Dave Soeldner - City Council Activities

City Council Activities

I was elected to the Manitowoc City Council in April, 2008, representing District 8. I am currently a member of the following committees:

Here are some of the key votes and other activities that I have taken part in since being elected:

I voted against the Aquatic Center
I voted for the creation of a Human Resources Director
I released a public statement encouraging my colleagues on the Council to drop remaining charges against police Lt. Karl Puestow. Based on this statement, my colleague Chris Able filed an ethics charge against me and Jim Brey, who released a similar statement several weeks before I did. The Ethics Committee cleared Jim and me of any wrongdoing.
I voted against the 2009 budget (which passed the Council)
I voted against the 2010 budget (which passed the Council)
I voted against the Police and Fire labor contracts in '09 (both passed the Council)
I voted against the residency requirement for department heads, which requires them to live in the City of Manitowoc. This measure passed the Council 7-3, then the Mayor vetoed it, then the Council again voted 7-3 to override the Mayor's veto.
I voted for the 2011 budget, which passed the Council on a 7-3 vote after several items from the Mayor's original budget--Most notably, a $1.7 million transfer from the City's Wastewater Treatment Reserve Fund--were taken out. The budget passed reflected a reduction of $991,000 in the City's labor expenditures.
I authored a resolution implementing a hiring freeze in the City for 2011, which passed the Council on an 8-2 vote. Each potential hire must come before the full Council, and 2/3 of the Council must vote to authorize the hire before it can go through.