspection

2002 Perform Market Update - (none performed)

2005 Perform Market Update

2008 Perform Market Update or perform a Walk around Revaluation to assure property information is accurate

2011 Perform Walk around Revaluation if not performed in 2008 or perform Market Update

2014 Perform Market Update

2017 Perform Market Update

2020 Perform another Market Update or start the whole process over by performing a Full Revaluation (Confidence in property record card information will determine approach will be performed)

2023 If Market Update was performed in 2020, a Full Revaluation should then be completed


This schedule was determined using both past and current market conditions. Should Real Estate prices appreciate differently in the future, this schedule could be modified to react to the current market either shortening or lengthening the time between revaluations.

The goal is to maximize uniformity and equity between all properties so each is assured of a fair portion of the tax burden.

The cost of the annual contract during while performing a walk around or full revaluation would be reduced for any duplication of work.

GFLOW

The Rock River Coalition worked with the USGS to develop a computer framework model using GFLOW which is used to improve the understanding of the hydrogeology of the Rock River basin. The model simulates the groundwater flow system of the basin. The computer model is a tool used to understand the hydrogeology of the basin and model the possible groundwater changes based on proposed changes.

GFLOW is a highly efficient stepwise groundwater flow modeling system developed by Haitjema Software, a subdivision of Haitjema Consulting, Inc. GFLOW is a Windows program based on the analytic element method. It models steady state flow in a single heterogeneous aquifer using the Dupuit-Forchheimer assumption. While GFLOW supports some local transient and three-dimensional flow modeling, it is particularly suitable for modeling regional horizontal flow. To facilitate detailed local flow modeling, GFLOW supports a MODFLOW-extract option to automatically generate MODFLOW files in a user defined area with aquifer properties and boundary conditions provided by the GFLOW analytic element model. GFLOW features conjunctive surface water and groundwater modeling using stream networks with calculated streamflow. The conjunctive solutions may include detailed lake waterbalance modeling. GFLOW also supports freshwater and salt water interface flow. GFLOW provides intergrated parameter optimization by use of PEST or UCODE (these programs are included).

This is a significant step in understanding important water issues for our region.

Work Place Safety

The City of Lake Mills is concerned about the increase of violence which has filtered into workplaces and has taken steps to prevent incidents of violence from occurring at the City. It is the policy of the City to prohibit any acts or threats of violence by any employee or former employee in or about City facilities or elsewhere at any time. The City will not condone any acts or threats of violence against employees, customers or visitors on City premises at any time or while they are engaged in business with or on behalf of the City.
The City of Lake Mills promotes a safe and healthy work environment for its employees. However, situations may still arise involving potential or actual workplace violence. Awareness is one of the greatest defenses available to employees to reduce risks associated with violence in the workplace. Programs have been implemented to raise employee awareness, to provide a system for reporting threats or acts of violence, and to reduce the risks of workplace violence. The City has a compelling interest in maintaining employee and public safety as well as the continued performance of required duties. Threats or acts of violence in the workplace will not be tolerated. Violators are subject to disciplinary actions up to and including termination and may be subject to criminal sanctions.
The City will take prompt remedial action, up to and including immediate termination, against any employee who violates this policy. In furtherance of this policy, employees have a duty to warn their supervisor of any violent or aggressive behavior or threats.
DEFINITIONS
Workplace violence includes any act, occurring either on City premises or during the performance of work-related duties, that:
1. Threatens the safety of an employee and/or customer.
2. Affects the health, life, or well-being of an employee and/or customer.
3. Results in damage to City, employee, or customer property.
Examples of workplace violence include acts of coercion, verbal intimidation, threats, harassment, stalkings, theft, assaults, fist fights, beatings, stabbings, vandalism, arson, and hostage taking.
A threat is the expression of intent to cause physical or mental harm regardless of whether the person communicating the threat has the present ability to carry out the threat and regardless of whether the threat is contingent, conditional, or future.

City's New Substation

Tyranena substation

o Substation is now expected to be energized and in service by November 19,
o Contractor is completing final tests and coordination settings on breakers and switches,
o Discovered a trip mechanism breaker in the existing CP substation that had failed while performing the coordination of breakers – we’ve been nursing this breaker along for about a year, the breaker is now permanently bypassed and will not be needed when the new sub is in service,
o Installation of two feeder circuits to south must be completed before energizing, working with landowner to secure easements for a portion of these feeders,
o SCADA system will be completed after the station is energized, and ATC is doing final testing on the transmission line.

Business Practice?

The following story caught my eye. “Olsen Brothers Enterprises LLP has been ordered to pay about $194,000 in fines and other fees for violating storm water and erosion control laws while they built new grain storage facilities in Belmont and Boscobel.”
The reason the story interests me is that I’ve been doing site plans and building permits for years and thought that some (not all) companies have used the following tactics during construction projects.
“In its decision, the court said the defendants' history in these operations appears to be that "they would make the business decision, go forward with the project, and accept the costs for violation of the permitting procedure as a cost of doing business." As a result, the State of Wisconsin was compelled to obtain a restraining order to make construction cease at the Belmont site until a permit was obtained.”
Now, I’m sure that has been a business plan rather then lack of experience. The fact is that many small cities lack the ability and will to stand up to these companies because of a lack of qualified personnel, money and the politics involved. A big company bringing jobs and other investments verses the government bureaucrat – hard to win that public opinion poll.
What really bothers me is that the problem is going to get worse – not better. These companies now use the economy as the basis for only wanting to invest in what makes them money and think it’s the governments’ responsibility to handle the third party effects or better yet – ignore them. These small cities will require additional funds that will have to be generated at the local level to support the cost of covering the third party effects. The public isn’t interested in giving us anymore money for anything. Yet, the cost of making them comply is going to cost a lot too! Small cities and the State are going to have to have a plan for dealing with this problem.

Main Street Program Kiosk

The Main Street Board has requested the city allow them to place a kiosk in the Commons for information distribution. The kiosk would hold information regarding businesses in Lake Mills.
To allow a private entity to construct a park element, the element should meet certain conditions. The Council should probably grant an easement to the Main Street Program stating the conditions of the easement agreement, such as, location, size, design, time period, level of maintenance, etc.
The City may also determine that the park is fully developed and therefore, no new park elements would be accepted for the park.
The Parks Board has reviewed this issue and made a recommendation regarding said element.

