Gone fishin'...

Upstreaming... returns 1/15/07!

City of Madison Hanukkah bush and Kwanzaa shrub collection schedule...

From the City of Madison website:

Christmas Tree Collection

Each January weather permitting, the Street Division conducts a special collection for holiday trees.

We will begin our first round of collection on Monday, January 8th.

We will begin the second round of collection on Tuesday, January 23rd.

Make sure you have your tree to the curb on the above Mondays to insure collection during the round.

Holiday Tree Collection Rules:
Place trees at the street edge only.
Remove tree bags.
Remove all tree stands.
Remove all light strings, ornaments and other metal objects.
Wreaths, garlands, etc. should be placed with regular refuse.

Photo Credit: www.recycleplus.org

2 seconds (literally) of Hollywood fame...

Kristian Knutsen of thedailypage.com details the local release of the movie The Last Kiss. Part of the movie was shot in Madison and he notes that the movie includes "such highly recognizable backdrops as Bascom Hill, the Union Terrace and the City-County Building."

He also posts the trailer. Play it and pause at 1:35... look just to the right of the center of the frame for one more recognizable backdrop.

From a Melaine Conklin column last year:

The romantic comedy, set for a spring 2006 release, is filming in Montreal. But it is set, at least in part, in Madison. So Brandon was asked if they could use his Laundry 101 business card, which lists him as CEO "Chief Everything Officer," on a fridge for Braff's character to eyeball. Brandon signed the release form to Last Kiss Film Productions, but not before asking a few questions.

"I asked how they got my business card and what would be the purpose of using it," attests Brandon, not wanting Laundry 101or him portrayed in any bad light. "It's set dressing. They had what they called 'set dressers' here getting Madisonesque things to make it look realistic."

Mark Green hates teddy bears?

This evening I was driving home with my kids. We saw a 4x8 Mark Green sign and one of my sons asked me "if Mark Green wins, will he change things?"

Before I could answer, he asked "will he get rid of teddy bears?"

I don't think so, but he will prevent important research that could help cure your classmate's diabetes.

Try explaining that position to your kids.

NATO in Darfur NOW...

From Sen. John Edwards:

Many times I have asked for your help, and you've come through every time. Never before have I asked for your help on a matter of life and death. Before one more child is tortured, before one more woman is raped, we must urge President Bush to lead the effort to create a NATO force to stop the genocide in Darfur.

Sudan began a genocide against tribes of small farmers in its Darfur region three years ago. Militia groups backed by the Sudanese government have slaughtered an estimated 400,000 people and driven 2.5 million people from their homes. U.N. troops are on their way, but will take at least five more months to arrive in Darfur. NATO forces -- if the U.S. stepped up to moral leadership -- could end the conflict immediately.

Tell George Bush to lead the effort to create a NATO force for Darfur NOW.

America was once trusted and respected around the world. People around the globe expected us to provide moral leadership and inspiration to make their lives better. It's no secret that our reputation has been tarnished over the past six years. The Bush Administration put our country's military strength and vast resources behind a reckless war in Iraq and turned a blind eye to people around the world that desperately needed our help. The U.S. military's unique assets -- our airlift capabilities, logistical support and intelligence operations -- can and must be used to assist NATO peacekeeping in Darfur.

The Save Darfur Coalition, an alliance of over 100 faith-based, humanitarian and human rights organizations, has already sent one million postcards to President Bush asking for the immediate deployment of a robust peacekeeping mission. Clearly, many, many more voices are needed to get his attention -- we cannot allow the Bush Administration to stand by for five more months while thousands of civilians are dying in Darfur every month. In May, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Holocaust survivor Elie Weisel called Darfur "the capital of suffering." He called on all of us to "tell the victims they are not alone." And just last week a senior United Nations official alerted the Security Council that Sudan seems to be preparing a significant military operation in the Darfur region that will leave aid workers increasingly in danger and hundreds of thousands of lives at risk.

Please speak up for them and urge President Bush to take quick and decisive action.

The people of Darfur cannot wait five more months for U.N. troops to arrive. At the current rate of violence and destruction, another 30,000 civilians will die and another 300,000 people will become refugees over the next five months. In addition, as the international community stands by, violence and chaos is spreading to neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic. More than 100 Chadians were hacked to death in a single incident earlier this year.

