This winter is certainly making up for the mildness of the
past few winters! As beautiful as it's been, the amount of snow we've already
received has been a challenge. I get daily briefings from police, fire, water,
engineering and other City agencies on winter-related problems and what we're doing
to solve them. You can help, too, by digging out fire hydrants buried under the
snow, observing alternate side parking rules, and by making sure that your
sidewalks are clear. City work crews have spent endless hours plowing, and
re-plowing, snowy streets and crosswalks. Their hard work has enabled most of
us to carry on with our daily routines despite the adverse impacts of winter.
We've gotten a tremendous response from the survey that is
printed on the reverse of the letter from the Mayor that went out with property
tax bills in December. The survey is the first of its kind for Madison. It
asks for your thoughts about City spending priorities and
where we should invest our limited financial resources. If you have not
returned it yet, there's still time. We'll begin reviewing the responses at the
end of January. The results, which we will make public, will help to shape the
City's budget priorities in future years.
One of our primary environmental initiatives has been
developing quietly behind the scenes. Without much fanfare, the City adopted a Climate
Protection Plan in 2000 that establishes the goal of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions that lead to global warming. A key element of the plan encourages the
use of alternative fuel vehicles that are not dependent on burning fossil
fuels. Under a proposed Greenfleets program, the City will weigh very carefully
the advantages to the environment of alternative fuel vehicles as we replace
cars, trucks and buses in future years. I'm also inviting business and utility
companies that maintain fleets of vehicles, and other locally elected
officials, to a conference in early February. We will be discussing whether
Madison should seek designation as a federal Clean City that would allow us to
apply for federal grants that support local efforts to create a greener urban
environment.
I also want to mention that the new year will bring City
government closer to the citizens it serves via the Internet. Early in 2001, it
will become possible to pay parking tickets and sewer and water utility bills
online by the use of a credit card and personal computer.
Best wishes for a happy and prosperous new year.
Susan J.M. Bauman
Mayor