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Governor Signs 2009-11 State Budget

(06/29/09) Governor Jim Doyle has signed the conference committee version of the 2009-11 state budget (AB 75) into law. Click here to see a summary of budget provisions of interest to towns and villages. WTA Executive Director Rick Stadelman listed the following key features of the final bill:
(1) General Transportation aids are at $2,055 per mile for 2010 and $2,117 for 2011. We have sent a letter and called the Governor's office to ask him not to veto this provision.
(2) The prevailing wage threshold stayed at $25,000, as adopted by the Joint Finance Committee, effective for contracts after January 1, 2010.
(3) The proposed public bidding requirement that would have prohibited towns from contracting with a county or another municipality unless there were no responsible bids was deleted from the bill. The Wisconsin County Highway Association and the Transportation Builders and Operating Engineers have agree to meet and try to negotiate something on this issue. WTA and the AFSCME (government employees union) would be a part of this discussion and negotiation.
(4) The proposed changes to use value assessment of ag land were deleted and thus the current law remains in effect.
(5) Shared Revenue cuts remained 3.5%, as adopted by Joint Finance, with a cap of 15% per municipality.

Link to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's budget landing page for the latest budget materials. Also go to the Wheeler Report and WisPolitics for budget-related press releases, media coverage, links to legislative documents and more.

Town and Village Leaders Encouraged to Complete On-Line Energy Planning Survey

(06/15/09) Energy costs are increasing and impacting local government budgets.  But there are programs in place to assist local governments reduce their energy costs and even generate supplemental revenue through production of renewable energy.  Participation in these programs generally requires some planning about how the local government uses energy and the Local Government Institute of Wisconsin (LGI) is partnering with the Wisconsin Office of Energy Independence to document the level of awareness about energy planning among local governmental units in Wisconsin. This information will help refine those programs and hopefully provide more resources to local government to assist with energy planning. LGI has a very brief (about 5 minutes) on-line survey we invite you (or some more appropriate official) to complete by June 24th, 2009.

Capitol Day 2009 Report: Local Officials Seek State Budget Equity

(04/02/09) Nearly 200 village and town officers gathered in Madison for WTA/UTC Capitol Day on March 25. In a plea for fairness, they showed legislators how the proposed budget would increase town and village taxes if the state diverts funds away from local governments to help offset its $5.8 billion deficit. While local governments take this financial aid hit, they would also be required to pay higher fees to the state. Click here to read a report from a participant. Click here to see a one-page summary of WTA legislative priorities distributed to legislators on Capitol Day.

Using ARRA Funds for Energy Independence & Other Needs

Working Lands Workshop Webcast Available on WisconsinEye

(12/30/08) If you were unable to participate in one of the five special one-day “Working Lands” workshops cosponsored by WTA in December, you can still see the full December 16 workshop in Kimberly online thanks to WisconsinEye. The sessions focused on innovative strategies to preserve working lands, successful efforts elsewhere and the state's Working Lands Initiative. PowerPoint presentations, the December 16 workshop agenda and other information about the workshops are available here.

New DNR Rules Impact Shotgun-Only Hunting Restrictions

(10/27/08) Recent Department of Natural Resources (DNR) rule changes adopted as part of the battle to contain Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in Wisconsin’s whitetail deer population could impact many towns in southern Wisconsin that restrict deer hunting to shotguns. One of the rule changes made by the DNR is to allow deer hunting with rifles in many of these formerly shotgun-only areas. Click here to read an informative article on this development by WTA Attorney Lee Turonie.