I admire the African Union troops stationed in Darfur. They have done their jobs courageously and deserve the world's gratitude. But they need help. The African Union peacekeeping troops, which number just 7,000, have been unable to protect civilians or enforce a 2004 ceasefire. In the meantime, security has deteriorated dramatically.

At a time when the world is questioning U.S. sincerity and motives, what better way for the Bush Administration to show that we still believe in human rights and still have the moral authority to lead, than to step up and do our part to stop the genocide in Darfur? Tens of thousands of lives hang in the balance. So does our nation's moral credibility

The time to act is now.

Thank you,

John Edwards

P.S. We need to raise every voice possible against the genocide in Darfur. Please forward this message to friends and family and urge them to contact President Bush immediately.

Mayor Fussbudget?

Civic Strategies, a public policy strategic planning firm for cities, identifies the five different types of mayors:

The deal-maker mayor:
This is the wheeler-dealer as mayor, the person who loves to make headline-grabbing deals, usually in development projects. Imagine Donald Trump as mayor and you have the general idea.

The ethnic-champion mayor:
This is the kind of mayor you often find in cities that have just made an ethnic transition. This kind of mayor comes to office determined to level the playing field. Alas, sometimes it blinds ethnic champions to everything else a mayor must do.

The managerial mayor:
The name describes the type. This is the mayor whose passion is making government work better, cheaper, faster.

The reform/protest mayor:
Again, the name describes the type. These are mayors elected to protest some condition or issue. But as the issue fades, these mayors exhaust all but their most ardent supporters. Unless they move toward another type, reform/protest mayors usually don't last long in office.

The urbanist/neighborhood mayor:
These are mayors who are focused on making downtowns and neighborhoods healthy. They delight in the details and can talk endlessly about neighborhood groceries and tree plantings. Result: Some think of them as small-thinking fussbudgets. Perhaps some are, but there's a reason these mayors last so long in office.

With his talk of a New Urban Agenda, Mayor Dave is clearly an "urbanist/neighborhood mayor." According to Civic Strategies this bodes well for his re-election chances:

[I]f you want to be mayor more than eight years, probably the urbanist/neighborhood mayor is the right type to be.

Civic Strategies goes on to note that long-serving mayors Richard Daley of Chicago, Thomas Menino of Boston and Joseph Riley of Charleston are urbanist/neighborhood mayors.

The real question... what is a "fussbudget?" Is it:
a) A person who fusses over spending less?
b) A person who fusses over trifles?
c) A person who fusses over truffles?
d) A person who fusses over spending more?

Mandatory paid sick leave on the ballot...

... in San Francisco.

It is official.
Opening July 2007.

New shade structures in Madison parks...

The City of Madison will begin a pilot program to test shade structures in the city's newer parks this year. These canopies, similar to those seen at the Goodman Pool, are an inexpensive alternative to building gazebos or other larger structures and will provide shade while the park's trees mature.

I am proud to announce that Country Grove park and Manchester park have been selected as the first two recipients in this pilot program.

Photo Credit: www.parasolnet.com/

Back to school...

Today, at the Wisconsin State Fair, Republican attorney general hopeful J.B. Van Hollen told primary opponent Paul Bucher “You suck...” during a break in a radio debate on Newsradio 620 WTMJ with Charlie Sykes.

Bucher shot back on air,“Well, you know what? I don’t suck...”

2nd Grade boys, 2nd grade...

Facebook... Trick or Treat?

My observations of yesterday's post...

First, there is no doubt that UW students are an important part of our community, but they do not make up "1/3" of the city... not even close.

From the UW system website:

UW-Madison... is located in Madison and has a total enrollment of 40,606 undergraduate and graduate students.

And, that figure also includes Law students and Medical students.

If you included every UW-Madison student, every MATC student (including non-traditional) and every Madison high-school student it would still be less than 33%. Regardless of the actual percentage... it is a specious argument for an elected official to make.

Second, the Mayor should take this group seriously... 3167 members is a significant number and last I heard the number was approaching 4000.

Third, the "officers" and founders of the group should be careful. They are opening themselves up to personal liability as "organizers" of this event. Even the members of the group could be unwittingly assisting future law enforcement action against themselves should the event occur.

To discourage the event, the City of Madison should contact the key organizers individually and purchase advertising on Facebook to reach the rest. The advertising should make the "officers", founders and members aware of the risks and ramifications of planning this event.

