Waunakee Village Board Says "No Library Without Referendum"

Link to January 20 Waunakee Tribune-News article.

Excerpt: Despite the urging of the Economic Development Commission, the Waunakee Village Board Monday declined to request proposals for a library project without the voters’ consent.

At their meeting last week, the Economic Development Commissioners determined that a mixed-use library project at the Main and N. Madison Street corner would jump-start development in the village’s Tax Incremental Finance District.

But village board members, while praising the work of the commission and a prior ad hoc committee, said they could not support spending taxpayer dollars without first going to a vote.

“There are a lot of things the board has to consider,” said John Laubmeier, village board president. Those include the state of the economy and exceeding the village’s self-imposed borrowing cap, he said.

“The village board has a lot more things to keep in mind beyond what the committee keeps in mind,” Laubmeier said.

Trustee Steve Kraus agreed, noting that the board picked the best people to serve on the ad hoc committee. Kraus added that if the village does go to a referendum for a library, the trustees should be confident that it will pass.

The community has recently supported building a new police station, and the Fire Station and EMS building remodeling projects are under way, Kraus said. Soon, the school district will embark on a building project, he added.