In recent months, the Madison City Council and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz have focused their collective energies on everything from the irrelevant (impeaching the president), to the infeasible (trolleys), to the downright absurd (alcohol density plan). However, in light of Mr. Cieslewicz's recent support for a proposal to put 30 new police officers on the streets of Madison at an estimated cost of nearly $3 million, we are hopeful that city leadership has once again regained its sense of priority.

To be sure, the proposal issued by Police Chief Noble Wray is heavily dependent on funding allocations that have yet to be determined in the unfinished state budget. According to Cieslewicz communications director George Twigg, the proposal would increase the percentage of the city budget allotted for public safety to "well over its current mark of 40 percent," and would be virtually impossible to execute should the state pass the Assembly version of the budget.

Considering the increasing demand for heightened security in the downtown area, we applaud the mayor's bold financial initiative, and we encourage state lawmakers to consider the proposal when apportioning municipal funding.

However, we do recognize that this proposal is only that, a proposal, and its authorization and execution will be the true measure of effectiveness in curbing Madison's safety concerns.

In order to properly address these concerns, we emphasize that a fair chunk of the police officer influx must be deployed to the downtown area and that their focus be directed toward issues most critical to public safety.

So while the mayor and police chief's push to increase safety in Madison is heartening, we are wary the initiative may result in amplified citations and stagnant progress toward alleviating the most pressing public safety concerns.

Ultimately, it is the potential Kelly Nolans, and not your fake I.D., this city needs to address.