For $1000 (less than a quarter of one percent of last year's cost), the city's ad would be displayed 500,000 times...

That would be money well spent.

Photo Credit: www.patriotblog.com/

Facebook...

Founded in 2004, Facebook is a social directory similar to www.myspace.com, but membership is limited to persons with a valid email address from "over 2,200 colleges, 22,000 high schools and 2,000 companies."

In a few short years, Facebook has racked up some impressive stats. Facebook has more than 7.5 million registered users and two-thirds of those registered return every day. It is the seventh-most trafficked site in the United States.

College students from around the country use Facebook for social purposes and UW-Madison is no different. In fact, UW has an impressive Facebook following. Members can create and join groups based on their personal beliefs and interests. Usually these groups are good-natured. Students can join, say, the Ian's Pizza group or the Casa Bianca pizza group to show their personal bar-time food preference.

But, after the Mayor's recent announcement regarding Halloween... a new, slightly nefarious Facebook group was founded. The groups name is "Move Halloween to Langdon 2006." From Facebook (I have edited the format and the crude language):

Description:
Everybody's favorite Mayor announced on July 19th that State Street will be FENCED OFF COMPLETLY and IT WILL COST YOU $5 TO GET IN ON HALLOWEEN. Lets get back at the mayor and move our party to Landon! We deserve the right to get dressed up and stagger around drunk in the city streets without having to pay a cover charge! Help save halloween and show up on Landon with all of your friends!Last year over 100,000 people showed up to celebrate, making Halloween the third largest party in the country, only behind New Years in New York, and Mardi Gras. THIS YEAR MAYOR DAVE SAYS ONLY 50,000 TICKETS WILL BE SOLD!WE HAVE TO FIGHT,FOR OUR RIGHT,TO PARTY!!!!!(on langdon)

UPDATE:
11 Hours old: 100 members
24 Hours: 300+
40 Hours: 500+
48 Hours: 900+
5 Days: 2000+

Keep inviting your friends and help spread the word! Halloween will live on!

Note: This group does not condone rioting on Halloween or the destruction of personal property at any time.

Contact Info
Street: Langdon Street
City: Madison, WI

Recent News
NEWSFLASH: According to the Mayor, "People who appear intoxicated will not be allowed on to State Street"Mayor Cieslewicz thinks we need to be controlled, lets show him that we aren't going to put up with being fenced in!http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/tct/2006/07/19/0607190429.php

Members
This group has 3167 members.

Justin Baker (Wisconsin) at 9:27pm July 26th, 2006
Good question Max. I did a quick Google search and it looks like the mayor will be running for re-election towards the end of the Spring 2007 semester. In the last election in 2003 he won by a hair 29,700 to 28,500.(usmayors.org) Obviously this could be the deciding issue in his re-election campaign. Also kudos to Ashok for making the point about Rhythm and Booms (the annual fireworks show paid for by the city) costing more than Halloween. I couldn't find any numbers about how much Rhythem and Booms actually costs; but it sounds feasible that it would be more than Halloween. In public statements mayor Dave likes to play up the fact that Halloween "costs the city $350,000" (Badger Herald). Alderman Mike Veveer on the other hand highlights the facts that the city usually "collects $250,000 in fines" (Badger Herald) as well as being a boon to the local economy i.e. generating abnormally high profits and taxes.


Max Gad (Wisconsin) at 5:52pm July 25th, 2006
whens the mayor running for re-election? I dont care who's running against him..I want him OUT!

Ashok Kumar (Wisconsin) at 4:58pm July 25th, 2006
This is a load!...they want to privatize an entire street from the residents who live on and around it. And they make the ridiculous assumption that people who can't afford five dollars are the ones "rioting" (questionable wording). Also members of the city are like "whose gonna pay for this?" THE CITY SHOULD! students make 1/3rd of this city and are the driving force of its economy, why should we have to pay for this (i.e. "rythem and booms" on July 4th costs way more than halloween, but the city is glad to pay for that)...TAKE IT TO LANGDON!

