The Germantown Public Works and Highway Committee voted on Nov. 5 to advance, with a positive recommendation, a proposed official snow-and-ice sidewalk removal map that reallocates maintenance responsibility between the village and adjacent property owners.

Resident Gary Conop told the committee he found the map confusing and asked why nearby subdivisions would be treated differently. "If you're not going to remove snow, just make it village wide and save more money," Conop said, adding concerns about liability and property values for neighborhoods left off the village-maintained list.

Staff responded with historical context and explained the draft map was developed after months of review and committee guidance. Staff said the existing code dates to the 1950s and that the village has grown substantially since then, increasing maintenance obligations. To balance continuity of service with fiscal and equipment constraints, the proposed map keeps a roughly square-mile core (including parts of Pilgrim, Mequon and Division roads) under village responsibility while transitioning many sidewalks adjacent to commercial properties, HOAs and multi-unit buildings to adjacent owners.

Staff described the criteria used to design the map (connectivity to schools and major corridors, backyards versus front yards, DOT/county rights-of-way) and said small segmented red areas remained where village service already existed. The staff presentation noted the village had removed a planned sidewalk-plow replacement from the 2026 capital budget (about $170,000) and that the current equipment can maintain the proposed service area.

After committee discussion, a motion to advance the map to the village board for final action carried. The committee recorded one opposition during the final vote and directed staff to include a construction/timeline estimate in resident notification letters where an ARIP application or other projects may affect sidewalks.

The village board will consider the ordinance adopting the map at a future meeting.