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It was a long night with several items getting extra attention during the Sheboygan Common Council and Committee of the Whole meetings on Monday night.
Immediately after the opening of the session, public speakers took to the podium for their allotted 5-minutes, focusing on recent reports of racial slurs used by a City official. As a plan to address Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in City policy was up for a vote, two of those speakers brought the City to task to address the root causes and not just give lip service to the subject, while a third spoke in favor of the policy. That resolution was passed with one “nay” vote from Alder Mitchell.
A second item also involved discussion among the Council members before their vote was taken concerning a $15 minimum wage among all City of Sheboygan employees. Following discussion the measure was passed 7-3, with alders Dekker, Heidemann and Mitchell voting “nay”.
The Common Council then went into closed session for over two hours to discuss “specific personnel problems which, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of any person involved in such problems.” The closed session concluded without followup comment, and the Committee of the Whole convened after 9 p.m.
That Committee of the Whole session was held to discuss the final 2023 City Budget and the 2022 Tax Levy for use during the calendar year. Finance Director Kaitlyn Krueger explained that with final Transportation Aids numbers now in from the state, the preliminary budget outlined during September held its own. That preliminary budget didn’t allow for the $50,000-60,000 impact of the new $15 minimum wage. That will now be addressed during final balancing and review. Following discussion the Committee of the Whole voted to send the budget measure to the Common Council for final approval.
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