The end of the political year in Madison will likely bring the end of another political drama tonight when members of the City Council will vote on the fifth and final proposal to restructure the governance and finances of the Overture Center for the Arts.
The Overture issue, which has occupied the City Council since Mayor Dave Cieslewicz introduced a financial model over the summer, hit a roadblock two weeks ago at the council’s most recent meeting.
Tonight’s final council meeting of 2010 is the last opportunity for the council to approve a model before the end of the year, the deadline some have set to avoid the performing arts facility from “going dark.”
The new proposal, introduced Monday at a meeting of more than 10 alders, calls for a 20 to 25-member governing board for Overture.
The board would include a collection of public and private officials. The involvement of public officials, including mayoral appointees and designees, would depend on the city’s financial contribution to the facility.
Additionally, the new funding structure will require the city to contribute a $2 million subsidy for the building’s operation. The subsidy increased as a result of the negotiations; all previous models included a pilot payment that alders on the work group removed to cut budget costs.
In a statement, Cieslewicz said he was satisfied with the results of the negotiations. He added he believes the agreement will help sustain Overture’s future success.
“Under this agreement, taxpayers will pay about the same amount they would have to run and maintain the old Civic Center, Overture workers will be guaranteed a job offer and every union worker will have a union and the private fundraising necessary to keep the building open is ambitious but doable,” Cieslewicz said.
In recent weeks, the Overture issue became more complicated – at times heated – for alders, members of Overture’s governing boards and labor unions.
In November, a proposal from Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, and Ald. Chris Schmidt, District 11, received overwhelming support from AFSCME Local 60 compared to Cieslewicz’s proposed “focus model” and a “private-private” model from City Council President Ald. Mark Clear, District 19.
The new proposal includes provisions establishing negotiations between unions and Overture for new labor contracts under the new model. It also assures current Overture employees 3 percent pay hikes, which the statement said was not likely to affect the wages of future employees.
Sidelined members of the council and work group participants both said they would prefer having a memorandum of understanding prior to the next budget season beginning in August.
The closed negotiations to produce the new model were mildly contentious but nevertheless productive, work group members said.
Clear called the process in which alders drove through the weekend snowstorm to discuss the proposal “collaborative.” He added he believes the proposal will reach 11 votes on the council while keeping Overture sustainable and gaining support from Overture’s governing boards.
Work group member Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, called the outcome of the negotiations “bittersweet” despite his willingness to cosponsor the agreement at tonight’s meeting.
“This is privatizing public employees’ jobs,” Verveer said. “It’s something I’ve never done before and, it’s hard to stomach.”
