Trust Broken With Shorewood Administration

How can the city of Shorewood regain the trust of residents after what transpired with the Watten Ponds development project? One member of council said they have never seen an application brought before council with so many open issues and questions.

An Embarrassing Failure

Is your privilege to speak at council meetings about to be stifled? The failure of Shorewood mayor Labadie and City Administrator Nevinski to follow city protocol, may affect ALL residents of Shorewood who want or need to participate in city council meetings via Zoom.

Shorewood’s Top-Heavy City Operations

Have you ever wondered how Shorewood’s expenses and revenue compares to other equivalent sized cities? So did we. We researched 5 other comparable sized Minnesota cities by households and population and summarized the findings.

City Council Fails To Act on State Law

Minnesota’s Paid Family and Medical Leave law provides paid leave for medical needs or family care funded by an employee/employer payroll tax. On December 8, Council members learned that a staff-run benefits committee voted not to tax themselves, so the .88% PFML tax will be paid 100% by taxpayers.

Council Bylaws: Ethics or (In)Consistent Control?

The Shorewood City Council is set to approve bylaws to impose a code of conduct that outlines “appropriate behaviors and interactions of council members with each other, staff, and residents.” We disagree with the premise and find this to be inconsistent, open-ended and poorly planned.

Just Follow the Law

With a vote during the June 9th regular Shorewood City Council meeting, council members appear prepared to ignore the clear and unambiguous laws that are in force for municipal water installation.

The Opposite of Transparency

On February 18, 2024 the Shorewood City Council, along with key city staffers, held what they referred to as a “retreat” at the Shorewood Community & Event Center. This was essentially an all-day work session to discuss strategic priorities and several other key topics. What made this different from any other work session was that it was structured to discourage public attendance and the ability to review the meeting after the fact.

What’s Your Beef?

Convincing residents to speak at a city council meeting on almost anything is a challenge, unless it directly affects their property. Explanations vary from busy schedules to general discomfort when speaking on camera. Now there is another reason: A council member who implied he does not want to be bothered by people bringing their “beef” before the council.

Confusion vs. Clarity

Arborvitae and a fence “erroneously” built in the city right-of-way (ROW) took up considerable time and energy at two Shorewood council meetings. On May 28, because of vague language in the ordinance, the Council engaged in a confusing conversation, followed by an unusual 43 seconds of silence, when no motion was made to correct the issue of the matter.

Confusion, Disconnect and a Moment of Silence

Here is a summary of the May 28th Shorewood City Council Meeting. This included a presentation regarding Freeman Park and consideration of several controversial proposals.

Shorewood Citizen Advocates

governance