Two Madison Common Council members are proposing changes to city government that they say would better balance power between the council and mayor.
The package of changes proposed by alders David Ahrens and Mark Clear would strengthen the council’s ability to shape the budget and give the council president the power to make committee appointments, a power now held by the mayor. Citizen committee appointments would continue to be made by the mayor.
Alder Ahrens called the initiative “a reasonable next step to ensure the integrity of Madison’s democratic government.”
The alders are calling for the creation of a finance committee to replace the Board of Estimates, which is appointed and chaired by the mayor. The new committee would be appointed by the council president.
Alder and previous council president Mark Clear said the change, “Will allow for greater clarity for the public and improved legislative oversight of the budget process.”
In a post to the city’s website, the alders said the proposal is prompted by discussions in a council subcommittee on strategic plans and priorities. They said the proposal would bring Madison in line with typical practices in other Wisconsin cities.
Other parts of the proposal include extending council leadership terms to two years instead of one, and renaming the Common Council Organizational Committee to the Common Council Executive Committee to clarify the committee’s function.
The alders said all members of the council subcommittee support the measures. They expect the changes to be introduced on April 19 and if approved, could be enacted by mid-May.
Mayor Paul Soglin is expected to respond to the proposal at a news conference scheduled for 2 p.m.
