At first glance, last evening's Common Council meeting appears to be an act in civility. But looks can be deceiving, especially when you consider the history of this group's "relationship" with Madison PD, specifically with Chief Koval. (Here's the link of the 7/18 meeting in case you'd like to watch it.) http://media.cityofmadison.com/Mediasite/Play/1819ad3d15614db1ac187864c74b62011d?catalog=f6706bc9-c8ac-4d8d-83cc-5f6495e2c318 What I continue to see is a group of alders (exception noted) trying to dictate police policy. Behind the barrage of seemingly-innocent questions, are a wasteful OIR review, a special task force on "police / community relations," the near-unanimous vote that an understaffed police force specially manufacture a quarterly report just for them, and other demoralizing acts - which I've noted in past posts. What I failed to see last evening was a meaningful discussion on how to combat growing crime in Madison, or plans to work closely with the police force (the experts on crime fighting) to correct this problem. If you haven't already signed and shared our new petition, please get on it. We've already gotten news coverage about our new initiative from NBC15. https://www.change.org/p/mayor-soglin-fight-crime-in-madison-by-supporting-its-police-department I also ask you to join me in writing to the common council and Mayor Soglin, requesting that they produce a quarterly report on their own performance. Here's what I'd like to see in a detailed report: -The issues they've discussed, including how much time they spent on things like combating crime versus renaming buildings; -The issues that citizens write to them about and that they have actually addressed; -The actions they took to combat crime, specifically by working with MPD command staff; -How they worked on the emergency detentions crisis. Mayor Soglin: mayor@cityofmadison.com Common Council: allalders@cityofmadison.com Do I think they'll comply with our request? Probably not. But writing lets them know that you're paying attention. All the best. --Paula Fitzsimmons paula@pjpublications.com