Nonprofits Initiate Recall as Mayor Cuts Their Funding
A coalition of nonprofit leaders and community activists have launched a recall campaign against the new mayor of Fitchburg, Wisconsin, a suburb of some 25,000 residents just outside of Madison.
The unusual reason for this atypical action? The mayor has proposed cutting city funding for several local nonprofits that serve the less affluent sections of town in order to provide raises for city employees and to expand first responder services.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that a group opposing Mayor Jason Gonzalez’s decision to eliminate funding for nonprofits from his proposed 2018 city budget said that “recall efforts to have him removed from office have begun and will continue unless the funding is restored.”
The mayor responded to the backlash by saying there is “wiggle room” in the $20 million budget to fund nonprofits, if the city council wants it, but he told the paper that the money might not get allocated the same way as it has been...