Arbor Update

The request to reconsider the resolution on the police/court facility is good news. The resolution originally had 4 “no” votes. When we add those 4 to the 3 Council members moving to reconsider, we get 7 votes opposed to the resolution. Plus, Council member Greden was quoted in the AA News as saying he would change his original “yes” vote.

At the AA Dem meeting on March 10, Mayor Hieftje said he was prepared to veto the resolution. He said he wanted to look at the court/police issue again after the new budget was adopted. He said that the departments typically come up with proposed cuts in people and services that are not adopted.

The mayor also said he favored increased cooperation between the City and the County on this issue. He said he thought there might be a chance that the County would extend the lease for the District Court.

A resolution was offered at the Party meeting commending the mayor for his promised veto. But the mayor said he did not want it passed! He said he would prefer to work with Council on these issues. So the resolution failed on a 21-21 vote.

The idea of reconsidering the adoption of the resolution, and postponing further consideration until after the adoption of the budget, seems like a good one to me.