David Bayer (Wisconsin) at 2:17pm July 25th, 2006
this has seriously got to be the most f**ked up s**t i have ever heared. why would the mayor of mad town puss out like that... what a deusch

Omar El-Dabt (Wisconsin) at 1:33pm July 25th, 2006
f**k that $5 s**t

Dustin Dresen (MATC Madison) at 9:38am July 25th, 2006
I think Halloween should be moved to the beltline. Im thinking between the Midvale and Park street exits. Anyone agree?

Juston Edwards (Wisconsin) at 6:47am July 25th, 2006
Mayor Dave is a f***ing dumb ass. I hope his plan backfires in the cities face and only then will they realize that every year that all their plans suck. What they need to do is have the last call hour to end at 6 or 5 in the morning like they do on New Years Eve. That way every one is to drunk or passed out to do anything.

Sean Stewart (Wisconsin) at 9:59pm July 24th, 2006
The only problem I have with moving it to Langdon is that it won't have the traditon of State Street tied to it. Get rid of the $5 ticket and the stupid gate idea, but keep it on state street if possible. If that's not possible Langdon will work.

Ann Goth (MATC Madison) at 8:17pm July 24th, 2006
since bar time seems to be the time when the riots happen, how come they can't keep the bars open all night, so then there isn't hundreds of people flooding the streets at bar time?

Kevin Zakrzewski (Wisconsin) at 7:05pm July 24th, 2006
I like the idea of moving it to Langdon, but what do you think they would do if we were all to gather on University ave or Johnson? They may react more to a movement like that. Just a thought.

Officers
Tom Wangard (Wisconsin)
President of Halloween on Langdon
Josh Madsen (Wisconsin)
Advocate for handicap accessibility
Ben Trachtenberg (Wisconsin)
Too Jewish to pay $5
Kenny Taylor (Iowa)
Driving from Iowa to party on Langdon
Jay Potash (Wisconsin)
Master of Awkwardness

Group Type
This is an open group. Anyone can join and invite others to join.

Admins
Tom Wangard (Wisconsin) (creator)
Josh Madsen (Wisconsin)

My observations to follow...

2 1/2 hours in a box...

I'll be hosting Mitch Henck's "Outside the Box" tomorrow (Monday 8/7/06). The show can be heard on Newstalk 1310 WIBA or listen online here. Show starts at 8:30 AM and the scheduled guests are:

* Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton

* Madison Council President Austin King

* Wisconsin Wolves football team (a coach and a few players... maybe even Brigid Mullen)

* University Research Park Director Mark Bugher

* Dane County Executive and AG candidate Kathleen Falk

Seek and Hide...

After my recent post highlighting the politicization of Madison's taxpayer-funded planning councils, I sent an email to the Northside Planning Council asking that my official cityofmadison.com email address be added to their listserv. (To their credit, the East Isthmus Planning Council asked me to join their list.) In the email, I also inquired about specific rules preventing "political parties" from using their resources.

Three days later, I received a response. The following is snipped from that email:

Our NPC discussion list is for the 34 members of the Northside Planning Council only; and the Northside discussion list is for Northside residents and business owners only.

A curious response given that a large portion of the Northside Planning Council's funding ($57,813) comes from City of Madison taxpayers. I responded:

To be clear...

Are you rejecting my request, as a city alder, to be added on the grounds that the NPC listserv is for "Northside residents and business owners only"?

Two weeks later, I am still waiting for a response.
The longer I wait, the more I wonder...

What does the Northside Planning Council have to hide from Madison taxpayers?

What will happen to Madison's Housing Bubble?

Economic Indicators to Watch...

• New & Existing Homes Sales: Down 8.3%
  (Dane County)
• Mortgage Applications: Down 2.4%
  (Nationwide)
• House Price Index: Down 4.38%
  (Madison MSA)
• Vacancy Rates: 11.3%
  (53719 Zip Code)
• Consumer Price Index: Up 4.0%
  (Midwest)
• Housing Starts: Down 33%
  (Dane County)
• Industry Employment: Down 15%
  (Veridian Homes)

Great neighbors make great neighborhoods...

Congratulations to the Glacier Ridge Neighborhood for being featured in Madison Magazine's "Great Neighborhoods" article.

Dave Hull and the rest of the board deserve so much credit for what they have accomplished with one of Madison's newest neighborhoods. Melding four developments into one neighborhood is no small task. From "attainable" small lot, alley feed homes to townhome-style condos to the "house on the hill" they were able to bring these developments together into one neighborhood.

I am proud of my neighbors and I am honored to represent them on the cover and the council.

