A special council meeting has been scheduled for Monday, August 23 at 7:00 p.m. to solicit public comments on the City’s 2011 budget. This is in advance of the City Council establishing the City’s preliminary 2011 property tax levy and well in advance of the formal public hearing held in early December.

The City has experienced significant reductions in state aid and the Mayor and Council have set a goal of achieving a balanced budget without any state aid by the year 2015. This represents a decrease of just over $2 million dollars over the next four years or 20% of the General Fund budget, $500,000 in 2011. The General Fund’s operations cover most basic city services including police, fire, public works, community development, parks and recreation, library and administration.

Given the size of the reduction, all services will be affected to some extent. The Mayor and Council want to know not only what services are important to you, but also what level of service is acceptable. Would you be willing to pay higher taxes to maintain service levels? Would you be willing to pay additional fees and charges? Are you willing to accept reductions in hours of service at City facilities or longer response times?

The 2010 City budget is available on the City’s website and at the Library. The budget document provides details on the various city departments and what services are provided. Read up on it and bring your ideas to the forum.

The format of the public forum will be as follows:

• City staff will make a brief presentation on the current status of the 2011 Budget development and review of the 2011 Budget Policy approved by Council.

• Groups or individuals in attendance are encouraged to address the Council and will be given up to four (4) minutes. City Councilors will then have the opportunity to ask the presenter additional questions to clarify the recommendation.

• Once all formal presentations by groups or individuals have been made, the Mayor will lead an interactive Q&A with the audience and council members on specific budget issues

For more information, go to the city’s web site and click on the notice of the public hearing.

The newly elected 2010-2011 local Board held a retreat on Saturday, June 5th.  It was a great opportunity to get to know each other better (minus a couple of board members who were unable to attend) and to do some planning for the year. The agenda included reviewing the responsibilities of being a Board member, discussing local guidelines and policies to ensure they were updated and relevant for the coming year, and identifying our goals for the year. The five hours we had scheduled for the meeting flew by quickly and we found, as often happens, that our agenda had been overly ambitious. We walked away from the retreat with a number of follow up actions that are needed – but confirmed our focus for the year: 1) organizing voter education activities in the summer and fall; and 2) providing educational forums and discussion opportunities around planned growth, including issues related to annexation and local government transparency and openness.  We hope to finalize our tentative calendar during our July Board meeting – so that we can communicate key dates and more specific activities to our membership.  Stay tuned for more details in the next month or so.

Best Regards, Teena Ballard Keiser

It was confirmed that the new schedule for Board meetings will be on the first Monday of the month at 6:45.  (Next Board meeting tomorrow night, Feb. 1st, at The Hideaway on Division St. in Northfield.)

Jessica had contacted Pat Garofalo and Pat Pariseau about the Legislative Interviews, and was continuing the complicated process of scheduling.  (It ended up that David Bly and Kevin Dahle were interviewed on Jan. 20, and the District 36B officials on Jan. 25.) Jessica received a call from a representative of the Indepence Party in Faribault to see if the Northfield League was going to host candidate interviews for the special election for a State Senator to replace Dick Day who has resigned.  The Board decided not to do this since the district does not include Northfield and we have no active members from Faribault.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Program Planning Meeting: January 9, 2010
The meeting has been confirmed to be held at St. John’s Lutheran Church.
A light brunch will be provided.
Allene:        Quiches
Bonnie Jean:    Bread
Jessica:        Fruit
Teena:        Napkins and teabags

Teena will provide information regarding the core issues for Marcia to send out before the meeting so that people will have a chance to review and prepare for the meeting.
At the meeting, Teena will lead a discussion of the national issues, Jessica will facilitate a discussion of local issues that the League will want to address in the coming year, and Barbara will take notes.

Elected Officials Party
This will be held on February 12,  5:00-7:00 pm, at the Village on the Cannon.  The party will double as a celebration of the League’s 90th birthday.
Publicity will be through the E-Catalyst.  Board members will make calls to the membership in early February to remind people and to ask if they can make an hors d’oeuvre, come early to help set up, or stay late to clean up.

Jessica will make invitations to send to the elected representatives. Teena will be responsible for the cake,  Jessica will get the wine and roses, Bonnie Jean will bring balloon bouquets, and Sharon will come in period costume.

League’s Birthday Declaration
Teena read a declaration regarding the League’s birthday.  She will ask the mayors and city councils of Northfield and Cannon Falls to accept it and make a proclamation.  Sharon will try to get a press release regarding it.

Ideas for March
There will be a What’s Up event—March 15 at the Hideaway.  The observers are being invited to share about their role and what they are seeing at meetings.  Jessica, Barbara, and Bonnie Jean will meet with observers to hear about how their process is going and to discuss plans for March.  This will be publicized in the  E-Catalyst.

Census
Teena spoke with Rhonda Pownell about the Human Rights Commission and the Census.  She also spoke with community engagement representatives from each college about ways to publicize and generate interest in the census.  April 1st is the official census day.  Ideas to make people aware of the census and its importance include making a human chain downtown to symbolize the interconnections.