Why We Protect Frontyards

The main intention of a building setback is to protect the building occupants and adjacent buildings from visual intrusion, noise, erosion, landslides and slope failure, sight problems for vehicles and pedestrians, and pollutants from the road. They also promote light and air separation for fire protection and access for firefighting; promote reasonable physical relationship between houses; promote privacy for neighboring properties; promote visually pleasing front yards; promote lot flexibility; protect environmental features, such as wetlands, slopes, wooded areas, lakes, etc. They also reflect the city’s intent to scale and placement of homes and buildings that are compatible with the neighborhood.
They also provide for emergency access, utility easements, snow storage, water drainage, storm water control and future right-of-way needs. Setbacks are used to help safeguard and enhance the environmental quality of the area in relation to streetscape or physical landscape, building size, and building density.

Financial Accounting System

The City Accounting System is the total method of records and procedures of recording, retrieving, and reporting information on the financial position and operations of our organization or any classifying of its funds, balanced account groups and organizational components.
We have a Chart of Accounts that lists all the accounts generally used in an accounting system. In addition to account title, the chart includes an account number which has been assigned to each account. Accounts in the chart are arranged with accounts of a similar nature; for example, assets and liabilities.
Each Account is a descriptive heading under which are recorded financial transactions that are similar in terms of a given frame of reference, such as purpose, object, or source.
The real question is does the recording and reporting of activities and events affecting the money of our organization and its program provide the information needed to evaluate the status and results of operations. Specifically, for effective financial accounting, it should (1) have determined what accounting records are to be maintained, how they will be maintained, and the procedures, methods, and forms to be used; (2) what recording, classifying, and summarizing activities or events are needed; (3) how to analyze and interpret recorded data; and (4) the who, what, where, when and how of preparing reports and statements that reflect the condition as of a given date, the results of operations for a specific period, and the evaluation of status and results of operation in terms of established objectives.
Can we say that the information recorded in our financial system is allowing for effective evaluation? For the State, Auditors, Administration, Department Heads or Council members?

More Performance Measurement

I have asked the Department Heads to work on a project with the UW-Extension Local Government Center and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Center for Governmental Studies on producing both detail performance measurement and performance/outcome based budgeting educational materials and training as well as establishing a clearinghouse of performance measurement data for Wisconsin local governments. The clearinghouse will provide performance data collected from Wisconsin municipalities and counties to enable local governments to make more informed policy decisions.
In a nutshell, there has been interest expressed by municipal governments throughout the State and they have all had differences of opinion about particular measures. Eventually they settled on some good outcome and output measures for key services that have broad support.
They have asked us to provide the indicator information from the past 6 years. The Department Heads have filled out the indices and indicated how the indices were measured on the spreadsheet if they were different than requested. The UW-Extension Local Government Center and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Center for Governmental Studies will probably need to do some data “cleaning” and will follow-up with questions. The more documentation we have up, the easier the cleaning will be.

Budget Notice Requirements

The city clerk is required to publish a Class 1 notice, under ch. 985, Stats., the notice is a budget summary in the form prescribed by the manager and by sec. 65.90(3)(b), Stats. The notice has to indicate where the proposed budget in detail is available for public inspection and the time and place at which a public hearing on the proposed budget is to be conducted. The council has to hold a public hearing on the proposed budget within 15 days of the published notice. Following the public hearing the proposed budget may be changed without the requirement of a two-thirds vote as provided under sec. 65.90(5)(a), Stats.

Fire Department Budget Review

Annually, prior to approval of the fire department budget, the City Manager shall meet with all the towns that have contracted with the City for fire services for the purpose of reviewing the proposed fire department budget as determined by the City Manager for the succeeding year. The purpose of this meeting is to invite the comment of the Town as to the fire department budget, provided, however, that it is the expressed understanding of the towns that the final and sole authority for the determination as to the amount of the fire department budget, and its component parts, shall be vested with the City Council. This budget meeting shall be held after the distribution of the budget estimate. The towns may request an additional meeting to be conducted after the City Council adopts the annual City budget ordinance for the purpose of determining exact Contract costs in the succeeding year.

CP/Owen/Prairie Sanitary Sewer Project by Brian Beaulieu

As of the end of the day Friday the 16th, each crew is in the following position:

· Miles Narveson’s crew was 131 feet upstream of the intersection of Owen and CP. They have installed 1031 LF of mainline pipe with 1869 LF left to go. They also have 6 manholes left to install, as well as the laterals on Prairie south of Mulberry.

· Tom Birch’s crew has installed Manhole #18 near the TID #4 basin at the end of Cherokee Path. They have also installed all of the mainline pipe in the Alternative bid area north of Mulberry Street. They have yet to complete all of the laterals along Prairie north of Mulberry.

So far, the crews have been averaging between 45 and 50 hours per week, and have yet to work on Saturday. Including today, there are 20 week days and 4 Saturdays remaining until the contract completion date. At the current rate of pipe installation, Rawson should be able to get all of the pipe in the ground by the completion date, but they may not be able to get all of the trench areas prepped and paved.

Right of Way Encroachment

The Tyranena Beer Run is coming up November 3rd and they have again requested the City Council close Owen Street for the event. It's the first item on the Council agenda tomorrow night (Oct. 20) and should pass without any problem.
The street closure did not cause any problems during last year's event and the Council will want to encourage a successful activity.

THE MUNICIPAL CODE

The following general description of the Lake Mills Municipal Code may be useful as you begin working with the city.

TITLE 1 – Explains the checks and balances of the City Manager form of government, as well as information on the budget.

TITLE 2 – Sets out the duties and authority for various boards and commission, most of which are recommending bodies to the Council, but some are more independent, such as the Board of Review, Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Police and Fire Commission.

TITLE 3 – This title sets out licensing requirements, which most frequently arise in the area of liquor and tavern operator licensing requests.

TITLE 4 – Deals with sewer regulations, garbage and recycling, weeds, and yard waste, as well as some forms of nuisances.

