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3/31/2009
Joint Finance Committee Public Hearing
The legislature's Joint Finance Committee is in Appleton today for a public hearing on the budget. I hope to be adding commentary here throughout the day if my plans work to access WiFi in the Lawrence University's Stansbury Theatre. As you may know, those wanting to testify before the committee have three minutes to speak their mind. So, below are the 436 words I'll be signing up to share.
Thank you for being here; I appreciate the hundreds and hundreds of 3 minute requests you’ve heard today and over the last week. I appreciate too, the thoughts and needs expressed by each taxpayer.
I’m concerned about the continued economic growth of our great state and in that light, am very concerned about the tax and fee burden residents bear, about new programs created in these difficult times and about our state’s fiscal health.
This budget increases spending by 10.7% over the last biennium. That is huge. I can’t imagine that the budgets of most of the families in this room increased by even half that in the last 2 years.
Now, while state spending increases by over 10%, state shared revenue to municipalities is not increasing. But here’s the real crime of it. While not increasing shared revenues, this budget also substantially increases the burden and fiscal stress you place on local taxpayers.
For example: Prevailing Wage Expansion
This budget provision will not only substantially increase construction costs, but will hinder economic growth in our communities. I join the Alliance of Cities in supporting a trigger of $1 million in financial assistance before prevailing wage rules would apply.
Another example: Domestic Partner Benefits
This time of economic stress is not the time for the state and municipalities to be expanding costly benefits. If a municipality believes it can afford these benefits and/or it believes it is morally compelled and constitutionally allowed to provide them, local elected officials and voters can decide that, without new mandates promulgated via AB 75.
Another example: Choice of Health Care Provider
A measure that would allow bidding for health insurance contracts in our schools has been vetoed by the governor in the past. Fostering competition in the market for teachers’ health insurance, or alternatively, using the Department of Employee Trust Funds program would result in savings estimated to be over $100 million annually.
And one last example, The Recycling Fund
AB 75 nearly doubles landfill tipping fees, from $5.90 per ton to $10.30 per ton. Those increases, totaling nearly $50 million, are born entirely at the local level. Municipalities cannot afford those increases – about $150,000 in Appleton alone. What makes it worse is those increases are used not for Recycling costs, but rather transferred to the General Fund, $33,000,000 in the last biennium. We cannot afford those huge tipping fee increases as a way for the state to fund its 10% spending increase.
Please understand that your actions mean something to us here in the trenches, working to balance municipal and school budgets. Thank you for your time and attention.
Jo Egelhoff, FoxPolitics.net
COMMENTS
If you don;t want to extend domestic partner benefits because of the cost, why not propose eliminating ALL health care and other benefits for all state workers? That will save hundreds of millions of dollars. What's that you say? Not reasonable? Then tell that to the state worker who does the exact same job as anyone else, and does not get the same protections. Whatever happened to equal protection?
Mary (Wed Apr 01 16:11:22 2009)
A violent crash of opposing realities, tax revenue, and State expenditures is impending, no matter what the current administration does, barring a complete reversal of policy. Current revenue projection have likely not taken into account the tremendous loss of revenue due to the rapidly shrinking employment of workers in Wisconsin.
This should be the overriding factor in the budget. Apart from the fact that fiscally conservative taxpayers understand, expansionist spending policies of the Doyle administration(why does that ring of the oxymoron, administration assumes responsibility) do not take these facts into account. Somewhere spending and revenue must reconcile and the primal argument remains that government fails to reconcile these facts in an actuarial manner demanded of business.
The State will fail, even fall if not bankruptcy, if GAAP accounting policies are not implemented, NOW. We no longer enjoy the potential of increasing revenues and bonding sufficient to cover these spending sins of government.
I had hoped to attend, but due to a recent job loss I endured, showing up at my new job and working took precedence. "Just the facts Ma'am." I was fortunate to be aligned with a self-starting group of producers who do not wait for the hand out stretched from government, " we're here to help you. I did attempt to recover some of the unpaid salary the prior company chose not to pay from Unemployment Benefits paid"on my behalf" by my prior employer, but the State of WI rules don't seem to help much. Well, screw em', I'll make it on my own, as has been said, " government is the problem..." Amen to that.
The Budget hopefully was attended by the truly responsible citizens not looking for a bailout, just a "get hell out of my way," out. Get the hell out of the way, stop demanding taxes that cripple and turn away business. Enough is enough, Diamond Jim and cronies. Enough...
Richard Parins (Wed Apr 01 20:34:09 2009)
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