Traffic calming update...

As I previously noted:

The traffic calming approved for Manchester and East Pass has been put on hold. The contractor hired to complete these projects has gone out of business. This means that all of the 2005 projects will not be completed this year. My hope is that the previously approved projects will be completed in the spring and will not have to compete for 2006 funding. It is my understanding that the contractor’s bonding company will reimburse the city for the cost of the contracts.

Good News!!!

City Engineering informed me today that these streets are #10 on the list to construct this year. They are scheduled to be completed in September.

A train (or trolley) on a circular track...

In my 2003 questionnaire for the League of Women Voters, I championed the creation of a Regional Transit Authority. I believed then, as I do today, that expanding Metro's service area and diversifying the funding sources are essential ingredients for the utility's survival.

Milwaukee is debating creating an RTA and it is time for the "Capital Corridor" to get serious about it, too.

There has been a lot of talk lately about regional collaboration. While, the discussion has revolved primarily around economic development, I think that regional tax base sharing, regional mass transit and regional arts support are important subsets of any regional discussion.

I believe that a lot of civic energy has been diverted from a discussion on creating a Regional Transit Authority by the premature discussions on "light rail" and trolleys.

Before we spend anymore tax dollars on trolleys and trains, we should:

1) Pass legislation at the State level that allows for the creation of a new political subdivision (RTA) with taxing authority.

2) Study which areas of the region will benefit from expanded transit service.

3) Pass a Memorandum of Understanding/Articles of Incorporation between the City of Madison, Dane County, and suburban communities agreeing upon the incorporation of the RTA.

4) Gain voter approval of a Transit Sales Tax.

As I see it, the RTA would be a political subdivision of the State. All power and authority granted to RTA would be vested in a Board of Directors, which would be charged with managing and conducting the RTA’s affairs.

The RTA would have an 11-member Board of Directors serving overlapping three-year terms.

Appointments would be as follows:

City of Madison — Four members appointed by the Mayor, and approved by the Common Council. All appointees must reside in Madison.

Suburbs — Four members appointed by the Mayors/City Managers of cooperating municipal corporations, other than Madison, within Dane County.

County — Three members appointed by the Dane County Executive, and at least one of these three appointees must be a resident of the City of Madison.

Regional transportation is a serious matter that requires serious solutions. But, planning for trains and trolleys before we establish a funding mechanism is... just a train on a circular track.

Photo Credit: http://voteview.com/

Upstreaming Nationwide...

It is interesting to see where the readers of this Blog live...

Red Dot = Last Visitor
Green Dots = Last 10 Visitors
White Dots = Last 10+ Visitors

There is a third way...

You can now go to www.zachbrandon.com to get to my blog. zachbrandon.blogspot.com and www.radcentrist.com will still work, if you prefer.

And, speaking of the Third Way... go take a look, because that is real progress.

New warning sirens...

A warning siren is scheduled to be located at 3666 Ice Age Drive. This is a City of Madison, Engineering Storm Utility Parcel.

The siren has a design capability of 128 decibels (dB) at 100' and a design coverage of approximately 5280' radius at 70 dB.

The installation of this siren will be in October 2006.

This map shows the installation location.

The "High Point" of this summer...

At last night's neighborhood meeting regarding the Fitchburg Super Target, a few of you asked about South High Point Road.

The South High Point Road plans can be found here.

The completion date for the contract is September 15, 2006. However, I am told that some issues with Raymond Road, east of Hickory Ridge, may push the actual completion date to late-September.

Once South High Point Road is completed, it should help alleviate traffic volumes on Muir Field Road, Maple Grove Drive, McKenna Blvd, Prairie Road and many other neighborhood streets.

And, that is something I am looking forward to... I'm sure you are, too.

Hypocrisy = Beliefs - Actions...

There is always a story inside the story when it comes to this council.

There are things the public would never hear, but probably should. For months, I have debated whether to put these stories on this Blog. For the record, I am not talking about muckraking or pointing out legislative inconsistencies.

I am talking about pointing out full-on hypocrisy: "the act of pretending to have virtues that one does not truly possess or practice."

At last night's council meeting, during a break, there was a debate over whether an Inclusionary Zoning Marketing Plan would be reviewed by the Plan Commission or the Director of Planning and Development (or designee). I wanted it to be a staff decision, another alder wanted it decided by a citizen committee.