TITLE 5 – These are a collection of many of the municipal code violations for which persons can receive citations from the police department.

TITLE 6 – This title deals with the traffic laws that are enforced by the police and prosecuted by the City Attorney in Municipal Court.

TITLE 7 – This title is a collection of ordinances that have some relationship to public property. Therefore, there are regulations for sidewalks; excavations in rights-of-way; trees and plants on public property (and on private property if they pose a threat to the public); the special assessment procedures for charging property owners for streets, sidewalks, sewers and water mains that benefit their properties; the cemetery and parks regulations and rules; water recreation regulations; cable TV regulations; and impact fees.

TITLE 8 – These building regulations are enforced by the building inspector.

TITLE 9 – These are the fire department regulations, which are generally enforced by the fire inspector.

TITLE 10 – This title has all of the zoning regulations, which are enforced by the Zoning Administrator.

TITLE 11 – This title provides for regulation of land divisions, which are primarily plats or certified survey maps (CSM’s).

FALL PICK UP 2009

The annual FREE FALL PICK UP of brush and yard waste will begin November 2nd. We will make a one time circuit around the City and pick up brush and yard waste that is neatly stacked on the terrace, NOT mixed into leaf piles, and NOT obstructed by mailboxes, trees, etc. If you are unable to take advantage of the free pick up, you may schedule a Special Pick Up at City Hall for a $30 fee, OR, take it to the Yard Waste Center on Stony Rd which is open 24/7, for FREE.

The next scheduled pick up will be in January when Christmas trees will be picked up as time permits.

PWB Substation Tour

The Public Works Board and the City Council will be touring the new substation this week. The substation is scheduled to be online by the end of October.
The Light and Water Utility recently constructed a new open framed distribution substation on Tyranena Park Road just west of Rock Creek. The new substation consists of two three-phase transformers with load tap changers with an approximate rating of 25/46.6 MVA that will step voltage from 138,000 volts to 24,940 volts, transformer protection, circuit reclosers/breakers operated at 24,940 volts, and associated steel structures and materials required to connect the equipment to the transmission and distribution systems. The developed area for the new substation site is approximately 77,000 square feet (325 feet by 240 feet).
The substation construction consisted of stripping unsuitable soil from the construction site, filling with appropriate granular backfill, installation of foundations to support equipment, ground grid for safety, conduit and wiring for power and control of equipment, equipment and steel for operation, and other typical items for a municipal substation to ensure a safe and effective installation.

What's with all the Street Sweeping?

The City sweeps streets and parking lots every two weeks during the summer. This is done because there is some reduction in the discharge of chemical constituents, sediment, and litter to stormwater from street surfaces and parking lots with an intensive (at least twice weekly) street-cleaning program. Street sweeping has been found most effective for stormwater quality improvement in commercial business districts and intensely developed areas (Washington State Dept of Ecology, 1992). The reduction in solids and other materials resulting from an aggressive street sweeping program can reduce the maintenance requirements of structural runoff controls and provide aesthetic benefits to area residents. Solids collected by street sweepers must be disposed of properly, commonly in municipal landfills.
Improvements in the design and use of street sweepers may offer hope for additional reduction in stormwater loads. The four types of sweepers currently being used include:

1. Mechanical street sweepers
2. Vacuum street sweepers
3. Regenerative air street sweepers
4. Advanced high efficiency sweepers

Mechanical broom sweepers are more effective for removing litter and other large particles. On the other hand, vacuum sweeper inlets must be close to the ground to provide sufficient suction and consequently are not effective for litter removal, but collect more of the smaller particles responsible for much of the chemical constituent load in stormwater runoff. Regenerative air sweepers are similar to vacuum sweepers, except that they have a larger pickup head, and the air is recycled. Advanced high efficiency sweepers are used in industrial applications and are designed to remove the smaller particles.
Tandem street sweeping offers an opportunity to exploit the strengths of both mechanical and vacuum type sweepers. Tandem operations involve the combined use of mechanical and vacuum sweepers in successive cleaning passes. A new type of vacuum-assisted dry sweeper also has been developed that provides the important components of tandem sweeping in a single unit.
Chemical constituent, litter and sediment removal rates are also directly related to frequency of sweeping (particularly vacuum sweeping), the rate at which sediment and other debris accumulates on paved surfaces, and the average interval between storms.
The rate at which sediment accumulates depends on a number of factors, including traffic count, adjacent land use, and site design. Sediment is also continuously being removed by wind and traffic-generated turbulence. Consequently, the maximum accumulation (equilibrium between accumulation and removal) can occur in just a few days on highways lacking curbs or other roadside barriers. Structures that help retain sediment on shoulders and the road surface such as concrete guardrails or curbs allow more material to accumulate; therefore, the maximum accumulation might not occur for several weeks.

NIMS Prepared

The National Integration Center (NIC) Incident Management Systems Integration (IMSI) Division strongly recommends that all elected officials who will be interacting with multiple jurisdictions and agencies during an incident at the minimum complete IS-700: NIMS, An Introduction and ICS-100: Introduction to ICS. These courses provide a basic understanding of the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System. Everyone directly involved in managing an emergency should understand the command reporting structures, common terminology, and roles and responsibilities inherent in a response operation.
Wisconsin Emergency Management recommends that all local elected officials complete the ICS-402: Incident Command System (ICS) Summary for Executives, Agency administrators, elected officials, government senior managers, private sector managers or executives.

Lake Mills Streaming

You can now watch Lake Mills Government meetings on your computer by going to this link, www.ustream.tv/channel/tyranena-tv. Another way to learn about your local government.

