The Madison Common Council failed to pass a proposed $100,000 stabilization program for Williamson “Willy,” Street, resulting in the shut down of several local businesses.
The council voted 13-7 on Sept. 8, turning down $100,000 for Willy Street businesses affected by protests over the shooting of Corey Ruiz. The proposal failed by two votes, and now 30 businesses will not receive revenue for damage caused during the two-week-long protests.
Ruiz was fatally shot on July 22 by a Madison Police Officer at the intersection of South Baldwin and Willy Street. Community members created a four-corner blockade around the crime scene after Ruiz’s death, halting business for many storefronts on the street.
District 6 Alder Davy Mayer originally proposed $300,000 for the program, hoping to save businesses from closing. After getting pushback on budgeting, the program went down to a proposed $100,000.
“We can debate precedent all day, but when there's a clear path to doing real public good, I think we should take it,” Mayer wrote in a City of Madison blog. “The whole purpose of city government is to invest in our neighbors and community, particularly when they’re hurting and in need.”
The budget was originally set at $300,000 to give each business $10,000, but the Madison Finance Committee cut $200,000 coming from contingent funding to save for potential future emergencies.
President of the Williamson-Marquette Business Alliance and witness to the shooting, Chip Cruz, told The Daily Cardinal the money would have gone to the 30 most economically affected businesses. However, once the budget was cut down, most businesses wouldn’t have received enough to fix damages, Cruz said.
“These businesses would look at $3000 [each]. It doesn't go very far on the payroll. This was their fault,” Cruz said. “One thing that's absolutely definitive is [businesses are] directly impacted, and they're going to continue to be impacted just by proximity.”
Since the shooting, Cruz said multiple businesses have closed, and at least two more businesses expect to within the next two months. Cruz said he worries most for his employees’ paychecks, some including single mothers and UW students.
“A lot of employees were really impacted by this. [Employees] were missing the paycheck or missing a couple of shifts or getting their hours cut,” Cruz said.
Cruz said he hopes the shooting of Ruiz will create change among future generations and leaders.
“There's a lot of people who have been around for a long time making decisions who are largely disconnected from reality in this situation, and so my hope with you guys is that this story and the other stories that we're working on will at least spark more knowledge and a better future,” Cruz said.
Danny Moreno has shown up to numerous police brutality protests, and told the Cardinal it's important to show up for community members and businesses because he would want the community to show up if he was killed.
“Standing together as a community also means supporting each other when people are struggling, especially when small businesses are trying to recover from something that was out of their control,” Moreno said.
He said part of being a community is having a government that will step in during times of struggle.
“The City of Madison is entirely responsible for reimbursing the small businesses on Willy Street because their revenue was directly impacted by the murder of Corey Ruiz by Madison police,” Moreno said.
