County

The Middleton Common Council last week unanimously approved a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Wisconsin Professional Police Association (WPPA) Local 427. The deal covers 2013 through 2015.


The agreement between the city and WPPA calls for increases in pay of 1 percent in 2013, 2 percent in 2014 and 3 percent in 2015. The new contract maintains continuous longevity pay increases, and in 2015 police officers will make between $55,247.98 and $66,273.48 annually in salary. (Officers will make anywhere from the mid-$60,000s to the low $90,000s in total annual compensation.)

While Act 10 stripped most public employee unions of many of their bargaining powers, the legislation did not do the same for police unions.

The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District Board of Education on Monday night approved a new contract for fulltime teachers. The deal, which was hammered out amidst the fallout from Act 10 and a cloud of lingering uncertainty about the state of collective bargaining for public employees, covers the 2013-2014 year.

The Middleton Education Association (MEA) teachers’ union ratified the contract on Valentine’s Day. Following the school board’s vote, MEA president Chris Bauman said she was “proud” the two sides came to an agreement.

Under the new deal, salary increases will be determined at the school board’s discretion, after the district receives pertinent information about state aid levels.

Teachers who take part in a Health Risk Assessment will maintain their current 12 percent contribution toward their annual health insurance premiums. Those not completing the assessment will contribute 15 percent.

The Middleton Education Association (MEA) teachers’ union on Valentine’s Day ratified a new contract proposal for the 2013-2014 year. Despite the romantic date on which the vote occurred, emails obtained by the Times-Tribune show there was no love lost between the two parties while they hashed out the deal.

The contract will go before the Middleton-Cross Plains Area Board of Education for a vote on Monday night.

Under the new deal, salary increases would be determined at the school board’s discretion. Teachers who took part in a Health Risk Assessment would maintain their current 12 percent contribution toward health insurance. (Those not completing the assessment would contribute 15 percent toward the annual insurance premium.)

MADISON, WI – Eliminating Election Day voter registration in Wisconsin would cost taxpayers between $13.1 million and $14.5 million, according to a staff report released Monday by the Government Accountability Board.

 The Final Report on the Impacts and Costs of Eliminating Election Day Registration in Wisconsin is being released well in advance of the G.A.B.’s next meeting on March 20 to give the public and legislature ample time to read it before the Board considers it, said Kevin Kennedy, director and general counsel.

Is a parcel of city-owned land on the edge of Pleasant View Golf course worth a million dollars, or is it’s fair market value closer to $200,000? The answer depends on whom you ask.

As the snow fell last week and cars slipped and slid on Summerfield Drive, Troy Alton’s 14-year old daughter Arria had to keep one eye on “Tanner,” the family dog, and the other on the road—with no sidewalks or curb between them. But Arria’s father, oral surgeon Troy Alton got little sympathy at the Middleton Town Board meeting last week when his request to schedule additional public input on Middleton’s dog walking restrictions was turned down. “We won’t go that way,” declared board chairman Milo Breunig, “We’ve asked the Parks [Dept.] to look at it and we’ll wait for them to get back to us.”

The Middleton Common Council on Tuesday reiterated its opposition to, and significantly increased local penalties levied against, adults who help minors gain access to alcohol.

District 1 alderman Paul Kinne said the ordinance, which was approved unanimously, was designed to counter a “disturbing trend” in which adults believe they are preventing drunk driving and other dangerous activities by allowing minors to drink in a safe setting.

“[P]eople assume that if teenagers aren’t driving … there’s no harm,  no foul,” Kinne stated.

Tuesday’s vote to impose fines of up to $5,000 for repeat offenders showed the Middleton Common Council disagrees with parents who feel that way. The ordinance says it is intended to “clearly address the problem of adult-hosted underage drinking parties, and to discourage underage possession and consumption of alcohol, regardless of the location within the City of Middleton.”

Much of this year’s State of the City Address was similar to what was presented in recent years: the mayor touched on property values, development, employment, sustainability, taxes, public safety and growth.

Some wasn’t: this was the first time a member of the state legislature made an impromptu appearance to let the audience know local schools were closed due to a nasty ice storm. (It was Rep. Dianne Hesselbein.) 

On the surface it was a minor change, but perhaps the most significant aspect of Mayor Kurt Sonnentag’s speech Thursday morning at the Marriott was that he altered the way he presented information about the local tax rate – opting to delve deeper into the data in order to preemptively address accusations the city’s low tax rate is merely the result of high property values. 

The Middleton Police Department has offered free gun locks to citizens for the past several years and still has gun locks available for free, thanks to funding made available by the Charles E. Kubly Foundation as well as continued support from Safe Communities of Madison-Dane County, Project ChildSafe® and H.O.P.E.S. (Helping Others Prevent and Educate About Suicide). 

The Town of Middleton will see if City of Madison officials are interested in forming a tax incremental financing (TIF) district to spur development in the Seybold Road properties remaining in the town. (The location in question is on an island of town land in a sea of city, which is near Woodman’s grocery store and was created through years of annexation.)

Board Supervisor Tim Roehl has been backing a TIF district for the 35.9-acre area east of Gammon Road, saying it would not only boost property tax revenue for the town but also provide the funds to eventually reconstruct Seybold Road.

Creation of a TIF district, or TID, allows the town to borrow and repay the cost of infrastructure improvements from taxes generated by the incremental increase in property value.

Area TIDs have had a 14-year  average lifespan, said Gary Becker, an economic development specialist with Vierbicher Associates, Inc., with the vast majority of TIDs paying off costs early.