Uniform Chart of Accounts

The chart of accounts is a listing of all the accounts in the general ledger, each account accompanied by a reference number. To set up a chart of accounts, one first needs to define the various accounts to be used by each fund. Each account should have a number to identify it. For very small cities, three digits may suffice for the account number, though more digits are highly desirable in order to allow for new accounts to be added as the city grows. With more digits, new accounts can be added while maintaining the logical order.
The State of Wisconsin has a recommended Uniform Chart of Accounts designed for cities. The primary objective of a Uniform Chart of Accounts is to facilitate the preparation of uniform annual financial statements, that is, statements that may be reliably compared to those of other cities. Because of this aim, it is especially important that transactions are entered in a consistent manner.
The City of Lake Mills uses the State recommended Uniform Chart of Accounts as a basis, but with a twist because of the numbering system used by our accounting software. The city has a relatively simple accounting setup and as economic pressures demand better performance measurement and the city grows this will need to change. The change process begins with the bookkeeper and the persons in the departments who are responsible for assigning account numbers to PO’s. Next, the bookkeeper and top management must determine if meaningful reports can be produced from the system to measure overall performance. Management will need to consult with the auditors to determine if the new system meets legal requirements and finally staff must work with the software consultant to make the system work in the computer.

City Fund Accounting

Fund accounting is used throughout the City, both for budgeting and accounting. Under this system money is segregated into separate accounts, rather than being held in one central account. Each fund has been established for a specific purpose, and is somewhat like a separate bank account and in many cases is a separate account.
Those funds used to pay for operations, maintenance, and other ongoing activities are like checking accounts. Generally, revenues flowing into the fund are spent during the same year. Other funds are more like savings accounts. Money accumulates for periodic capital needs, such as construction of a new park or drainage improvements. The balance in those funds grows until an expenditure is made. Spending can vary greatly from year to year.

A City's Debt Service

The amount spent on debt service in relation to total revenues is a critical indicator of financial condition. There is no question that the use of debt to help smooth costs over time can be very beneficial for cities. It provides stability so that cities are not forced to make radical changes in property tax rates from year to year in response to lumpy capital costs. Furthermore, it ensures that future users pay their share of the costs of providing public goods and services. However if the ratio of debt to revenue is increasing over time, and in particular if that ratio grows to exceed 20 percent, a city is probably relying too much on debt and not growing its revenue at a sustainable rate to meet expenditures.

Public Hearing

City councils are sometimes required by state law to hold public hearings. Since the issues addressed in these public hearings are frequently contentious, may involve due process rights of private parties, and generate litigation, it is important to know and follow proper hearing procedures. Because these procedures are not generally spelled out in the statutes that require hearings, there is no ready guide for public bodies to follow when conducting hearings.
Although a public hearing is also a public meeting, the main purpose of most public hearings is to obtain public testimony or comment. A public hearing may occur as part of a regular or special meeting, or it may be the sole purpose of a special meeting, with no other matters addressed.
There are two types of public hearings, legislative and quasi-judicial, and it is important to understand the distinction between them. The purpose of a legislative public hearing is to obtain public input on legislative decisions on matters of policy. Legislative public hearings are required by state law when a city addresses such matters as comprehensive land use plans or the annual budget. Legislative public hearings are generally less formal than quasi-judicial public hearings. They do not involve the legal rights of specific, private parties in a contested setting, but rather affect a wider range of citizens or perhaps the entire jurisdiction. The wisdom of legislative decisions reached as a result of such hearings is not second-guessed by the courts; if challenged, they are reviewed only to determine if they are constitutional or violate state law.
On certain controversial legislative issues, it can be important to conduct a thoughtful public process in advance of any public hearing. Hearings often occur late in the process and may leave citizens with the impression that local officials do not want to hear their ideas. Council chambers are formal and can be intimidating to citizens who are not accustomed to public speaking. The format of hearings often leaves little, if any, room for reasonable discussion, give or take, or response to prior testimony.
Here are some brief thoughts on the public hearing process. Involve citizens in the early stages of the policy development process. Make sure that there is plenty of opportunity for people to get answers to questions; this usually does not happen at a formal public hearing. Consider using a trained facilitator to facilitate discussion on really controversial issues. Good public process can be time consuming and expensive. However, these processes increase the potential to arrive at solutions that have strong support in the community.
Because legislative hearings are generally informal, the main concern is to provide an opportunity for all attending members of the public to speak if they so desire. Time limits should be placed on individual comments if many people are intending to testify, and the public should be advised that comments must relate to the matter at hand. Order and decorum should be maintained at all times. The "ground rules" for the conduct of the hearing should be stated by the chairperson or presiding official at the beginning of the hearing.
Be prepared! Don't come to the hearing cold. Review the ordinance amendment and supporting documentation, and any staff-prepared documents and recommendations prior to the hearing. Have clear ground rules for conducting the hearing. Keep order in the hearing, limit testimony where necessary, but maintain an impartial attitude during the hearing phase of the agenda.

Lake Mills Share Ride

The total transportation picture in Wisconsin sounds rather simple but, in fact, is very complex and personal. Rural passenger transportation involves not only service provided to the elderly and disabled but also affects persons looking for jobs, medical services, and others with priority mobility needs who are transit dependent because they can't afford an automobile, are unable to drive, or don't have relatives, friends, or neighbors willing or able to give them a ride. The specialized transportation programs which are administered by WisDOT are directed towards the elderly, youth and persons with disabilities, with the general public carried on at higher rates.
WisDOT regards shared-ride taxi systems as a means of providing public transportation service in smaller communities. Wisconsin’s shared program began in 1978 in Ripon with state assistance. Federal assistance from the then Section 18 program was added the next year. Initially, funding was available to communities with populations of 5,000 or more, but the population threshold was dropped to 2,500 or more in the 80s. The services, generally contracted by municipalities to state-qualified private-sector providers, are demand responsive and rides may be shared with other users. Last year WisDOT stats show, the rural and small town shared-ride taxi program included 39 systems providing 1,524,200 rides. Shared-ride systems exist in communities ranging in size from the 22,000 population in Watertown and 19,000 in Wisconsin Rapids to 4,300 in Medford and Mauston and 2,700 in Neillsville.
The share ride taxi program is a service established to provide commuters throughout the Lake Mills area with an alternative transportation option. The City of Lake Mills contracts with Brown Cab, Inc. to provide shared-rides through a reduced-rate taxi service for the young, elderly, persons with disabilities, low-income individuals, commuters, and persons who often have limited transportation options or resources. The program is funded with some rider fees and subsidized by federal and state mass transit funds along with city general funds.
The share-ride taxi program is a service established to provide commuters throughout the Lake Mills area with an alternative transportation option. The City of Lake Mills has contracted with Brown Cab, Inc., to provide shared-ride, reduced-rate taxi service for the young, elderly, persons with disabilities, low-income individuals, commuters, and persons who often have limited transportation options or resources. The program is subsidized by federal and state mass transit funds.
The City of Lake Mills is receiving State and Federal funds to assist in financing the operating project costs of the public transportation service known as the Lake Mills Share - Ride Taxi for the period January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2010.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation conducts a cost efficiency analysis of all state-funded transit systems. The analysis uses six performance measures to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of every transit system. Each system is grouped by type and evaluated against its peers. In the report, the Lake Mills' shared-ride taxi system is compared against the performance of 41 other shared-ride taxi systems in the state.
The Legislature has directed WisDOT to annually analyze the State's investment in transit, so WisDOT and the City must do our best to ensure that funding is providing an efficient and effective service for Lake Mills.

