Category Archives: Politics

Update: Unfortunately, we’re not alone among Wisconsin cities.

The city administrator and staff have put together a more detailed estimate of how the proposed state budget will impact South Milwaukee.

The estimated hit for 2012 should Gov. Scott Walker’s budget pass as is: $347,839 in red ink.

This includes the following projected general fund cuts:

• $255,427 in shared revenues;
• $135,177 in general transportation aids; and
• $126,004 in recycling grants.

In all, the total cuts to South Milwaukee general fund revenue from the state would be $516,931.

Of course, these cuts will be offset by savings through increased pension ($135,799 in net general fund savings in 2012) and health insurance ($33,293) contributions by employees — “tools” promised by Walker that, in the end, won’t do the job.

Of course, these are only estimates, and real impacts remain to be seen and probably won’t be known until the state budget is passed in coming months … and the ultimate fate of the so-called “budget repair bill” is determined.

There is also some hope that state lawmakers will actually listen to community leaders and try not to balance the budget in part on the backs of local taxpayers by slashing various state aids while concurrently disallowing property tax increases for many municipalities.

In other words, you can always hope that at least some of the well-reasoned changes proposed by the League of Wisconsin Municipalities are enacted. You can always hope that legislators who have so far scoffed at any sort of compromise will see the light.

There’s always hope, right? Maybe not.

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.”

“The longer the Democrats keep up this childish stunt, the longer the majority can’t act on our agenda.”

So said State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald after Wednesday’s rush vote to essentially end collective bargaining for public workers.

I ask, what majority? He must be talking about the majority of the legislature … not the majority of the people they represent. After all, poll after poll has clearly shown there is little appetite, outside the walls of the Capitol, for curtailing collective bargaining rights for unions.

Of course, these Republicans have a so-called “agenda,” one built by mistaking election for mandate. And they’re pushing it, at their peril.

Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans say we should not be surprised by their move to end union rights. I argue strongly otherwise.

Never once during the campaign did Walker or any Republicans I know of even come close to threatening the future of unions. If they had, I guarantee the results in November would have been much, much different.

And it’s why the results will be much different in 2012. Their actions Wednesday assure that.