Appleton Common Council District 6 Update for October 7, 2026
Greetings, District 6 Neighbors,
Is anyone else a little groggy after the late Brewer game last night? Those West Coast games are tough on those of us who go to bed early. It looked for a minute like there could be a repeat of Sunday’s thriller, but, alas, they play again even later tonight.
Tonight’s full council meeting (the only city meeting of the week) will begin with a number of mayoral proclamations:
- Dysautonomia Awareness Month (Presentation at Meeting)
- Domestic Violence Awareness Month
- Diwali Awareness Month
- Coming Out Day
- White Cane Awareness Day
- Mental Health Day
- Indigenous Peoples' Day
- National Teen Driver Safety Week
After that, the mayor will present his proposed 2027 city budget, and council members will receive our copies of the budget. I’m old school and asked for a hard copy, since I’ll spend the next couple of weeks with my highlighters and post-it notes, highlighting areas where I want to ask questions of city directors.
I will send out a copy of the mayor’s presentation and link to the full budget when it is posted on the city website.
There are several opportunities to get more information and share your thoughts on the 2027 city budget.
- Mayor’s Budget Listening Session – Thursday, October 29, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
- Public Budget Hearing – Wednesday, November 4, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Both sessions will be held in council chambers on the 6th floor of City Hall.
Budget Saturday will be held on October 31 this year (likely starting at 8:00 a.m.) This is officially a meeting of the Finance Committee, but all alders generally attend. Each department head will present their department’s budget to be voted on by the committee. This meeting is also open to the public. The full agenda should be available in the next couple of weeks.
Alders will be able to submit budget amendments until November 5.
The budget adoption will take place on November 11.
The rest of the agenda seems fairly straightforward. I expect we will have separate votes on a few items.
- Resolution #13-R-26 Requesting State Review of Intentional Disruptive Motor Vehicle Noise and Driver Demerit Point Penalties
This resolution submitted by Alders Meltzer and Schultz asks the Wisconsin Department of Transportation make some statutory and administrative changes to distinguish between equipment failure and deliberate driver action causing excessing vehicle noise and evaluate changes to demerit point assignment.
While this resolution doesn’t take any action at the local level, it addresses one of the many areas where state law hamstrings local government. I have no objections to this resolution and plan to vote in favor.
The companion resolution, which would increase the fines for deliberate engine revving and tire squealing, was referred back to the legal department after the city attorney at the Safety and Licensing meeting noted that mandatory minimums would likely result in a drastic increase in the number of trials and increased burden on city staff. The attorney’s office will respond to the committee with recommendations for amending the resolution to make it more manageable, likely removing mandatory minimum in favor of increasing the maximum fine while giving more discretion to the prosecutor.
- Resolution #15-R-26 Supporting Transparency for Taxpayers Regarding State-Mandated Private School Voucher Funding
This resolution, which I co-sponsored with Alder Meltzer, would indicate the council’s support for adding the percentage of the total Appleton Area School District property tax that is allocated to private voucher schools. The mayor and city staff can do this administratively but, given the large number of constituents who have expressed support for showing this on their tax bills, I feel that is important for the Common Council to express our support. There are fairly strict guidelines from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue regarding information on the tax bills; it seems that we are not able to create a separate breakdown, but we are authorized to print a statement on the bill containing the information.
- Request to enter into Intergovernmental Agreement with Appleton Area School District to borrow short term cash in an amount not to exceed $20 million from time to time as needed.
You might remember from the last newsletter that I was really confused by this item, but after a discussion with the Finance Director, I found that this is a fairly normal procedure; it just hasn’t been done since I have been on the Common Council. The State of Wisconsin disburses state aid at specific times, while district expenses are ongoing. It’s actually a pretty good deal for the city, since AASD will pay 2% over the federal funds rate that Appleton received on our cash reserves.
In addition to the regular council business, Appleton is hosting the League of Wisconsin Municipalities annual conference (Civic Connection) today through Friday. A number of council members will be attending. I plan to attend as many of the sessions on housing and municipal finance as I can. Mayor Woodford will be delivering the keynote address on Thursday morning. I’m also looking forward to the lunch session on Thursday, where Marquette law professor and pollster Charles Franklin will be delivering a talk about the forces shaping Wisconsin’s midterms. There is also a talk on Friday about the experience of different-sized communities and data centers which I plan to attend.
Remember that fall yard waste pickup will start next week. Check here for more information.
For you native plant gardeners, I’m sharing information about a local group which has spent this summer getting rid of invasive plants in Peabody Park. They are ready to start the next phase of adding native plants:
Root Force is a local volunteer group focused on restoring native habitat here in Appleton. They’ve been focused on removing invasive species from Peabody Park, but this fall and winter they’re turning their attention to seeds and they’d like your help.
They’re organizing folks to collect native plant seeds right now and help propagate them over the winter. The idea is to deliver thousands of native plants for the City’s parks and green spaces next spring and summer.
If you're interested in being involved in this project, they'd love to have your help. That might be collecting native seeds now, growing those seeds this winter, or helping plant them in the spring. Even saving up empty gallon jugs for them over the next few months would be a huge help. No experience necessary.
If you’d like to be involved, connect with Root Force’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/rootforce) or contact Michael Gerwe at michael@mgerwe.com. The more, the merrier. Thanks!
Early voting at City Hall starts on October 20. More about that in next week’s newsletter.
Have a great week and Go Brew Crew!
Denise
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