Budget Debate

I have noticed in the discussion over whether taxes are too high, should be frozen, or cut, virtually the entire debate centers on the level of taxation, with little discussion or analysis of what services are being provided, and whether they in fact cost too much, or too little.
W. Martin Morics, Milwaukee City Comptroller,

911 Joint Powers Agreement

This is the annual agreement with the county on mutual aid and dispatching. The City of Lake Mills and Jefferson County have implemented an Emergency 911 System for the purposes of providing emergency services to residents and visitors of their municipalities, including fire fighting, law enforcement, ambulance, medical and other emergency services. Wisconsin State Statutes § 146.70(9), “Joint Powers Agreement,” requires that in implementing a 911 System, municipalities shall annually enter into a Joint Powers Agreement. The Agreement shall be applicable on a daily basis and shall provide that if an emergency services vehicle is dispatched in response to a request through the 911 System, such vehicle shall render its services to the persons needing the services, regardless of whether the vehicle is operating outside the vehicle’s normal jurisdictional boundaries.

Medians in the Highway

This article may explain the State Highway 89 medians at the County Highway “V” intersection.
“Funding is a fickle thing: While some states are figuring out how to spend federal stimulus money they weren’t necessarily expecting, others—and in some cases, departments within those same states—are struggling to cope with budget shortfalls. And some of the cutbacks they’re making are more visible to the public than others.
Several states have recently cut back on mowing and otherwise grooming their roadside vegetation. Many state highway and transportation departments depend on gasoline taxes to make up a good part of their budgets, and for a couple of reasons, there is less money coming in. First, people are simply driving less. Second, more of them are switching to hybrid vehicles and fuel-efficient cars. While both of these developments are good for the environment, they have the unintended result of shrinking the funding available to maintain the roads on which people are spending less time.”
~ Janice Kaspersen, http://www.erosioncontrol.com/july-august-2009/
The State of Wisconsin owns the medians in the Highway 89 right of way at the intersection with County Highway “V”. The State has historically paid Jefferson County to maintain the medians. Apparently, in an effort to save money, the State has not paid the County to maintain the medians. The State also controls the right of ways north of the intersection and pays the county to do the maintenance.
The City of Lake Mills has no jurisdiction and is not authorized by the State to maintain the right of ways. If you are concerned about the level of maintenance being provided, the State of Wisconsin is the appropriate contact. As the State has a two billion dollar deficit – they may not be inclined to care.

Ace Hardware

The State Journal reports that the Watson Ace Hardware will open in Lake Mills on Tuesday, September 29, 2009.

Sump Pump Inspection Program

Based on an Engineering study completed in 2004, each year many gallons of storm water improperly drain into the Lake Mills public sanitary sewer system. This contributes to overloading the sanitary sewer system, which may cause back-ups and health related issues. The study indicated that an increase in rain induced flows seem to be caused primarily by various illegal connections. An illegal connection is a connection that permits extraneous storm-related water to enter the sanitary sewer system. The extraneous storm-related water is water that should be going to the storm sewer or allowed to soak into the ground without entering the sanitary sewer.
Infiltration/Inflow (I/I) is the term used to refer to the extraneous water entering the sanitary sewer system through broken pipe joints, leaky manholes, improper heights of sewer vent stacks, illegally connected roof and foundation drains, clean-outs located in yards or parking areas, sump pumps or through cross-connections with storm sewers. In addition, defective house sewer lines cause extraneous water to enter the sanitary sewers and, thus, they are also illegal connections.
The sanitary sewers have been designed to transfer sanitary waste only. Extraneous storm-related water flow added to the normal sanitary flow can exceed the capacity of the sanitary sewer resulting in a situation where the sanitary sewer is "surcharged." Basically, surcharging occurs when the amount of flow trying to get through a pipe exceeds the maximum capacity of the pipe thus building up pressure in the pipe. When pressure builds up, it seeks to relieve itself through any means possible; one of which is by backing up into private sanitary services and filling basements and crawlspaces. Reducing the extraneous flow will reduce the future potential of surcharging and sewer back-ups. Sump pump inspections are one of the easiest and most effective methods for removing substantial amounts of extraneous storm-related water from the sanitary sewer system.
Sump pump systems are designed to capture surface or ground water that enters basements or crawl spaces and pump it away from the house. The basic sump system includes drain tile, a sump pit, a sump pump, a float or switch, and a drain line. The sump pit extends below the slab and collects surface water that enters the basement/crawl space or groundwater that rises to the slab.
Homeowners commonly use sump pumps in their basements to battle moisture and flooding issues. However, water from sump pumps should NOT be discharged into the sanitary sewer system. That’s called a cross connection, and it results in higher sanitary sewer costs. Often, this is a hose leading from the sump to a laundry tub or a floor drain. As you may know, water that goes down any drain in your house leads to the sanitary sewer system and eventually ends up at a wastewater treatment plant, where it is treated before being released back into the environment. Sump pump water is what engineers call "clear water"-most often rain water, ground water, or snow melt. This water should flow directly into area streams, ponds, and lakes. Water from sinks, showers, tubs, toilets, and washing machines is wastewater and must be treated before it is discharged into the environment.
Extraneous storm-related water/clear water, such as that from a sump pump, overloads the sanitary sewer system. During the rainy season (April through October), this clear water increases the flow through Lake Mill’s sanitary sewer system one to two times the usual amount and sometimes higher, primarily because of cross connections. Since the number of gallons of clear water flowing through the City sanitary sewer collection system is being treated, clear water is costly.
Surcharging may result in sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) which are discharges of untreated sewage from city sanitary sewer systems as a result of extraneous storm-related water from inflow and infiltration. Combined sewer overflows (CSOs) are discharges of untreated sewage and stormwater from municipal sewer systems or treatment plants that combine sewage and stormwater when the volume of flow exceeds the system’s capacity due to periods of heavy rainfall or snow melt.
Although sewage is very unsanitary, the term "sanitary sewer" is used because the sewer pipes are separate from the pipes used for storm water drainage. This helps protect public health and the environment. In some older cities, sewage and rainwater flow through the same pipes. This can cause major environmental and public health problems because untreated or partially treated-sewage is discharged into streams, rivers and other water bodies during heavy rain.
Sewage spills are technically called "sanitary sewer overflows" since it involves the overflow of sewage from the sanitary sewer system. The word "sanitary" is used only because the overflow is from the sanitary sewer system, and not because the raw sewage is sanitary. Sewage overflows often occur from sewer manholes in the streets. Sewage can also backup into homes through toilets, showers and floor drains. Sewage spills are caused by sewage filling the sewer pipes behind the clog or from surcharging to the point where it spills out of an opening in the system (generally the lowest manhole, shower drain or other plumbing fixture).
In response to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations, local governments, including Lake Mills, have adopted ordinances prohibiting the intrusion of extraneous storm-related water into sanitary sewers. Many homes have sump pumps. The water pumped should be directed to the yard or a French drain, not into the sewer system. It is a violation of City and Town Codes to have such a hook-up. A sump pump can generate as much as 36 gallons per minute. If it is connected to the sewer system, you can easily see how a few illegal connections can increase the flows in the system. For example, an eight-inch sanitary sewer can handle domestic water flow from up to 465 homes; however, it takes only twelve sump pumps operating at full capacity to overload an eight-inch sanitary sewer. Reputable plumbers are aware that sump pump connections to the sewer system are illegal, but occasionally a home handyman will solve the drainage problem by connecting the sump pump flow directly to the sewer system without realizing the consequences.
A good sump pump inspection program can be the most cost-effective method of locating and fixing extraneous storm-related water intrusion into the sanitary sewer system and reducing flows for treatment at the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The sump pump program has to be modified to meet new ordinance requirements of only regional inspections based on evidence. The City is in the process of installing a new SCADA system that will help provide the information needed to generate the evidence needed to have Council authorize some regional inspections. Hopefully, the spring flows will generate enough data to identify specific areas that need inspection and the Council will approve the hiring of an inspector.

