Southeastern Wisconsin communities will feel the pain of shared revenue and other cuts in state aid more than others in the proposed state budget. Yet, for us, that pain won’t be quite as severe.
That’s according to a story in today’s Journal Sentinel. From it:
Most municipalities in the four-county area, and all three suburban county governments, would face the maximum reductions in state-shared revenue, local road aid or both, according to calculations by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. As a group, all area governments together would bear a larger-than-average share of the statewide cut in road aid, and all suburban governments together would be hit with a disproportionately large part of the statewide cut in shared revenue, Walker administration figures show.
However, regarding shared revenue, according a separate Journal Sentinel story: “Within Milwaukee County, smaller reductions would be limited to less-affluent communities – Milwaukee, Cudahy, St. Francis, South Milwaukee, West Allis and West Milwaukee – except for a 35% cut to wealthy River Hills.”
Don’t forget that any shared revenue cut is in addition to proposed cuts to local transportation aids and recycling funding. And “tools” like increases in benefit contributions for local employees will help, but not nearly to the level they need to, to offset all of the cuts.
Check out my previous post on this for more information on potential impacts for South Milwaukee.
I will keep you posted as more specifics become available and the local budget debate unfolds.
Until then, the Journal Sentinel has it right: “The bottom line: less money for most area communities and counties to run police and fire departments, patch potholes, maintain parks and keep libraries open.”
South Milwaukee Blog 