ame8736: Anyone who watched/paid attention to the Council decision (10/27/08) to study "new" proposals know that these issues were agreed to be low-priority studies over a number of months by current staff working on economic development as part of their normal work day duties. There are no new taxpayer dollars nor people being hired to research these proposals.

here we go again another study on wether we should have 2 way traffic down town. studies cost money where are we coming up with this money?

Very well put red58. Nothing has to be forever, everyone needs to tighten their belts for a short time.

Government needs to be treated just like businesses in town, who are all looking at personnel levels, smaller pay increases (no pay increases), travel, training--across all departments. In a people expense driven environment, there's not much else to go after. As for the argument against cutting certain training budgets....it's not a forever thing...will a one or two year deferral make much difference? Just because it's cut, doesn't mean you don't continue practices or initiate some new ideas. Grow up and get in the real world. Did you read the article in the Gazette yesterday talking about the 5 signs of layoffs? Those are the same things our government needs to think about.

If I would cut anything at the Police department it would be having a Officer at the schools. I would tell the district that they need to Police them selves. Not every Janesville tax payer pays Janesville school taxes.

Looking at cost saving ideas in all departments would be a good thing. Look at all expenses even down to office supplies.

Cutting personnel...not a good idea and doesn't make sense. We need to have people working and we need jobs. What could be done, instead, is to practice fiscal responsibility by cutting expense budgets and cutting waste, including unnecessary travel in each department. A wage freeze can also be implemented for city employees as well as cutting bonuses. I would rather see that, than cut a job and put another person out of work. The non essential expenditures such as the skate park, etc., should be tabled until funding is available when and if the economy picks up. The bike tunnel should be scrapped. I may be dense but a tunnel is unsafe for those using it. I would not want my child or spouse using it. In addition, I can't imagine how a tunnel could be kept ice free in winter and dry in spring and summer when we get the heavy rains. Kids can get exercise by mowing lawns in summer, shoveling snow in winter, and raking leaves in the autumn.....they'll even make a few dollars while they are exercising. Children are, after all, the responsibility of the parents who can and should use their own resources to occupy them. Times are tough and going to get worse after December.

Although police and fire should be a priority, anyone who thinks they shouldn't be looked at as a source for cuts is mistaken.
There's always room for more efficiency in any department and they should welcome the scrutiny.

happycamper, I just wanted to let you know that Rockport park pool is not a done deal yet. Far from it. Last I know it was scratched from the drawing boards.

I think that there are always cuts that can be made in every department. Although I would not want to see essential services cut, maybe the training trips in the fire engines could be cut down a little. But even they have a use. In difficult times difficult decisions have to be made. Yes, even the bike tunnel does seems a little out of line right now. How our leaders make these decisions now will determine how and if they will be elected next time....

A couple million could be saved by not turning the Rockport pool into a water park. It sounds like a done deal.

Maybe the city should rethink spending $750k of taxpayer money on a bike tunnel...oops, too late.

Gotta make tough decisions. Don't take anything off the table.

Janesville is in a major economic crunch, cutting a few thing here and there is only a band aid. We need the police and fire departments fully staffed that should not even be an issue. You watch retail theft is going to rise, with the holidays coming and people without jobs our police department will be very busy. We need all of the people that live in Janesville to pull together, the kids are very important but stay in the moment and get the major issues fixed first before you worry about skate board parks

I agree with Jakio. The Police and Fire should NOT be cut. We need their services far more then we need museums and other small money making places.

yeah all these stupid feasabilty studies

None of the children's programs should be cut as one comment has mentioned. The downtown area of Main Street from Milwaukee to Pease court buildings, especially the river side of the street; the buildings are moldy, smelly, and the walk ways and areas where the flooded areas were, really need some work done. The concrete work is done, but the improvements to the buildings on main street and the promotion of new businesses down town should be a priority. The down town area continues to need a face lift as some are doing. We do not need any senior citizen building or money for seniors. We need a skate board park put in somewhere below the hill near the city hall with ramps and obstacles for the young people to use. We also need an outdoor skating rink somewhere and a full time in one building, every day of the week, shelter for the homeless. Echo should not have a monopoly on who gives what to who when and how often, and it has become very political in nature, how much gets donated only through their offices. It really seems critical about G M closing down and appraisals for houses have gone down already considering that aspect of refinancing, but our area here should be fine if people just don't pull out, cut back and remove what is already in place. WE just need to pool resources, share, drive less, and start having community within the community.

gwendt...
...
"small business's only pay minimum wages."
...
I work at a business that employs only 10 people, including the owner, and I make more than minimum wage and have a house.

McDonald's is NOT a small business...how much to THEY pay?

Well if you do not like minimal wages find a new field of work. If that is not a option find a new friend that has money.

small business's only pay minimum wages. How can you buy a car or a house on a minimum wage?
you need a BIG business to pay "living wages" and property taxes to increase the bottom line.
youth needs more physical activity, why only Phy Ed in school for 1/2 a year? it sure seems like small crimes are increasing, if antyhing, we need more police.Maybe more neighborhood watch zones.

A few things:
1. The county is responsible for the prison, not the city.
2. The youth sports center is borrowed money in a note issue. You cannot 'swap' this project for regular operating expenses in the general fund like police and fire.
3. The I-90 ramp mowing is either a county or state responsibility, not the city.
4. TIF is not part of the general fund. Taxes are based on general fund expenses (not TIF, water, wastewater, stormwater, golf etc).
5. When you have employees with 20, 25 and 30 years of service, they are going to make a lot of money. Each year they get a cost of living increase and (most of the time) a merit increase. Turnover brings those expenses back in check (with the exception of the city manager because of the market and limited number of qualified candidates).

involvedparent: Other than calling people idiots, I agree with what you are saying. Backyards are a great place for kids to play, but interaction with other kids (ie organized sports) is tough to mimic.

Cut the police and prison budget. After all, crime is down. It's time to look at our priorities.

I would still cut youth programs, and invest that money in a small business district. If I was the City I would be working out some way to get job here now. The only way you can have quality employment rates increase is with home grown small businesses. Like how Lab Saftey, Angi Gas, SSI, Prent, and many other Janesville founded employers.

Some people are idiots -- shoot all the nasty comments you want at me for that.....we need things in this city for kids!!! Too many blue hairs with money trying to run everything. We need the sports complex and the skatepark. We have the Spotlight on Kids and JPAC for those kids in the arts...with our kids only having gym class every other day for only 1/2 of a school year -- we need a place for physical activity. This town is so narrow-minded that a kid can't ride a skateboard downtown because it's BAAADDD. Some may be-NOT ALL, but most importantly its a physical activity.

Maybe instead of spending so much on the new sports complex they can cut that in 1/2 and give it to the police & fire which save lives. Yes the kids are our future but what about the kids that aren't in sports? Janesville isn't all about that think of the people that might need the emergency units..OH WAIT. not enough to save our lives because the Youth are playing sports.

polert,
I agree with only part of what you said. Cutting youth programs only harms the children of Janesville. Focus on removing unnecessary personnel and auditing the pay of city workers to determine if anyone is being overpaid should come first. As for mowing, I agree but only for inside the city. The man who laid in the tall grass of the I-90 offramp for over 24 hours is reason enough why at least that sort of grass needs to be mowed often.

I agree with Jakiao.

Police, Fire, TIF districts, and snow plowing services need top ranking. I would cut the youth programs, and lawn mowing, and cut the pay with overhead of management over any service.

If anything, police and fire fighters should be given more resources. With the number of high-profile house fires in Janesville (not to mention the deaths from them in the past year), I hope it would be out of the question to reduce their resources.