For many years, liquor licenses and sidewalks have been two of the hot-button issues in the City of Monroe. There are emotions, and significant dollars, involved.
It's no wonder the Monroe Common Council would want to deflect some of the heat. That's exactly what the council's doing by bringing in a UW-Extension facilitator to help settle the decisions on which two of five applicants will be given available Class B liquor licenses.
The problem is, this is the kind of difficult decision that aldermen are elected to make.
The council on Tuesday voted 9-1 to have the facilitator meet with aldermen Sept. 1 to discuss the licenses. Barrett's Brick Cafe, Fiesta Cancun Authentic Mexican Restaurant, Kookaburra's, Pancho and Lefties, and Vince's Restaurant and Pizzeria have applied for the two remaining licenses.
A facilitator will help identify, narrow and focus the exercise of discretion, City Attorney Rex Ewald explained Tuesday.
"Lots of dollars are hanging on this decision for those waiting for a license," Ewald said.
True, but bringing in an outside party - unaccountable to voters - to help settle an admittedly contentious yet routine city matter sets a bad precedent. For better or worse, this decision should be made by aldermen. After all, it was the council that made the decision to set a limit on the number of Class B licenses it would allow. That quota now has brought the city to this difficult decision.
Any decision made by the council is certain to make people unhappy. Given the math in the number of applicants, more people will be unhappy than are happy with the outcome. But that's how city politics work. The aldermen are elected to make the tough decisions. People who don't like their decisions can get retribution with their vote at election time.
Bringing in a third party only muddles the process unnecessarily.
"We don't need a facilitator, said Alderman Thurston Hanson, who cast the only vote against bringing one in. "We're 10 adults."
Exactly. And aldermen need to accept this challenging task, like adults.
It's no wonder the Monroe Common Council would want to deflect some of the heat. That's exactly what the council's doing by bringing in a UW-Extension facilitator to help settle the decisions on which two of five applicants will be given available Class B liquor licenses.
The problem is, this is the kind of difficult decision that aldermen are elected to make.
The council on Tuesday voted 9-1 to have the facilitator meet with aldermen Sept. 1 to discuss the licenses. Barrett's Brick Cafe, Fiesta Cancun Authentic Mexican Restaurant, Kookaburra's, Pancho and Lefties, and Vince's Restaurant and Pizzeria have applied for the two remaining licenses.
A facilitator will help identify, narrow and focus the exercise of discretion, City Attorney Rex Ewald explained Tuesday.
"Lots of dollars are hanging on this decision for those waiting for a license," Ewald said.
True, but bringing in an outside party - unaccountable to voters - to help settle an admittedly contentious yet routine city matter sets a bad precedent. For better or worse, this decision should be made by aldermen. After all, it was the council that made the decision to set a limit on the number of Class B licenses it would allow. That quota now has brought the city to this difficult decision.
Any decision made by the council is certain to make people unhappy. Given the math in the number of applicants, more people will be unhappy than are happy with the outcome. But that's how city politics work. The aldermen are elected to make the tough decisions. People who don't like their decisions can get retribution with their vote at election time.
Bringing in a third party only muddles the process unnecessarily.
"We don't need a facilitator, said Alderman Thurston Hanson, who cast the only vote against bringing one in. "We're 10 adults."
Exactly. And aldermen need to accept this challenging task, like adults.
