So, what in the world is going on at Monroe City Council?! I am glad you asked, because that is just what I am tasked with telling you about today. First, I will answer a few of the questions I get when people find out I am on Monroe City Council.
1. How many council members are there? There are nine members on the city council. There is also one Mayor. Monroe calls our council members “Alders”.
2. Does my ward have a specific alder? Our alders serve ‘at large’ and that means that though we have 9 waRds in the city and we used to have one alder represent each ward, some time ago it was determined that the city is best served by ‘at large’ alders. That means each alder represents the entirety of the city rather than a single ward.
3. What does the city council do? When the council is seated at the beginning of a term, the first thing we do is vote on which of the alders will fill the role of President. This person is responsible for carrying out the duties of the mayor when or if he or she cannot attend a meeting or otherwise fulfill the responsibilities of the role. Every meeting is called to order by the mayor and every meeting has an agenda. We run every meeting according to the most current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. This means that we carefully follow the agenda and every resolution must have a ‘move for approval’ and a ‘second’. Then and only then can discussion of the motion occur. Each person who wishes to speak on the motion may do so and can speak a second time after everyone else who wishes to be heard has had that opportunity. I know, I know, that’s probably more information than you wanted. I just wanted you to know that we strive to follow the rules, regulations, statutes, and meet reasonable expectations to the best of our ability as we do the work of keeping the City of Monroe running in an orderly manner.
4. What is the time commitment of a city council alder? Monroe City Council meets at City Hall every other Monday at 6:30 p.m. Meetings last an undetermined amount of time depending on the agenda and other factors. Council members are also assigned to up to three other ‘sub’ committees that meet on the opposite Monday evenings. I have to say that much work occurs at these meetings, as topics are discussed at greater length and depth.
As an alder, I greatly appreciate the Heads of our Departments and their staff members, as well as the staff at city hall, and our City Administrator Brittney Rindy. They really carry the lion’s share of the workload day in and day out, working with the public and additionally distilling the information that we as city council members need to make informed decisions. They are always prepared to answer our questions and to help us in every way possible to be able to serve you, the great people of the City of Monroe, Wisconsin. In closing, I thank you for reading this far and I would like to invite you to attend our meetings in person or online. They are available online at cityofmonroe.org under the ‘government’ tab, where you will see ‘city council’, and directly under that a link to ‘Agenda/Minutes/Video Center. We love to have you participate. Thanks, again.
— Corinne Wartenweilere is a City of Monroe Alderperson at Large. She can be reached atcwartenweiler@cityofmonroe.org.
