Heated Discussion at Neillsville Common Council Meeting
Thursday, September 15th, 2016 -- 10:23 AM
-The Neillsville City Council Meeting was not without its controversy on Tuesday evening.One item on the agenda caused a heated discussion among council members, the mayor and city attorney. The item in question would have allowed the Neillsville Chamber of Commerce to put their information on the City of Neillsville’s website. Essentially, the Neillsville Chamber of Commerce would like to give up their website, which is a substantial cost to them, and have their information on the city’s website. However, there was no word on whether the cost would be shared and who’s going to maintain it. One council member stated that they believed the chamber would share in the cost and maintain their portion of the website. However, the city attorney and another council member argued that the resolution didn’t state that, so they should hold off until all that is made clearer.
The same council member also felt it wasn’t fair that only businesses that are chamber members would be allowed to be on the city’s website, as opposed to now where all city businesses are listed on the website. It was stated that some businesses don’t want to be a part of the chamber, but they shouldn’t be penalized by having their business taken off the city’s website. It was also stated that if they approved this, it could open up a can of worms because other non-profit entities in the city may decide they want to give up their websites and try to join onto the city’s to save cost. They worried about possible discrimination if the city turned them away. In the end, the council tabled the item and sent it back to the Economic Development Committee, where the discussion began, to work out more of the details.
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