Lengthy budget process tops year's news

From local government, to its schools, to the people involved, this was a year to remember within the city. Here are NOW's top 10 Waukesha stories from the 2011 year. 1. A roller coaster budget process - The 2012 executive city budget dominated the headlines in the last part of the year and it makes No. 1 on our list of top stories for 2011. Two months after it was introduced by Mayor Jeff Scrima and Interim City Administrator Steve Crandell, the Waukesha Common Council finally passed the 2012 executive budget in early December.

There were many subplots to this budget, which began when Scrima introduced a $136 garbage fee. But after that fee was met with harsh criticism, the Finance Committee shut it down.

That was only the beginning as the council tried to trim a budget in order to avoid increasing taxes and a levy that remained flat. Before Thanksgiving, the Council agreed on a budget that would increase taxes by about $27 a year, but the mayor vetoed it saying it is not the time to increase taxes and that the garbage fee was a "mistake."

A week later, the Council finally finished the budget that included a tax levy of $51,466,874 (a 0.12 percent increase from last year) and a tax increase of $3.76 for the median homeowner.

2. Negotiations begin - The water debate has been a hotbed for discussion in this city for years and it heated up throughout the summer. The city must find a radium compliant water solution by 2018.

Scrima and Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak were at odds on the water issue as Duchniak wanted to get moving on the Great Lakes Application. The mayor, meanwhile, wanted to look at other options and repeatedly said the consequences of going with Lake Michigan water were not good for the city. He also wanted to be on the negotiating team and after the council chose a three-person team that excluded him in June, he vetoed it.

However, the Council stuck to their decision a couple weeks later, keeping him off it. Waukesha then moved forward, as there were Town Hall meetings at cities that could be impacted by Waukesha connecting with Lake Michigan.

Ultimately, Waukesha began negotiations with officials from Oak Creek and Racine and the DNR is currently reviewing their application. Expect negotiations to happen with Milwaukee in 2012.

3. Lori leaves - Lori Luther's departure from her city administrator position over the summer might not have been a surprise to many, since she had sought out other jobs in the past and because of the feuds between her and Scrima. Nonetheless, Luther, who left to become the Peoria County (Ill.) administrator, had the support of many within City Hall.

Luther's departure made for a hectic budget process, one that she would have been directly involved in. She was in the middle of the water debate and was initially named a member of the negotiating team. During her time as the city administrator, the requirements of her position changed as the Council stripped any supervisory authority the mayor had over Luther. After she left, Scrima asked the Council to reverse its decision.

Crandell took over as city administrator on an interim basis for the second time in his career. He did so before Luther was hired in 2008.

The budget process slowed down the hiring of the next city administrator, but just last week the Human Resources Committee indicated a replacement could be named in January.

4. Teachers say goodbye - Thousands of people flocked to the state Capitol to protest Gov. Scott Walker's budget in February and many are now signing recall petitions to remove him from office. Many of these people were teachers, who decided to retire to avoid the effects of his budget. Many of these retiring teachers were from the Waukesha School District.

In total, 130 teachers retired after the 2010-11 school year across its elementary, middle and high schools with Waukesha West and North high schools seeing the most departures. Superintendent Todd Gray said it was the most retirements the district has ever seen. While some were around the retirement age, many expressed they would have stayed a few more years if not for Walker's budget.

While there were new teachers in the classrooms this fall, nine of the 22 Waukesha principals were also new to their schools. And all of them were met with a smaller school budget that received 10 percent less in state aid.

5. Experience leaves city - The city, like the schools, has lost experienced employees. Mark Stigler (deputy police chief), Mike Hoeft (city planner), Allen LaConte (fire chief) and Jane Ameel (library director) - who have put in a combined 126 years of service - all announced their retirements this year.

Stigler left in August after serving in the police department for 29 years. Dennis Angle was then promoted from police captain to replace Stigler. His retirement ended an era for the Stigler family - his father was involved with the department and served as the police chief for 17 years.

Hoeft departed in November after a 36-year stint with the city. Like Stigler, Hoeft came from a family who served the city in various roles. Next it was LaConte, who also declared his retirement in November. LaConte has been with the department for 34 years and served as its police chief since 2001. His retirement will be effective in 2012 as will Ameel's. Ameel, who will step down in May, has been at the library for 27 years.

