MONROE - Thirty more suggestions to streamline city government, increase revenues or cut costs without hurting services were heading to appropriate committees or department heads Thursday - and some ideas are going to the dogs.
The city ad-hoc committee tasked with gathering and evaluating the ideas has now dealt with about 100 of them, which came from the public, department heads and committee members.
One idea committee members thought should be considered immediately by the Park and Recreation Department is a dog day at the pool, after the city officially closes the recreation facility in early September.
Committee members said a similar event is well attended in Madison.
Selling a city park, including Forest Prairie Park, where dogs are welcome, is an idea that did not go over well with committee members. Making Forest Prairie more liberating yet safe for dogs - and charging users a fee means installing a fence, a cost that did not fit the committee's mission. Both ideas were tabled.
The committee sent the idea of cutting one of the city's marketing firms to the Finance and Taxation Committee. Currently, the city pays Green County Economic Development (GCDC) and the Monroe Chamber of Commerce for marketing services.
Mayor Bill Ross said GCDC deals with potential developers interested in the county, while the Chamber handles local city developers.
"To exclude one is a mistake," he added.
City Administrator Phil Rath agreed, saying he saw no duplication of services in the two firms.
The Finance and Taxation Committee also get a heads up from the ad hoc committee to look into special garbage trucks that lifts carts, thereby reducing labor costs to collect trash. Rath said the truck would placed in the capital projects plan, as a option when replacing the current vehicle is considered.
Canceling city hall floor mat cleaning services, highly recommended by citizens from the Behring Senior Center last month, has already been started.
Two places the city will look to reduce unnecessary spending is phone and cell phone contracts and water fluoridation levels. Rath said the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services is now recommending lower fluoride content in drinking water.
The idea of selling advertising space - on just about anything from city fences to garbage trucks - needs some guidelines, said Rath, but it is a genuine possibility to raise some revenue.
The committee is also not pushing away an idea to sell Monroe bottled water, with the city's logo on the label, for some self-promotion. Minhas Craft Brewery would probably be asked to bottle the water - non-alcoholic, of course.
The city ad-hoc committee tasked with gathering and evaluating the ideas has now dealt with about 100 of them, which came from the public, department heads and committee members.
One idea committee members thought should be considered immediately by the Park and Recreation Department is a dog day at the pool, after the city officially closes the recreation facility in early September.
Committee members said a similar event is well attended in Madison.
Selling a city park, including Forest Prairie Park, where dogs are welcome, is an idea that did not go over well with committee members. Making Forest Prairie more liberating yet safe for dogs - and charging users a fee means installing a fence, a cost that did not fit the committee's mission. Both ideas were tabled.
The committee sent the idea of cutting one of the city's marketing firms to the Finance and Taxation Committee. Currently, the city pays Green County Economic Development (GCDC) and the Monroe Chamber of Commerce for marketing services.
Mayor Bill Ross said GCDC deals with potential developers interested in the county, while the Chamber handles local city developers.
"To exclude one is a mistake," he added.
City Administrator Phil Rath agreed, saying he saw no duplication of services in the two firms.
The Finance and Taxation Committee also get a heads up from the ad hoc committee to look into special garbage trucks that lifts carts, thereby reducing labor costs to collect trash. Rath said the truck would placed in the capital projects plan, as a option when replacing the current vehicle is considered.
Canceling city hall floor mat cleaning services, highly recommended by citizens from the Behring Senior Center last month, has already been started.
Two places the city will look to reduce unnecessary spending is phone and cell phone contracts and water fluoridation levels. Rath said the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services is now recommending lower fluoride content in drinking water.
The idea of selling advertising space - on just about anything from city fences to garbage trucks - needs some guidelines, said Rath, but it is a genuine possibility to raise some revenue.
The committee is also not pushing away an idea to sell Monroe bottled water, with the city's logo on the label, for some self-promotion. Minhas Craft Brewery would probably be asked to bottle the water - non-alcoholic, of course.