Annual Meeting
Last year the meeting was held at the Eagles Club and included a spaghetti dinner.  Other options were investigated, but the Board decided to keep the cost down and hold it at the Eagles again.
Jessica will check with the Eagles on dates, with a preference for April 22, April 29, or April 24, in that order.
Various speakers were discussed, including:  Lori Sturdevent, Tom Stinson, Mary Lahammer, and Susan Haigh.  The Board decided to invite Lori Sturdevent, and Sharon will contact her. (Note: She’s coming! April 22nd)
We will continue to celebrate the League’s birthday at this event.  Bonnie Jean will develop some sort of music/skit/spoof.

OTHER
Website
Catherine wants to step down from this role.  Jessica offered to take it over beginning in the summer.  A decision was made that this should be a board position.

BOARD MEMBER REPORTS
Membership
Janet reported that she had received the fliers about LWV from the national office that has a space to add local League information.  She has also member handbooks from the state.

Communications
E-Catalysts are coming out regularly and are well-done.
Sharon is planning press releases to come out after the various upcoming events.
She will invite a reporter to the February party for elected officials.

The meeting adjourned at 8:50 pm.

From LWVMN:

“Legislative interviews give LWV members an opportunity to get acquainted with legislators and to learn their opinions on a few issues.  We hope this will help local Leagues build a strong working relationship with their senators and representatives.”
This relationship is a two-way street.  On the one hand, League members have a chance to advocate for the positions that have been developed at the local, state, and national levels.
On the other hand, legislators have a chance to provide members with their views on the upcoming session, their priorities and expectations

If you have any questions, contact Jessica Peterson White at 612-366-8311, or jlrpeterson/at/gmail.com

Take action today and call your Senators and Representative at 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 to reach the Capitol switchboard. Call the White House at 202-456-1414 or 202-456-1111.

It is essential that the final version of this legislation moves health care in the right direction. It must extend coverage to the uninsured and provide funding for those who cannot afford it. The public insurance option passed by the House will accomplish these goals.

Congress is poised for a critical vote. We cannot afford to do nothing. If comprehensive and effective health care legislation is not passed, more Americans will lose coverage, endangering both our economy and our health.

Make your voice heard with those of other activists around the country. Ask your friends, family and other League members to call as well!

TAKE ACTION

1. Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at 202-224-3121 or 202-225-3121 and ask for your Senators or Representative. Tell your leaders in Congress that they must pass comprehensive health care reform legislation.

2. Call the White House at 202-456-1414 or 202-456-1111 and ask the President to push for comprehensive health care reform including the public option.

3. Send this alert to other concerned citizens – your grassroots network, your friends and coworkers. Encourage them to contact their elected leaders.

BACKGROUND

Learn more about what the League is doing to support health care reform.

Sign up to receive Action Alerts directly by email. Don’t miss an opportunity to take action! It’s easy to sign up and the League will never share your email with others: http://takeaction.lwv.org/lwv/mlm/signup/.

For additional information, please contact LWVUS Grassroots Lobbyist Christina Vamvas at lobbying@lwv.org.

9:00 AM -     St. John’s Church, 500 W. 3rd St., the Old Fellowship Hall

Come grab a cup of coffee and join in the discussion of what we’d like to accomplish next year!

Several board members will meet with LWV observers in early January. The observers requested this meeting to help clarify their roles.

The board discussed ways to get more opportunities among members for interaction and discussion.   The board decided on the “What’s Up…” format as noted below.  These meetings might also create a good opportunity to invite a new member or a non-member to attend and meet people in a less formal setting.  If the response is positive, these discussions could continue.

The following events are scheduled for 2010. Some of the dates are tentative:

• Program planning meeting: Saturday morning, January 9, starting at 9:00 AM,  St. John’s Lutheran Church, 500 3rd St. W..

• Legislative interviews: date to be determined.

• Elected officials appreciation party: Friday, February 12, 5-7 PM, Village on the Cannon, 301 7th St.

• “What’s Up – Inside Scoop on Politics and the Community.” Coffee and conversation for LWV members and friends. Monday, March 15, 7-9 PM at the Hideaway, 421 Division St.

• “What’s Up – Inside Scoop on Politics and the Community.” Coffee and conversation for LWV members and friends. Monday, April 19, 7-9 PM at the Contented Cow, 302 Division St. S.

• Annual meeting: tentative date Thursday, April 22, possibly at Eagles Club or Laura Baker.

Briefly noted:  The board also discussed: planning related to the census, to membership recruitment, and the treasurer’s report.  In Cannon Falls, a member volunteered to be an observer on the city council.  Board member Allene Moesler continues the weekly “Right to Know” column in the Cannon Falls Beacon.  Longtime member Shirley Workman had written this for many years, until we recently lost her. There was a discussion about communication, including the website, observer postings, and the E-Catalyst.

Board members thanked Allene Moesler for her recent testimony at the Planning Commission.

Randy Jennings has been commissioned by the city to lead the educational efforts and will conduct the tour on Monday. The public is welcome to take this opportunity to learn more about the present condition of this important city facility. For more information, call Jane McWilliams (645-8423).

Venue will probably be Co-op meeting room – to be confirmed