North Mendota Trail: Blockage
An illustrious group of local dignitaries, including elected City and County officials, members of the press and other luminaries of similar distinction, assembled yesterday (Wednesday, July 27) at the North Mendota Trail bridge on Century Avenue in Middleton for a photo-op, temporarily suspending the bridge's intended use by blocking it for pedestrians and bicyclists who had to revert to using the narrow unprotected sidewalk along the busy street. The official reason for the photo-op, according to a media advisory, was 'to announce a new grant for construction of the next segment of the North Mendota Trail. This new trail segment will help alleviate safety issues for bicyclists along County Highway M and help move the North Mendota Trail closer to completion'.
The 'new' $1 million Dane County grant to the City of Middleton actually dates back to 2021. It was approved by the County board in the fall of last year as part of the 2022 budget, and incorporated into Middleton's capital projects' plan during the City's budget process around the same time, while the agreement completing the legal formalities was finalized a little over a month ago.
When not obstructed by politicians and their entourage, the bridge is part of the west segment of the North Mendota Trail that was completed earlier this year. Construction of the east segment, which will run from Highland Way east to the city limits with the town of Westport, is scheduled to begin sometime in August and be finished by November 1.
The City as employer: Competitive disadvantage
The City of Middleton has trouble hiring and retaining staff. According to a presentation by its human resources manager Brian Wolhaupter at a recent finance committee meeting, more than a dozen employees have left the City in recent months, and the applications for each vacancy are down significantly, both in quantity and in quality. Public sector wage increases in general have lagged behind those in the private sector since the start of pandemic, with the gap widening since the middle of 2020, but they seem to have lagged even more in the City of Middleton. Meanwhile, formerly generous benefit plans are apparently becoming less attractive, with public-sector employees being asked to contribute more to health and other insurance (although for the most part still not anywhere near as much as private sector employees).
An increasingly important part of the compensation package for many existing and would-be employees, according to Brian Wolhaupter, is paid vacation. And here Middleton seems to be at a disadvantage, not least compared to peer cities in the area: Not only does Middleton offer fewer minimum and maximum vacation days than almost all other peer cities (12 days at the start and 27 days after 18 years of employment, compared to 12 days at the start and 30 days after 25 years in Sun Prairie, 15 and 33 days after 25 years in Fitchburg, and 15 and 30 days after 14 years in Verona), it also takes more steps to get to the maximum (11 in Middleton, compared to 5 and fewer in Fitchburg and Verona). The seniority-based system, long prized by bureaucracies as a way to promote employment longevity and stability, no longer seems to promote either. Some of its more rigid applications, like increases in the number of vacation days, are being successfully undercut by private (and public) employers offering full complements from the start.