Mayor's 2006 Budget Adds 4 Cops

Proposal also hikes parking tickets

Wednesday, October 5, 2005 Lee Sensenbrenner

To pay for adding four new patrol officers next year and moving another two from desks to the street, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is doubling and tripling many parking tickets under his 2006 budget proposal.

Cieslewicz has been selectively unveiling parts of next year's budget, and his latest announcement to add police officers generally got a warm reception from other city leaders.

The Common Sense Coalition, which includes Madison police union President Scott Favour, said it was encouraged by the decision, even though it does not add the 16 officers the coalition has been calling for.

On the political left of the City Council, Ald. Austin King said adding a few officers is a very responsible thing to do and makes perfect sense.

King also praised the mayor for putting forward a way to pay for the new officers, a proposal to generate $700,000 by raising the expired meter fine from $10 to $20 and the alternate side parking fine from $10 to $30. Last week the political party Progressive Dane, of which King is a member, suggested raising parking ticket fines as one way to avoid budget cuts.

Ald. Zach Brandon, a moderate on the council, also praised the decision to add more patrol officers, but said that it was difficult to comment on the budget when it is being announced one piece at a time, with no overall context. Cieslewicz plans to formally introduce the budget next Tuesday.

In general, Brandon said he'd like to see increases such as the additional officers covered by cuts elsewhere, rather than raising fines or fees.

"We're still outpacing people's ability to pay," said Brandon, who represents part of the far west side.

Cieslewicz had initially requested that all department heads submit 3 percent budget reductions for next year when city officials had said the new state property tax caps would be more restrictive. Further review of the new law has shown that it poses little constraint on Madison, but Cieslewicz has said that he will stick to raising the overall property tax levy next year by 4.1 percent, the figure city officials initially thought was required by the state.

King said that decision was sort of noble but added that the mayor's commitment to raise the levy by 4.1 percent was a commitment "made under duress, under the gun of the state" and that he did not view it as an absolute.

He said raising the levy by 4.1 percent would be on the low end of what a responsible budget will come in at after the City Council works with it. But he added that "there's no question it will be below 5.7 percent," the historical level for annual budget increases.