Madison’s City Council on Tuesday failed to override Mayor Paul Soglin’s veto on a measure that would have changed the city’s policies on billboard construction.
With an 11-9 vote, a majority of the council voted to override Soglin’s veto, but the motion to override the veto failed since it did not reach the necessary two-thirds vote.
Soglin had vetoed a council measure that would have capped the amount of billboards in the city.
The council last month failed to override the veto but decided to hold another vote Tuesday since not every alder was present during the last vote.
City Council vote narrowly upheld mayoral veto on billboard ordinance
Various community members spoke against Soglin’s veto, including Jt Covelli, the owner of a marketing and media agency in the Madison area.
Covelli said she supported keeping billboards in the city, saying they are an important asset to the marketing community and are one of the few ways to effectively reach the often difficult millennial audience.
Ald. Steve King, District 7, said the debate had been going on for a long time, and moved to end the discussion on the topic and simply vote on the matter.
The council also requested that an ad hoc committee study the issue of body cameras by Madison police.
Board of Estimates approves research for use of police body cameras
Ald. Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, responded to a concern from a community member who said she was concerned over the city potentially spending $30,000 on a pilot program, which could be implemented if the study recommends it.
Bidar-Sielaff said the study is a preliminary step, noting that the council had previously looked at implementing a pilot program without a similar study.
“What’s before us is actually a step back from where we were during our deliberations out budget, which is to not pilot the implementation of body cams in 2015 but instead to look at body cams as a discussion ,” Bidar-Sielaff said.
Bidar-Sielaff said the study will allow for more community engagement, which will then determine if the use of body cameras is viable for Madison police. This process will not be led by the police department, but instead will be conducted by a contracted project manager, she said.
The motion to begin a study ultimately passed, with a lone vote against from Ald. Larry Palm, District 12, who said he opposed it because the proposal was not heard by the Equal Opportunities Commission.