Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Another Reason to Eliminate Township Government

Link to July 18 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, "Cedarburg in tiff over shared services. City officials criticize town for rejecting their offer".

Excerpt: Comparing it to the beginning of divorce proceedings, city officials said last week that Town of Cedarburg officials' recent rejection of a city offer on shared services and a boundary agreement could result in a loss of services and higher fees for town residents.

"If the town walks away and divorces itself, there will be repercussions," Ald. Bob Loomis said at Monday night's Common Council meeting.

"As of last week, the city was under the impression we were still in discussion with the town," Cedarburg Mayor Greg Myers said at the same meeting. "Then we found out through a press release that we weren't."

The shared services agreement that expires at the end of the year includes library, senior services, and recreation.

And how much difference would it make to merge the city and town? In the 23 years I've lived in Middleton, I've learned that many Town of Middleton residents assume they live in the City of Middleton. They're surprised when they learn the Town is a separate governmental unit. The city and town having the same zip code (53562) plays a big role in this misunderstanding.

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