Janesville City Council: No interest in Green Tier program
JANESVILLE — The Janesville City Council will not take up the controversial Green Tier program again, at least not this year.
City Manager Eric Levitt said most council members have little interest in pursuing it.
"I'm sure (the controversy) may have had a part in it," Levitt said.
The council will keep moving forward with its own environmental initiatives, he said.
The city's sustainability committee had recommended the council sign on to the Green Tier program and partner with the state Department of Natural Resources.
A group of residents and non-residents worked to convince the council to vote "no."
Those opposed claimed the city could never opt out of the contract—that was disproved after city staff researched the question—and that the partnership could cause the city to spend more money and add regulation, which was neither proved nor disproved.
The group said Green Tier has its roots in Agenda 21, a United Nations initiative they claim undermines the U.S. Constitution with a goal of socialism.
Group members showed up at council meetings for lengthy public hearings and spoke on the issue even when it was not on the agenda. One man spoke at Monday's meeting, for example.
After the two-hour public hearing in June, the council narrowly defeated the proposal. The council then requested more information from the administration, but members apparently weren't satisfied with some of the answers.
Jim Farrell, a member of the city council and the sustainability committee, is disappointed but said the sustainability committee is prepared to go forward with its own initiatives.
Farrell believes the arguments of those opposed to Green Tier were "just off the wall" and had little merit.
"I think those individuals had too much impact on the process, in my opinion," he said.
Many who spoke were not from the city, he said.
"It would have helped if we had more people speaking in favor," Farrell said. "That's what I regret. We all have some responsibility for that."
Farrell doesn't believe other council members bought into all the testimony, especially concerning the United Nations, but several were concerned about added regulations and possible costs.
Councilman DuWayne Severson, who voted against adopting Green Tier, said he was concerned about "adding another layer of government to get something done."
The city has an excellent staff, great community members and good people on the sustainability committee, he said.
"They have taken steps that are in the right direction," Severson said. In addition, "there were a lot of unanswered questions," he said.
The sustainability committee is ready and inspired to move forward now that it knows it cannot rely on Green Tier, Farrell said.
"We have budgets coming up and don't want to just keep pushing something that doesn't seem to have a lot of support," Farrell said.
Sep 5, 2012 at 2 p.m.
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That posse mainly started in Jefferson and has some area adherents.
There weren't many pro-Green Tier people because the whole matter isn't considered to be a big thing. However, the matter enthralled some people who share a mental virus that has a UN plot taking over the world. I view these people as soft-core victims of terrorism.
Sep 5, 2012 at 9:51 a.m.
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Most of the folks who commented weren't from Janesville. That doesn't make much sense to me. Seems like we should take into account what people who actually live here think, not people from Fort Atkinson and the like. We should be able to govern ourselves.
Sep 4, 2012 at 10:26 a.m.
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The main reason the matter was put on the shelf is that the paranoids have dedicated themselves to annoying the Council forever. The paranoids are of the ilk that hold that proof that there is no conspiracy is actual proof of conspiracy.
Sep 4, 2012 at 10:07 a.m.
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I don't think the decision had as much to do with green tier as it did the DNR.Allot of the hunting enthusiasts take a bad note toward the DNR period,for some reason.
Sep 4, 2012 at 9:14 a.m.
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too bad the council didn't get with this program...
Sep 1, 2012 at 1:23 p.m.
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What about this paranoid claim?
"The group said Green Tier has its roots in Agenda 21, a United Nations initiative they claim undermines the U.S. Constitution with a goal of socialism."
Seems they don't think it's fluff. Fluff wasn't their argument.
Sep 1, 2012 at 12:35 p.m.
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It's not being paranoid, and it is not about fiscal responsibility. It is simply stupid sound good fluff. We need to take care of real problems, not attacking realism and placing more restrictions on communities that have serious needs right now.
Sep 1, 2012 at 9:21 a.m.
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The paranoids were motivated by paranoia, not fiscal responsibility.
Sep 1, 2012 at 9:13 a.m.
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The Green Tier proposal would have had the city add staff for the program. How could that be justified during the city's budget crisis. Any new programs should be required to have a justifiable business plan. Green Tier did not. We have seen far to much of personal demonization and name calling. Decisions involving the spending of taxpayer's money need to be evaluated in a business like manner.
Sep 1, 2012 at 8:42 a.m.
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It's only few paranoids. And their claim is that it's a plot by the UN to take over this country and compel us all to live in high rise cigar tubes and not allow us to have cars.
Their real success was an implicit threat to damage the ability of council to deal with more important matters.
Sep 1, 2012 at 8:05 a.m.
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Paranoia is alive and well in Janesville.
Sep 1, 2012 at 6:17 a.m.
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Good decision
Sep 1, 2012 at 2:10 a.m.
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Apparently it meant something to these "paranoid" people. So let us realize a lot of people were against this. Many more who were not present at the meetings. Oh by the way, if people gather at the pro-union rallies then that's okay though...and yell for weeks and weeks on end instead of keeping themselves to a single vote like it should be. Green tier was stupid...it should not be allow it back into the discussion!
Sep 1, 2012 at 12:35 a.m.
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What I'm worried about is that Braun may not be voted MVP of the NL this year because of the steroids controversy. He's leading the NL in both HR's (36) and RBI's (92).
Aug 31, 2012 at 6:38 p.m.
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A prudent decision by City Council.
Aug 31, 2012 at 4:57 p.m.
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A real downside of this decision will be the heady deliriousness that the paranoids will now wallow in.
Aug 31, 2012 at 4:55 p.m.
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The council's decision is in no way obeisance to the claims of the paranoids. As a matter of fact, what the paranoids did was a demonstration of the very mentality that they claim to fear.
Aug 31, 2012 at 4:46 p.m.
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The paranoids got their way. Good thing it wasn't for something serious.
Aug 31, 2012 at 4:25 p.m.
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Common sense prevails
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