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Politics & Government

Experts Paint a Bleak Picture of Impact of State Budget

Hundreds listen as local officials, others detail ramifications of Gov. Scott Walker's budget bills.

Some 350 people packed the Shorewood High School auditorium Monday night to get a picture of how Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed biennial budget will affect them.

What they saw was a grim portrait of deep cuts that will affect almost all aspects of the community.

Jackie Boynton, a community and political leader, told the somber crowd the meeting was the first step toward having members of the community talk to each other so that they could work together on the seemingly insurmountable task they face.

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“This is not a rally,” Boynton said. “This is not a debate. This is not a recall meeting.”

Sponsored by the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future and the Wisconsin Alliance for Strong Communities, local elected officials gave their assessment of the effect the cuts would have on the schools, health care, workers and the environment.

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Jack Norman, the research director for the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future, has extensively studied tax policies. He outlined the budget proposal and its impact on local government and services.

“It’s not a stretch to say that a budget is a moral document because it is a statement of priorities,” Norman said.

According to Norman’s analysis, the proposed budget and the recently passed budget adjustment bill will have these ramifications:

Schools: Funding for private schools, previously limited to the City of Milwaukee, has been expanded and will, for the first time, provide choice options in suburban districts. Per-student funding cuts will be made and could amount to as much as $800 per student and that will result in teacher layoffs. Because Walker implemented a freeze on property tax increases, the only option for schools is to increase fees.

Environment: Fewer resources will be available for environmental cleanup work. The statewide recycling program that got its start in Shorewood lose state funding that pay for half of its cost.

Fire and police: While they were exempted from the legislation that stripped other public employee unions of most of their bargaining rights, they are not immune from other cuts resulting from less money.

Public transportation: In addition to state cuts, federal regulations require collective bargaining with employees. Because collective bargaining rights were abolished, that puts federal aid in jeopardy. About 35 percent of the operating expenses and all of the capital expenses are paid with federal money.

Medicaid: Long term in-home health care was eliminated; senior prescription drug care was switched to the more costly federal program.

University of Wisconsin System:  Separating UW-Madison will mean a tuition increase that could be as high as 20 percent; a similar separating UW-Milwaukee would result in tuition increases. It’s unclear what the impact will be on other state schools.

The beneficiaries of the program are large corporations, not small businesses, who got huge tax cuts. Road builders received $410 million in the two-year budget, Norman said.

“Wisconsin taxes are average compared to the rest of the country,” he said. “As a percentage of income, we are paying the same or lower incomes taxes than we paid 10, 20 or 30 years ago. The sales tax is the lowest in the region.”

A one-cent sales tax could raise $860 million a year and a surtax on income above $250,000 a year could bring in $168 million, Norman said, adding “the government makes no demands on the wealthy.”

Paul Zovic, president of the Shorewood School Board, said the district has cut, trimmed and raised fees but still for the next school year. Voters will be asked to pass a referendum that would allow the district to raise $630,000 in taxes. The district is also saving $200,000 by switching health plans and got $130,000 in contract concessions. The budget adjust bill provided $875,000 in relief, but the district is still short $115,000, he said.

“We have made $6.7 million in cuts since 2002,” Zovic said. “To the extent that there was any fat, it has been removed.”

Margaret Hickey, a Shorewood village trustee, said she is frustrated with the rhetoric.

“He said he was going to give us the tools for local control,” Hickey said. “We didn’t ask for those tools and we would prefer to keep the tools that we had.”

She said one dilemma the Village Board faces is that because fire and police were exempted from the legislation eliminating collective bargaining, some supervisory officers will take larger pay cuts than the rank and file.

County Supervisor Gerry Broderick noted that Walker’s predecessor, Gov. Jim Doyle, inherited a deficit twice as large as the $3 billion shortfall that now exists. He accused Walker of taking rash actions when he was county executive and that cost taxpayers.

Broderick noted that Walker’s decision to fire county security officers and hire a private firm was overturned by the courts, a move that cost $500,000. He also noted that the Walker’s forecast of a deficit in the county budget turned out to be a surplus.

“This deficit he’s forecasting should be viewed with appropriate skepticism,” Broderick said.

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