I made my arguments for why I believed this was a decision best entrusted to staff, most of them revolving around my concern that these citizens were picked for the task of deciding land use and were not necessarily experts in marketing.

When asked for her rationale by the Mayor, the other alder says:

BECAUSE, I HATE NAME REMOVED !
(UPDATE: I removed the name of the staffer at the request of the Mayor.)

Creating a law because you "hate" one staff person is just plain bad government, but here comes the hypocrisy...

After this petty maneuver, this same alder wrote this in a post today:

...the bottom line is that I wanted an ordinance that was going to work and I don't care about what silly political games people want to play...

And, just before the vote this alder wrote:

Too bad some people are too busy spinning and trying to score political points, instead of trying to be constructive and help create affordable housing for our community... I'd rather stay focused on bettering our community and doing my job as an alder . . . and wake up tomorrow morning with a clear conscience and pride in my integrity . . .

There is nothing worse than a hypocrite who thinks they are a martyr.

Get off the cross, Brenda... we are going to need the wood to build affordable housing.

Oh, what a tangled web she weaves...

In 2003, the Mayor's office asked me to develop an "equity model" for the Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) ordinance being pushed by Alder Brenda Konkel and the other Progressive Dane alders.

Why me you ask? Good question.

Because, I made the mistake of pointing out, privately, that the formula in their original version was flawed and that it literally "trapped" IZ home buyers. It would have taken the average IZ home buyer 18 years to build enough equity for a down payment on a "market rate" home.

The "restricted resale" approach they used also artificially depressed Madison's tax base for 99 years. Under their original plan, IZ dwelling units were initially sold at an "affordable" price to qualifying households within an income group. The resale of the dwelling was restricted so that the buyer and seller had to be members of same income range.

This eliminated market-driven housing price appreciation, because the only allowed increase was proportionate to the increase in the area median income. The home buyer's ability to access equity was constrained by the resale limitations and the "restricted resale" provision remained attached to dwelling for no less than 99 years.

Other shortcomings included:

*Reduced incentive to maintain the unit over time.
*The lack of a market for restricted units when a sale is necessary.
*Limited equity accumulation.

When I explained these shortcomings to the mayor and his staff, the mayor asked me to create a new equity model. But, there were a few requirements. The most difficult requirement was from Alder Konkel. She INSISTED that IZ dwelling be affordable for 99 years.

This was a problem. Because this artificial 99 year sales restriction was not compatible with my belief that the law should not depress the tax base in any way. I discussed this issue with Alder Konkel, but she was unwavering.

Alder Konkel and I took our arguments to the mayor. And, like King Solomon... he told us to "split the baby." He suggested that we reduce the 99 year term to a lesser amount of years. I explained that any sales restriction linked to a predetermined amount of time would artificially depress the tax base and that we should just let the market take over after the initial sale.

I shared with them a concept similar to the San Diego model (their entire IZ law has since been ruled unconstitutional). Under this model, there was no affordability control period and the equity from the sale of the unit was split between the homeowner and the city on an incremental scale.

Alder Konkel was adamant that the "homes not be lost." She argued, quite effectively, that maintaining affordable housing stock was as important as creating it. Frankly, by the end of the meeting... I agreed. So, the mayor asked me to go back to the drawing board and come back with a model that let the market work, but kept the units affordable. No small task.

For whatever reason, Alder Konkel took this as a defeat and I took it as a challenge.

I started by studying scores of affordable housing programs from around the county. I found that Portland has an affordable housing program that uses Shared Appreciation Mortgages. Seemed like an interesting concept:

The SAM was introduced in the early 1980's, when interest rates were high enough to make mortgage qualifying a real challenge. The idea was to give borrowers a lower interest rate -- as much as 2% -- in exchange for sharing the property's increased future value with the lender.

This concept was ideal because it creates a partnership between the homeowner and the city where each benefits from increases in value (and the tax base).

I spent months creating a "compromise" equity model. The final product perfectly balanced Alder Konkel's strong political belief in the permanency of affordability with my strong political belief in protecting the tax base. The mayor publicly called the equity model "a brilliant formula," adding "it could become a national model."

