The city’s financial committee voted Monday to retain funding for the citizen alcohol compliance checker, some of the city’s ice rinks, lighting enhancement grants and increased the budget to accommodate more passes for the low income bus pass program.

Ald. Jed Sanborn, District 1, proposed to cut the funding for lighting enhancement grants in one of his amendments on the basis that grants such as lighting enhancement and the Fa?ade Improvement grants rely on taxpayer money and only benefit a few people. It should be the property owner responsible for making the investments, he said.

“The theme of all my budget amendments is that I think we have to think of what things the city does that affects very few people,” Sanborn said. “There are some things we do that we tax everyone for and it goes to a sliver of the community.”

The committee shot the amendment down and decided to keep those funds intact.

The civilian alcohol license compliance inspector position was also retained, with the committee deciding to vote down an amendment to cut funding for the position put forth by Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway, District 12.

Rhodes-Conway said the current budget crisis is not the ideal time to add a new position, and she also had concerns of having the alcohol industry help fund the position.

Ald. Tim Bruer, District 14, said the position is not necessarily new, as the police have been functioning in this capacity for some time. The compliance checks have been an effective tool for public safety, he added.

“This is a relatively small investment for a significant benefit to the community,” Bruer said.

Although the civilian checker is somewhat new, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said it is a continuation of an earlier commitment from previous years. He also said the position would render the compliance checks more efficient and allows the police to focus on other issues.

The controversial cuts in funding for the city’s ice rinks were restored after the committee passed the amendment to reinstate funding for it.

Ald. Chris Schmidt, District 11, characterized the amount of interest from the community to restore the funding as “a tremendous outpouring.”

The amendment was passed without much discussion, with Ald. Joe Clausius, District 17, calling it a “no-brainer.”

The committee also approved the amendment allocating more than $60,000 to Metro Transit to support more passes for the low-income bus pass program. The amendment allows for 300 discounted tickets to be sold each month, with the cost of a pass being $27.50 — half of the regular monthly pass rate of $55.

Rhodes-Conway said she supported the amendment as a second choice, voicing her disproval of the bus fare increase seen last year.

“I don’t think we should have put ourselves in the position of needing a low-income bus program,” Rhodes-Conway said.

Ald. Mark Clear, District 19, however, said without the fare increase, the city would not have been able to afford the program.