Weights and Measures

The term “Weights and measures” by statute means weights and measures of every kind, instruments and devices for weighing and measuring, and any appliances and accessories used with any or all such instruments and devices, except meters for the measurement of electricity, gas (natural and manufactured) or water when the same are operated in a public utility system.
The statute (Chapter 98) requires the City when it has a population of more than 5,000 as determined by the most recent population estimate made by the Department of Administration to enforce the provisions of Chapter 98 within its jurisdiction. The City of Lake Mills became required to enforce the requirements of weights and measures a couple of years ago. The City has the option of establishing its own department of weights and measures or contracting with the State Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to continue providing the service.
The City would have been required to employ qualified sealers or inspectors to ensure compliance with the requirements of Chapter 98 and had the option of doing so by establishing a new City Department. The City sealers or inspectors would have had the same authority as sealers or inspectors of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The City would have had to employ sealers or inspectors from a list of applicants whose qualifications have been certified by the state or local civil service agency under the rules of the agency. The City had to procure and keep a complete set of standards of weight and measure conforming to the state standards and had to submit the standards for certification and has to do so at regular intervals as required by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The City is also required to keep a complete record of its work and annually file a report with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. The chapter also authorizes the City to assess fees that do not exceed the actual cost of its weights and measures program.
The City enacted an ordinance that regulate weights and measures that comply with the requirements of Chapter 98 and the rules of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The City opted to contract with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to enforce the provisions of Chapter 98 within the City’s jurisdiction instead of establishing its own department. The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection agreed to enter into a contract with the City for the required services. The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection charges the City a fee sufficient to cover the Department’s costs under the contract. A City recovers the amount of the cost of these fees by assessing fees on the persons who receive services under the weights and measures program.

PROPOSED 2010 CITY BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

1. The proposed equalized rate of $7.21 is 1.99% higher than last year and the gross rate is $8.39 which is 0.8% higher than last year. Page 2
2. The city portion of the property tax on an equalized $175,000 home is estimated to be $1,261 and is projected to be $24.57 higher than last year and last years $175,000 home paid $1,236.58. Page 2
3. Total revenues and expenses for the General Fund are projected to be $6,395,400. Page 2
4. The City’s property tax levy cap is 3%. The State budget allows 3% or net new construction. The Department of Revenue calculates our net new construction at 1.76%.
5. State shared revenues have decreased by 7.6% or $33,000. Page 3
6. State Road aids are proposed to increase by 2%. Page 3
7. The city has gained some limited revenues because TID #2 has enough revenues to reimburse the General Fund for expenses incurred. Page 3
8. The budget has stabilized revenue estimates in several fee related areas. Page 3
9. Administration proposes $650,600 of new short term debt in the budget. Page 3
10. The Levy Limit Worksheet is a new document that is similar to the state document the Clerk must fill out each year. Page 7
11. The State fiscal restraint figure is set and this budget is at 3%. Expenditure restraint equals $110,000. Page 8
12. Clerk-Treasurer’s budget includes $5,000 to replace the computer equipment and maintain software licenses. Page 10
13. Funds will be borrowed to purchase new radios per new federal requirements ($135,000) for the Fire Department. Page 11
14. Funds will be borrowed to purchase Truck ($30,000) for the Parks and Forestry Department. Page 12
15. Funds will be borrowed to purchase a Lawn Mower ($20,000) for the Parks and Forestry Department. Page 12
16. Funds will be borrowed to insulate the municipal building ($23,000) for the Parks and Forestry Department. Page 12
17. Street rebuild in Capital fund has been increased to $175,000 for a street overlay on Ferry Drive from Bartel’s Beach to Prospect Street and the alley behind the Lake Street Business east of Main Street. Page 13
18. The Street Department capital budget includes $70,000 for stormwater improvements which include the Ferry Street, the alley and Circle Drive projects. Page 13
19. The Street Department capital budget includes $60,000 for sidewalk replacement. Page 13
20. The Street Department capital budget includes $83,100 for a new tractor. Page 13
21. The Street Department capital budget includes $25,800 for a new mower to attach to the tractor. Page 13
22. The Street Department capital budget includes $32,500 for a set of plows to attach to the new tractor. Page 13
23. Funds will be borrowed for a new $28,200 police squad. Page 14
24. Pay increases are calculated at 2.5% per the Union Contract currently negotiated for 2009. Budget wide
25. The Health Insurance was 8%. Budget wide
26. The Legislative – City Council Budget now has the Main Street Program built permanently into its budget with inflationary increases. Page 31
27. The County Economic Development line has increased based on our contract with the County. Page 76.
28. The Chamber printing donation has been funded. Page 76.
29. The City Band is funded at $1,000. Page 101
30. The change of Solid Waste Program from a Public Works revenue and expense to a Special Revenue Fund. Page 161
31. Utilities and gas have been increased throughout the budget.