But, it was complex... very complex (kind of like this Blog post). It had to be to balance our differing political ideologies and legislative goals. From a story BEFORE the law passed in the Cap Times:

Ald. Zach Brandon, one of the co-authors of the ordinance, admitted the document was cumbersome but said that was the price for keeping the units affordable for a long time.

"If you want permanent affordability, more bureaucracy is the trade-off," he said.

But, as soon as the law proved unsuccessful, guess who got blamed. Nevermind the fact that Alder Konkel voted FOR the current version of the law (including the equity model), I did NOT.

Alder Konkel even went as far as to rewrite history by alleging on thedailypage.com forum, and in a text message to me, that the "Brandon equity model" was a "Trojan horse" that I intentionally inserted into the ordinance to destroy it.

And, she continues to blame me every chance she gets... in fact twice in the past 12 hours. From her blog(s):

I just can't resist pointing out that the repairs to the ordinance are mostly necessary due to compromises the last time around. Zach Brandon insisted on the crazy equity model and the point system. Those were his two contributions to the current broken ordinance and the two major changes that need to be made.

and,

Yes, I had to swallow hard on that one and I'm hoping I don't live to regret it like the compromises that we are currently correcting like the Zach Brandon Equity Model and the Zach Brandon Point System.

And, there's the irony. The new, "simpler" equity model she is promoting as a "fix" is only "simpler" because it is missing one key component...

Permanent affordability!

There's nothing quite like selling out a basic tenant of your belief system and then blaming someone else.

In the end, this law will continue to fail... even with a "new" equity model. Then who will Alder Konkel blame? Time will tell, but it is interesting to note that she is already calling the "new" equity model... the "Sanborn" equity model.

Can Madison alders "afford" IZ?

Yesterday, I listed Madison's most "affordable" neighborhoods. That search got me wondering about how many alders live in "affordable" houses?

Turns out 10 of the 18 homeowners on the Common Council live in houses assessed below what the city calls "affordable housing." A majority (56%) of the alders live in houses below the maximum available Inclusionary Zoning price of $217,623.

Here's the breakdown:

District 1- Jed Sanborn $179,000
District 2- Brenda Konkel $176,100
District 3- Lauren Cnare $195,800
District 4- Mike Verveer $231,000
District 5- Robbie Webber $129,200
District 6- Judy Olson $268,500
District 7- Zach Brandon $300,700
District 8- Austin King RENTER
District 9- Paul Skidmore $173,100
District 10- Ken Golden $372,400
District 11- Tim Gruber $222,400
District 12- Brian Benford RENTER
District 13- Isadore Knox $145,900
District 14- Tim Bruer $349,800
District 15- Larry Palm $150,100
District 16- Judy Compton $353,000
District 17- Santiago Rosas $212,200
District 18- Paul Van Rooy $234,800
District 19- Noel Radomski $211,400
District 20- Cindy Thomas $204,200

Also, interesting to note is the assessed value of Madison's most vocal "affordable" housing activists.

Look them up yourself here.

The young will grow old, and then the old will get it right.

Milfred got it right... so will Wisconsin.

Where are Madison's "affordable" neighborhoods?

Reading Larry Palm's recent Blog and the WSJ article about "Finding a cheap house" got me wondering... where are the "affordable" neighborhoods in Madison?

A look at the City Assessor's 2006 data, shows that the homes in 60 neighborhood areas are assessed below the city wide average of $239,400. More importantly, in all but 16 of them, the average is below the maximum available "affordable" Inclusionary Zoning price of $217,623 (noted in Green).

Here are Madison's "affordable" neighborhoods and their average assessed value:

Far West
Mohawk Park, Englewood-Old Middleton Rd-Camelot $223,100
Glen Oak Hills-Crestwood-Merrill Crest $204,700
Oakbridge $221,600

South West
Meadowood $191,100
Orchard Ridge $231,600
Muir Field West $225,300
Meadowood West $198,200
Heather Downs-Park Ridge Heights $190,400
Putnam-McKee $218,900
Fieldstone $226,800

Near West
Segoe-Mineral Point Road (Lincoln Hills) $200,600
Midvale Heights-Tokay $212,000
Hammersley Road-West Beltline $203,400
Midvale Heights $233,400
Midvale School-Westmorland $237,600
Findlay Park-Quarrytown $220,400
West Beltline-Seminole Highway $165,200
Sunset Village-Hilldale $222,500
Sunset Woods-Forest Hills $235,900

