Let me provide some clarifications for Caty, who is in part wrong on this CIB matter, and provide some other needed clarifications to my previous post. For those who enjoy verbosity.
The entire CIB process ultimately derives its power from the district councils, per city code. Ultimately. The key point is that for that to be effective partners, district council participants have to be fairly on top of things, which can be a challenge.
Recommendations are passed on from CIB Task Forces on specific topics (Streets & Utilities, Housing & Economic Development, Community Facilities) to a overarching CIB Committee, and then to the Mayor, and City Council.
The Task Forces that review the CIB proposals are mainly made up of individuals directly appointed by district councils, without anyone else's involvement. Members of the CIB Committee also sit on the Task Forces, which as we will see, also derives its power from district councils. The Task Force recommendations are passed on to the overarching CIB Committee.
The CIB Committee is made up of Mayoral appointees, appointed by Senate District. Ultimately, this committee's power is derived from the district councils, though it is sort of complex. Each district council within the Senate District can recommend up to three people for the CIB committee, and "the mayor shall, whenever possible, make appointments consistent with the recommendations of the citizen participation districts," as described in City code.
The overarching CIB Committee's recommendations are passed on to the Mayor. This last time around, when I was a district council appointment to a Task Force, there was substantial disagreement between the CIB Committee and Mayor. So ultimately, the Mayor does have the say, but if people wanted to, they could rally more strongly around the recommendations, and make a point of holding the Mayor accountable, or the City Council could obstruct truly poor decisions. The connection back to the district councils could be strengthened, as could the district council's role here in standing behind the recommendations. But the Mayor does have power in the end.
Caty's also wrong on me being privileged, at least in terms of being able to participate. I am sadly too often left out of the key decisions made in this City, as are so many other average citizens, which you may recall was the general theme of the post of which you were so critical.
Now to where I should have been CLEARER in my post...
First, the CIB Committee is not considering Ayd Mill Road this year, and may never consider Ayd Mill Road. The CIB process only considers about $20 million in projects funded by certain bond issues. If Ayd Mill is funded through another means (general fund, something else, I'm not an expert on the budget), the CIB process is no longer an issue. My point was that there are many projects submitted through the CIB process that were not funded every year, though they are often quite meritorious. Ayd Mill will be substantially funded through City funds, as I understand it, and the funds that go to Ayd Mill could very likely go to many of those neighborhood-iidentified priorities, submitted to the CIB process. If we fund the divisive Ayd Mill proposal, we are skipping over proposals with broad community agreement for rec center improvements, street repair, and green space.
Second, I probably left the wrong impression that CM Benanav voted for the Ayd Mill two lane with bike path proposal from the beginning. My point is that CM Benanav has always chosen from the solutions bubbling up from his district councils. I believe that by comparison, the Mayor has struck out to create his own solution. And that should make citizens unhappy, I'd think
Milwaukee actually has removed a highway similar to Ayd Mill Road, realizing it had a negative impact. But the Mayor would have us spending time and lots of money expanding this roadway, and creating a drive-by city. That is in contradiction to a long community process, and that at best divides the community.
I wrote the post too quickly, and it did not live up to my usual standards, though I stand beside the essential truth of the post, even if parts ended up being confusing or misleading.
Regards,
Bob Spaulding Downtown
(Insert Repke disclaimer here)
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