6. A downtown convention center? - The mayor presented preliminary plans for a new convention center that would be built in downtown Waukesha along the Fox River.

The building, which would be on a six-acre site between Waukesha State Bank and North West Barstow Street, would have 25,000 square feet of meeting space and 240 guest rooms.

A survey was sent to area businesses and community members to determine if a convention center would be viable for Waukesha. The results came back in favor of a convention center.

7. Guns allowed - Concealed carry was a hot-button issue after the GOP legislation and Gov. Walker made Wisconsin the 49th state to make it legal to carry concealed weapons in public. However, it was up to each city to decide whether or not they would allow concealed weapons in city-owned buildings.

While many surrounding municipalities banned them from these buildings, the Waukesha Common Council decided to allow them in places such as City Hall following a 10-5 vote in November.

Because the budget was the main concern during the fall, the Council took its time on this issue, not deciding on it until after the new concealed carry law went into effect on Nov. 1. The Council made this decision even though many city employees expressed concern over people having guns in these buildings. Other businesses around the city can put up signs banning them from their buildings.

8. Success in the schools - Students at the local schools put forth a banner year in and out of the classroom. The Waukesha West High School Academic Decathlon team won its 10th straight state championship in March and then went on to finish third at the national meet a month later in Charlotte, N.C.

Like West's academic team, Waukesha North High School's marching band continued to dominate at the state level as it captured its fifth straight state championship and competed in the Bands of America Grand National Championships in Indianapolis last month. West was also named to Newsweek Magazine's Top 500 list of the best schools in America.

Athletics were also very successful across many sports at all the schools, highlighted by the Waukesha South/Mukwonago girls swimming and diving team and the Catholic Memorial girls volleyball team winning state championships.

9. Downtown makes headlines - The popular Taylor's People's Park restaurant shut down for 10 months after a fire early in the year

Meghan Sprager was hired as the new executive director of the Waukesha Business Improvement District. She was previously the director of development and communications at La Casa de Esperanza.

During the summer, the Friday Night Live weekly music concerts were as popular as ever, but some of the street closures during the event upset some downtown business owners.

During the fall, D'Mos in The Clarke Hotel closed, while the end of the year saw the reopening of a new and improved People's Park and the opening of a new restaurant, Montecito Ristorante Lounge.

10. Moor Downs debate - A $36.7 million health and human services office building near and around the city's only golf course, Moor Downs, has been a hot topic in the city for some time and it came to light once again this year.

The result was the Common Council voting near unanimously in July to rezone five acres of Moor Downs. The new 137,000-square-foot building will be along Riverview Avenue at the courthouse campus, to the east of the existing office building.

Construction on the building will begin in spring 2012.

Other noteworthy stories from 2011:

The Les Paul monument was unveiled at a dedication ceremony at the Prairie Home Cemetery in September. Talks about an interactive permanent Les Paul exhibit at the Waukesha County Museum also surfaced.

In October, the county introduced the Bearcat, a new armored police vehicle, which sees action immediately at two crime scenes - one that included an improvised explosive device - in Waukesha.

Woodman's Food Market will be built on Highway 164, or Les Paul Parkway and East Main Street at the old Spancrete Industries' concrete panel manufacturing facility. After a long battle, the former house-style gas station on the corner of East Broadway and Hartwell Avenue, which once held landmark status, was torn down last week. This comes after the Administrative Review Board decided on Oct. 31 to remove the landmark status on the building, which the Waukesha Family YMCA owned.

Two homeless shelters (Hebron House's Emergency Shelter and its Siena House) shut down due to a lack of funding, but after a rush of contributions in November from area churches, organizations and a state grant, both reopened for the winter.

The Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County built its first home in three years. Habitat broke ground in May and the two families (each with five children) as well as other groups have been working on the home on Bethesda Court.

The Waukesha Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department won the National Gold Medal Award at the National Recreation and Park Association Congress and Exposition, the Waukesha Public Library was named the Wisconsin Library of the Year, the city was named in America's Top 100 Best Communities for Young People and the Mayor's Office received the Arts in Community Award.