More than half of City Council members co-signed a letter addressed to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz Tuesday asking him to send the Associated Students of Madison a bill for the costs of this weekend’s Mifflin Street Block Party.
Owner of Laundry 101 Ald. Zach Brandon, District 7, initiated the letter, stating ASM “assumed the role” of an organizer.
“As an organizer, ASM should be billed for the cost of providing police protection and other city services,” the letter said.
Brandon said his letter is not intended to be “anti-student.”
“I think a conversation needs to get started about this. A lot of it revolves around public safety and money,” Brandon said.
ASM Chair Emily McWilliams said the letter is a “ploy” to make the mayor look bad because there is nothing he can do about the situation Brandon introduced.
“I think the alders are signing this purely for political reasons. They have no jurisdiction or authority,” McWilliams said. “It’s a nice breath of hot air that reeks of political maneuvering.”
Ald. Austin King, District 8, and Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, whose districts are mostly comprised of students, said they were not informed of the letter until after it was signed.
Brandon sent a copy of the letter to media outlets across the city of Madison, except student newspapers, King said. Verveer added he was disappointed his colleagues signed such an “uninformed letter.”
“It’s ludicrous to think at the 11th hour, ASM should be billed [for the block party],” he said.
George Twigg, spokesperson for Cieslewicz, said the mayor has read the letter but has not made any decisions.
“We’re not going to accept or reject anything at this point,” Twigg said. “We just want to get through the event on the 30th first, see how things go, see what the costs turn out to be and we’ll go from there.”
According to Twigg, during other large-scale events such as music festivals, there are organizations that help pay for the costs.
Verveer added the student government has never sponsored the block party throughout its 35-year history. The Mifflin Street Co-op used to sponsor the event until the early ’90s.
“ASM’s entire role in this was on behalf of the student body, petitioning the mayor and me to change the date of this annual event,” Verveer said. “They never once talked about sponsoring or organizing the party, and they never once talked about any sort of financial contribution they could make on behalf of the students.”
The letter states, “ASM has the financial resources and the authority to pay for the services related to the event they negotiated. ASM itself has a budget of $500,000. Further, ASM controls nearly $23 million in student fees.”
Brandon said he is not against the block party but wants students to realize there is a consequence to switching the dates.
“The people that are having a good time aren’t thinking who is footing the bill,” he said.
McWilliams said there is a specific process and certain requirements for allocating ASM’s funds, such as educational standards that have to be met.
“It’s not like ASM is a leprechaun with a magical pot of gold that we can reach into,” McWilliams said. “Although we love Mifflin Street Block Party, by no means were we claiming it’s an educational event.”
Ald. Ken Golden, District 10, who also signed the letter, said the amount of money spent on overtime for police officers could be put toward other worthy causes.
“My understanding was that [ASM] stepped out and they negotiated on behalf of students,” Golden said. “If they are going to be a spokesperson for the group, one would assume they have responsibility.”
McWilliams added she would make a deal with Brandon if he would agree to contribute money to every project or piece of legislation he supports. If Brandon “put his money where his mouth is,” then McWilliams said she would be willing to pay for the entire Mifflin Street Block Party herself.
“I surely hope that this piece of legislation stinks as much as the clothes he washes,” she said.
“If there is a picket outside of Laundry 101, I’m not going to be surprised,” King added.
