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Two top state officials - Administration Secretary Michael Morgan and Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan - said Wednesday they want a budget deal that fixes the new, $1.6 billion shortfall in revenue without additional tax increases.

"We're going to have a balanced budget," Morgan told a meeting of mayors and other local government leaders. "We are not going to be raising taxes."

"People are struggling enough now, so if we can figure out a way to do this without raising any (new) taxes, that's our goal," said Sheridan, a Janesville Democrat.

Both were referring to not raising taxes beyond the $1.7 billion boost in fees and income, cigarette and oil company tax increases that Gov. Jim Doyle recommended in February to balance the next two-year budget. In the same month, Doyle signed into law other tax and fee increases that totaled $1.2 billion.

"Increasing the hospital tax, increasing the cell phone tax, saying that people who were planning on getting a deduction will no longer receive it, those to me are increases in taxes and that's something Wisconsin can't afford," [GOP Rep. Robin] Vos said.

But million from the phone surcharge will go to police Doyle said that $100 and fire departments statewide to protect public safety and to partially offset the 2.5% cut in shared-revenue aid to local governments.

• $669.7 million by cutting state agency spending by 5%, cutting aid to  public schools by $290 million over two years, and cutting aid to local million in 2010. governments by $21.5
• $224 million by furloughing state workers eight days a year and  rescinding 2% pay raises nonunion workers were to get in June. Unionized workers must decide to give back the 2% raise, or 400 of them will be laid off, Doyle said.
• Laying off more than 1,000 other workers - 300 more than the governor  had announced last week - by further squeezing spending by state agencies. $165 million by adjusting an assessment on hospital revenues passed in February. 
• $100 million from the new 75-cent monthly surcharge on phone line and telecommunication lines. 
• $185.2 million by stopping the phase-in of health and child care tax  breaks, and improving tax collections in ways that were not explained Thursday.
• $285 million from refinancing debt to take advantage of low interest rates.

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