West Central
Vilas-Longfellow School $238,300
Near West (Square) $233,400
Near East (Square) $216,400
Brittingham Park $183,100

Near South
Waunona $191,200
South Madison $174,800
Burr Oaks-Lincoln School $165,000

Far South
Rimrock Heights-Moorland Road $191,300

East Central
Lapham School-Breese Stevens (Square) $200,500
Wil-Mar $218,800
East High $163,100
Atwood-Winnebago $184,600
Fair Oaks-Worthington Park $142,300
Northgate-Aberg Avenue $139,400

Near East
Highwood-Glendale $183,500
Glendale $179,900
Lake Edge $161,900
Olbrich $145,600
Eastmorland $161,100
Olbrich Park-Cottage Grove Road $157,500

Far East
East Broadway $134,800
Acewood $171,400
Buckeye-Droster $195,700
Rolling Meadows $172,700
Rustic Ridge-East Ridge $206,500
Milwaukee Street I90-94 $182,900
Heritage Heights $206,500
Mira Loma $192,800
Lost Creek $214,700

North East
East Washington Avenue-Stoughton Rd-Commercial Avenue $154,600
Whitetail Ridge $186,900
Holiday Bluff $190,400
Berkeley $154,900
Prentice Prairie-Ridgewood $221,600
Parkway Village $205,700

Near North
Patio Gardens-Lakeview Heights $181,200
Northport-Sherman Village $167,200
Mendota Hills/North Shore $209,400
Mendota Hospital-Warner Park $194,000
Sherman School $151,000
Brentwood Village-Bruns $191,400

Lake Shore
NONE

This simple analysis doesn't account for the age, floor plan, location and size of each house, but I would point out:

That I grew up in a very, VERY small, 27 year old, two bedroom, cinder-block apartment literally on the "other side of the tracks," and;

That my first home with my children was the upstairs of a two bedroom country-road duplex with well and septic service that was 80 feet from a busy set of railroad tracks, and;

That the first house I owned was a small, "slab on grade" house with zero lot lines that abutted a busy Interstate Highway, and;

Frankly, I never once felt cheated by life.

The streak continues, city batting "over a million"...

Another major city project (those over $2 million) is over budget:

Goodman Park Maintenance Facility
Contract Amount: $5,549,352
Budget Amount: $4,111,788
Contract to Budget: 135%

To cover these cost overruns the following capital projects will be reduced or eliminated:

$777,564 - Breese Stevens renovation
$395,000 - Warner Park electrical and water upgrades, Forest Hill water replacement
$20,000 - Maintenance garage
$65,000 - Peace Park redesign and Wingra grading
$30,000 - Miscellaneous equipment
$150,000 - Plumbing upgrades and Tenney bridge replacement

Some of these projects may be included in future Capital Budgets, but their approve is less likely now that they have to compete with other projects already programed for the next five years.

For over a year now, I have been calling for a study on cost overruns on major city projects. Hopefully, it will be completed before any other project has to risk elimination like the six listed above.

The vital center...

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan predicts the "arrival of a well-financed independent presidential hopeful from America's political center" in his new book.

"I see dead people"... voting?

Today the alders received an email detailing the ballot orders submitted to the Dane County Clerk for the Fall elections. The email also explained the formula the City Clerk's office uses to decide how many ballots are ordered for each election.

I was interested in the ratio of registered voters to ordered ballots for District 7, so I added them up:

Ward 89 Registered Voters= 1089
Ward 90 Registered Voters= 2109
Ward 91 Registered Voters= 2204
Ward 92 Registered Voters= 2571
Ward 93 Registered Voters= 3698
Ward 94 Registered Voters= 1463
Ward 102 Registered Voters= 63
Total District 7 Registered Voters = 13197

13,197 registered voters!

While District 7 is most likely the highest populated aldermanic district, I would be surprised if it even had 13,197 total residents. So, how is it possible to have more registered voters than actual residents?

According to City Clerk Maribeth Witzel-Behl:

Every four years we send out address verification cards to people who have not voted in the past four years. When postcards come back to us as undeliverable, we inactivate those voter registrations. In the meantime, we have an awful lot of voter registrations out there for people who have moved (and may have registered elsewhere). When it is working correctly, the SVRS system should inactive Madison voter registrations when those individuals register in other communities.</