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Executive Committee approves Common Council office budget; reallocates underused funds to support paid interns
Summary
The Common Council Executive Committee voted unanimously on July 1 to approve the Common Council office budget request. The office plans to reallocate underused funds — including the intern matching account — to create paid internship hours and to prioritize a small-business familiarization tour and promotional items.
The Madison Common Council Executive Committee on July 1 voted unanimously to approve the Common Council office budget request as submitted. Committee staff said the approved request does not increase the overall appropriation but reassigns underused internal funds to expand staff capacity through paid internships and to support a small-business familiarization tour and limited promotional items.
Why it matters: the office requested reallocation to convert underutilized unpaid internship matching funds into paid internship hours to increase participation and to centralize intern management so alders would have access to trained student staff. The presenter said the reallocation draws from funds that have been underused in the alder conflict mediation account and the older intern matching program so the office can hire fall and spring interns.
Details: the presenter (Karen, Common Council staff) said the proposal keeps each alder’s current expense and 2.50 allocations intact for the current year while centrally reallocating a portion of underused funds to create a paid intern program managed by the council office. The office also signaled priority funding of $500 for a small-business familiarization (FAM) tour and $600 for promotional items, both to be drawn from the conflict mediation allotment she described as having remaining balance. Karen told the committee she would accept feedback and will submit the budget by the deadline.
The motion to adopt the office budget request was moved and seconded; the committee chair asked if there were objections to recording a unanimous vote and, seeing none, recorded the motion as approved.
Next steps: the council office will proceed with the planned reallocations and the hiring process for paid interns. Committee members were invited to provide feedback to the council office ahead of final administrative processing.
