* December -- Despite a decision by the Janesville city council in 2005 to allow a skate board park to be built in Palmer Park, current city council members intend to cancel that offer.
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* December -- Revisiting a request by the Janesville Gazette to start council meetings earlier, several council members began a debate to exclude public commentary from official council meetings. Seeing the odds grow against the Gazette's request, Council member Tom McDonald delayed an up-or-down vote and postponed the decision for a better time. We can bet when the subject comes up again, council members will be well rehearsed.
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* November -- After successfully defending their neighborhood against a zoning change allowing for a tavern and outdoor sports activity to be developed literally in their back yards, a small enclave of homeowners were eventually defeated. Council members Rashkin, Voskuil, Steeber and Perrotto rejected their concerns and sided with a deep-pocketed non-constituent special interest instead.
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* October -- Despite heavy public opinion against, funding for a new ice arena was fast-tracked through the Janesville city council. It passed by a vote of 5-2 with Councilman Rashkin and Frank Perrotto voting against.
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* October -- After endorsing the legislative agenda of the politically active business group Forward Janesville without debate earlier in the year, the non-partisan Janesville city council rejected a symbolic resolution in support of universal access to health care. Fearing that the endorsement would project the wrong political or partisan bias on the health care issue, several council members demanded the word "universal" be stricken from the resolution.
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* October -- Council members Yuri Rashkin and Tom McDonald propose to change the charter ordinance and start council meetings up to one hour earlier so the Janesville Gazette can meet their editing deadlines. Scheme backfires when McDonald votes against the Gazette's original request.
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* September -- With huge water rate increases on the way, city officials adopt new pricing policy suggested by the water advocacy group Clean Wisconsin. This action seems to have softened some of the hostility city sprawl academics have had toward conservation and sustainability advocates.
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* August -- The first in a series of bizarre statements and council action by Council member Tom McDonald on behalf of the Janesville Gazette. McDonald apparently felt allowing public access TV to televise city council budget sessions would either infringe upon the newspaper's ability to steer public opinion or cut into their profits and programming of filtered content.
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* August -- Utility Director paints the city council and future growth into a corner over water tower funding for NE corner of city.
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* July -- Council draws TIF district around farmland for industrial expansion within 1/2 mile of the sprawling and vacant General Motors industrial complex.
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* July -- City council develops its own "agenda" designed to help pre-determine the direction of issues, council debates and expectation of votes.
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* June -- One of the main talking points used to hasten the approval of the city's comprehensive growth plan was the flexibility implied by city council members to make changes on a case-by-case basis. When a single zoning change request by a local businessman ran counter to the Comprehensive Plan, the city manager warned the council against approving the request, saying it would set "a new and dangerous precedent."
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* May -- Despite earlier warnings from the utilities director that the water supply system in the NE section of the city is inadequate to satisfy all the requirements necessary to deliver water for reliable safe consumption or fire department usage, Council members Kathy Voskuil, Russ Steeber, Yuri Rashkin and George Brunner approved of adding six more residences to the system. Tom McDonald and Frank Perrotto said they would not vote for the Willow Glade addition until the water issue could be resolved. Bill Truman was absent.
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* May -- City council approves alcohol license for "family entertainment" junior hockey games at city facility. Voting no were George Brunner, Tom McDonald and Frank Perrotto. Council member Bill Truman's uncharacteristic flip-flop on the issue was the low point of the decision.
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* April -- In a pitch for a water tower on Janesville's NE side, Janesville Utilities Director Dan Lynch warned of the dangers 20,000 residents have been exposed to since 2005 due to deficiencies in the system.
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* March -- Standing to offset thousands of dollars in overhead and other business costs, the Wisconsin Hockey Partners captured a lop-sided lease agreement from the City of Janesville. The city council handed primary user control of the city's one-sheet public ice arena over to the for-profit hockey group. George Brunner and Amy Loasching were absent from the meeting. Council member Bill Truman felt the lease contract lacked mutual sharing between the parties and was the only council member to vote "nay." Frank Perrotto was not a member of the council at the time.
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* March -- Despite pleas from the public including the Governors office for more time and consideration, the Janesville city council sided with developers and approved of the sprawl-based administration's Comprehensive Growth Plan eight months ahead of schedule. Council member Tom McDonald's suggestions to give the plan more time or add sustainability provisions to the plan were rejected.
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* February -- City Council Rejects Committee Reform
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* January -- The non-partisan Janesville City Council unanimously endorsed the legislative agenda of the politically active business organization known as "Forward Janesville." Council member Yuri Rashkin made the motion and seconded by Councilman Russ Steeber. Members Kathy Voskuil, Tom McDonald and George Brunner followed in lockstep. Loasching and Truman were absent.
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