In a slap to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, City Council members want a public referendum on a proposed $37 million central library and to block $16 million in public assistance for redevelopment of the Edgewater Hotel.

Cieslewicz, facing a test of his political clout, said he'll continue to fight for both projects, saying its a good time to invest in the future.

The library and tax incremental financing (TIF) money for the Edgewater are the most controversial pieces of the mayor's proposed $185.8 million capital budget for 2010.

Alds. Judy Compton, Michael Schumacher and others have proposed a budget amendment that would force a binding April referendum on the library, the city's biggest building project since Monona Terrace opened 12 years ago.

"I think taxpayers need to speak," said Compton, who represents the 16th District.

Schumacher, 18th District, said, "I see more families hurting in our community. I'm going to use this as a vehicle to have a discussion about priorities in the capital budget."

Alds. Satya Rhodes-Conway and Jed Sanborn are offering amendments to block $16 million in TIF assistance for the $109 million Edgewater project.

"We don't know what the project is," Rhodes-Conway, 12th District, said, noting that the developer and neighborhood are now in talks to reshape plans she could eventually support. "Until we know what the project is, I don't feel good being committed to saying we're putting this much money in it."

The city's finance committee, the Board of Estimates, will consider the amendments and others to the capital budget on Monday. The full council will consider the capital budget and the mayor's $239.4 million operating budget the week of Nov. 10.

Cieslewicz strongly opposes a library referendum and cutting TIF for the Edgewater.

"I don't know what is special about the library that would justify a referendum," he said, explaining that the council makes decisions about big spending items like road projects every year. "We're elected to make decisions based on our best judgement."

The proposed $16 million for Edgewater doesn't mean the project will get that much money, he said.

City Council President Tim Bruer said the proposed amendments are unlikely to pass.

"You need only to look at California to realize how much of a slippery slope it is to make critical decisions by referendum," he said. "I see very little support."

Cieslewicz wants the city use $37 million in borrowing, tax credits and private fundraising over the next three years to pursue a proposal by the Fiore Cos. for a six-story, glass and stone library at Henry Street and West Washington Avenue that would be part of a larger development.

Under Fiore's proposal, a new 105,000-square-foot library would be built first, followed by a second phase that would bring a 380,000-square-foot mixed-use project on the current library site at Fairchild and west Mifflin streets. The full value of the project is estimated at $88 million.

Cieslewicz and the Library Board argue that a new library is needed, and the mayor said tax credits, low construction costs and tax revenues from Phase II can deliver a state-of-the-art facility for the same cost of renovating the 43-year-old facility.

"To lose the opportunity would be fiscally irresponsible," Fiore executive vice president William Kunkler said. "We are at a historic moment and to needlessly delay the project will only result in higher cost to the taxpayers."

But Compton and Schumacher feel otherwise.

"We are in a very tough time in the economic history of our city," Compton said. "I believe people have a right to have a voice on expenses this high."

The North and East Sides, which Compton and Schumacher represent, lack library facilities, Schumacher said.

"Shouldn't we have full coverage around town before we build a grand monument in the Downtown?" he asked.

Schumacher said he is also skeptical of the ability to privately raise $10 million for the project.

This spring, the Hammes Co. proposed to restore the Edgewater, built in 1948, create a landscaped plaza atop a 1973 addition and staircase with terraces to Lake Mendota, and construct an 11-story hotel tower at the east end of the property at Langdon Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

The proposal, cheered by many, also raised concerns about the height of the tower, historic preservation, traffic and parking.

Now, Hammes is working with a neighborhood group to address concerns and reshape plans. It's unclear if Hammes' TIF request will change. Hammes president Robert Dunn could not be reached.

The capital budget simply authorizes using up to $16 million in TIF for the project, Cieslewicz said. But if the money is cut, the council would later have to pass a budget amendment with 15-vote super majority to get TIF, he said.

"I don't want that," he said, calling the process "unnecessary and unfair."

A good project will get 15 votes, Rhodes-Conway said.

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