Outstanding Issues:

• Council laptops
• Finance Director Position
• Benefit Liability
• Low Unrestricted/undesignated Fund Balance
• Municipal building maintenance plan
• Dam Replacement

Brookstone Sump Pump Project

Homeowners commonly use sump pumps in their basements to battle water and flooding issues. Most every house has a sump pump installed for the purpose of discharging clear waters from foundation drains and ground infiltration. Sump pump water is what engineers call "clear water" and most often is rain water, ground water, or snow melt. This water should flow directly into area streams, ponds, and lakes. Where the building is not serviced by a storm sewer, the discharge from a sump pump should be put into an underground conduit leading to a drainage ditch, dry well, or discharge onto the ground surface in such a manner as will not constitute a nuisance.
The reason sump pump piping is not installed during platting in low to medium density developments is to reduce the amount of directly connected stormwater runoff. Minimized Directly Connected Impervious Areas reduce surface runoff volumes, peaks and pollutant loads. The exact performance of this practice depends on the exact nature of the local geology, the type of soils and vegetative cover, and the nature of local climate. Under ideal conditions, surface stormwater runoff from low to medium density single family residential areas can be virtually eliminated for small rainstorms (i.e., storms with less than 13 to 25 mm (0.5 to 1.0 inch) of rainfall).
On the whole, this is a very effective stormwater Best Management Practice (BMP) for low to medium density residential developments and for smaller commercial sites. Minimized Directly Connected Impervious Areas is not a very effective BMP for high density residential developments and high density commercial zones, such as central business districts. This BMP demands that much of the land area of the development have a pervious surface, free of buildings and solid pavement. It may also not be appropriate for use when the general terrain grades are steeper that six percent. With erosion prone soils, Minimized Directly Connected Impervious Areas may require even flatter terrain slopes.
Most sump pump issues can be traced to trouble with the drainage conditions around the outside of the house which result in surface water running down foundation walls or saturating the areas around the foundation and entering the footing tiles. If too much water is allowed to collect in the soil around the foundation, it will naturally end up overwhelming a sump pump.
Swales are used for stormwater routing in subdivisions between houses and in backyards. All new development in Brookstone uses swales (DCIA) along property lines between homes to handle stormwater. These systems can become compromised quickly with changes to the landscaping of individual lots. This generally results in one of two homeowners in a neighborhood with water saturating the areas around the foundation and entering the footing tiles. In the developments since I’ve arrived, the city has taken drainage easements along these areas, so technically we could go in and regrade the area. This is generally very unpopular with most of the neighbors because they have trees, shrubs, retaining walls, storage sheds and fences that would have to be removed. The other problem is that this remedy usually lasts for less than two years before the problem starts all over again.
Generally, the water problem can be corrected by good landscaping or minimal storm piping into the area. The landscaping is the property owner’s responsibility and the storm piping is constructed by the city and usually special assessed to the local owners.
The Brookstone sump pump project began as a special assessment proposal for the residents at 210 Oakbrook Drive. The city put together some designs and cost estimates for the neighbors on this street. Brookstone Homes Inc. was also looking at resolving some drainage issues and met with the city to discuss their problem. During the discussions the city plans were presented and Brookstone indicated a willingness to participate under the conditions of a special assessment.
The city’s standard policy is we don’t special assess any stormwater;
“Storm water sewer costs shall not be special assessed and shall be paid through general revenue funds unless they are constructed and paid for by a subdivider in accordance with a developer’s agreement.”
That was not feasible here and the residents wanted the improvement. Most other assessments are completed with the resident only paying the cost of the material and any contractors.
“When the City authorizes that all or a portion of public improvements, other than storm sewer installation, shall be constructed by City employees using City equipment, the actual costs may be determined to be only the costs of materials and any equipment rentals,”
This started out as a special assessment and I saw no reason to treat it any differently. The Council agreed and approved a motion on July 1, 2008 authorizing the City Manager to take such actions as necessary to implement and administer said policies for the construction of improvements to be constructed in the Brookstone Subdivision.
The city negotiated and signed an agreement with Brookstone on construction and payment conditions for the project. The city recently started construction on the project.
The city’s portion of this project will consist of installing a 12” pipe in the middle of the terrace beginning at the curb inlet on the corner. Six inch pipe will then be stubbed under the sidewalk to the property line which is located 1’ toward the house from the sidewalk. From this point Riverwood will run the connection to your sump pump discharge line.
The installation of the 12” pipe will necessitate the removal of the driveway aprons and the 6” stubs will cause a block or two of sidewalk to be removed. These will be backfilled temporarily, with gravel, to allow access until all pipe has been installed. Once the pipe is complete, a contractor will replace all the concrete removals. Once the concrete is in and Riverwood is finished making the connections, we will return to restore the grass areas we have disturbed, and Riverwood will restore theirs.
The new concrete work will be the most inconvenient for the residents, because it needs to cure for 7 days before vehicles can be allowed to use it. Otherwise, access to driveways will only be denied as we dig through it.
Staff is working with residents on the location of the stubs. The city had painted a pink mark on the sidewalk which appeared to be the ideal location for stubs.

What's the Plan Say?

Zoning Board members serve an important function in our community. They spend hours reviewing documents for a meeting hoping to improve their community and they will still make someone mad. The decisions these people make are not life and death, but they can affect the quality of life and property values.
The City recently completed a comprehensive plan that we are now trying to role into the zoning code so that it will implement the plans. The idea is that the plan and the code have to be consistent by state statute. Writing comprehensive plans provides all these cool concepts for changing the community. The code actually sets rules for making it happen – reality sets in. The rules that then need to be enforced to achieve the cool concepts tend to seem intrusive. Intrusions that seem unnecessary to the average individual who would meet most zoning requirements even without zoning. Still, that one exception to the average always set the benchmark.
Zoning Codes often are intrusions into the preferences of property owners in the way they use their property. The practical issues involve the type and specificity of the code and the application by staff, commissioners and council members. For the code to work effectively and fairly, the code needs to be consistent with the plan which was written to provide a clear view of the objective. Codes that place to great a range of interpretation in the hands of the implementing authority may end up not being reasonable and undermining the confidence of the community.
The enforcing authorities need to have options for the potential solutions to the all the problems that will eventual develop. The city also needs to remain consistent with the plan and provide codes that will achieve the stated desired results. This may seem overzealous to plan commissioners and the public, but we already have complaints regarding the same codes issues that are causing some code rewrite consternation.
The consistency of the plan and the code should help reduce personal biases and arbitrary decisions by staff, the plan commission and the council.

Planning for Council Meetings

What happens at Council meetings can sometimes be substantially different then what staff thought or was told was going to happen. There are all these conversations about who's going to say what and what group is going to show up and request something. Then the meeting happens and nothing goes as planned.

After twenty two years of attending meetings on a weekly basis, I find that the people just do not like throwing their ideas into the public forum. This fear of having your ideas evaluated publicly really creates difficulty generating consensus on a course of action.

I don't blame people for having this fear - I still have it after twenty two years. The environment where people feel comfortable having their ideas evaluated and critiqued is generally not a televised public meeting. Even the private focus groups have agressives and passives that create communication problems and a lack of true consensus.

The amount of staff preparation time that goes into possible council discussion items that never materialize is surely balanced by the discussions that do occur that no staff member was prepared to discuss. The way some of the questions end up being asked does not generate the same type of conversation that was originally anticipated. Again, people's knowledge of government operations can lead to confusion and miscommunication.

I believe that Council members tend to maintain misconceptions about issues because conversations become vague or they did not understand how to properly ask the question. This can lead to conflict between Council members and staff. The Council meeting can sure be a source of pre-meeting stress and post-meeting letdown. What a great profession.

Performance Measurement

For some time, governments have increasingly been urged to evaluate the results of their efforts. Most frequently, this has meant measuring public-service outputs (or inputs) for purposes of management efficiency and political accountability.
Performance measurement has been defined as “measurement on a regular basis of the results (outcomes) and efficiency of services or programs.” Thus performance measures are quantifiable indicators that, when analyzed, determine what a particular program or service is achieving. Performance measures come in many different forms, including inputs (such as financial resources), outputs (the number of customers served), and outcomes (the quantifiable results of the program). Regardless of their form, performance measures should relate to a particular initiative or strategy of an organization.
Citizens expect their municipal government to provide services in the most effective and efficient manner possible. The kinds of services and the quality of their delivery vary from one community to another, depending in part on the financial and human resources available. The City of Lake Mills is a “full-service” city in that it provides a very broad range of services, including municipal water, electric and sewer, snow removal, brush collection, and a regional public library. The delivery of services affects what is commonly referred to as the “quality of life.” Because of the nationwide economic downturn and significant reductions in local aid from the state, Lake Mills, like most communities in the nation, is facing the dilemma of trying to maintain acceptable levels of service while having to reduce overall expenditures.
Performance measurement involves collecting data in a systematic and objective manner to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery and program objectives. Performance management is the application of such data into an integrated management system that informs resource allocation and decision making to move an organization toward the achievement of strategic objectives. More recently, a movement has emerged that includes assessing the wellbeing of citizens in a more holistic way by measuring quality-of-life outcomes.
Many factors motivate the application of performance management. In the United States and internationally, governments are applying performance measures and standards to promote greater accountability through high-performing, transparent government agencies and communication with citizens. Indeed, elected officials at every level of government, public managers, and citizens all benefit from implementing sound performance management systems.
Performance management concepts are also being applied to nongovernmental organizations and others interested in establishing a culture of continuous improvement.
A good performance management system yields the necessary data for assessing service needs and performance. In this sense, a good system helps elected officials in their oversight responsibilities. It also helps them make objective resource-allocation decisions and formulate policy.
Performance of a specific service may be tracked over time to demonstrate improvement, or it may be benchmarked against levels of service provided in similar communities. Openly sharing goals and trend and comparative data is an effective way of strengthening elected officials’ credibility with citizens.
Local government managers and their staff can use performance management as a systematic means to conduct continuous evaluation, track progress in realizing strategic plan goals, and inform daily operations. Performance measurement data can be used to identify operational weaknesses and allocate resources accordingly. In addition, an established performance management system can help facilitate the process of setting employee performance goals and evaluating the performance of outside contractors. Indeed, citizen satisfaction improves as local governments respond to citizen input with service delivery improvements.
Two of the strongest tools that managers use in evaluating service delivery is fact finding and fact-based decision making—the power of facts and logic, and the power of good business practices. The opportunity to develop a factual comparison of how our city does compared with other cities, so that we can understand more clearly exactly what our strengths and weaknesses are.
City staff and WCMA are going to work on producing a Benchmarking Report. It was a bit risky to do a comparison of Lake Mills with our peers because you never really know what it will show. While the results may be surprising and the problems identified daunting, we hope to have information in place that we can use to address what was previously ignored or denied.