Recall Costs to Taxpayers
Taxpayers are on the hook for at least $9 million.
That figure is expected to double.
The recall elections will fleece taxpayers for millions of dollars. If there's only one recall election day (with no primary elections), taxpayers will foot a bill of more than $9 million. When you figure in primary elections and senate recall elections, that number will increase significantly by the millions and could double that amount to $18 million or more. The Government Accountability Board calculated that figure after I made the request several months ago. I believe taxpayers deserve to know the cost and know the impact on their local government budgets.
What an alarming number for local governments across our state. Local officials did not budget for these extra elections. These are dollars that won't go to filling in the potholes on main street or plowing the snow-covered roads.
The citizens of Wisconsin should have known the price of the recall elections before a single petition was circulated. I asked the Government Accountability Board for the figures more than two months ago and it's now almost 10 days before the filing deadline.
It must be pointed out that these tax dollars will be wasted tax dollars. There have been very few successful gubernatorial recall elections in the history of our country. I have no doubt in my mind that this one will be unsuccessful as well. The real results of the statewide recall election will be a financial drain on our local governments and an emotional drain on our electorate.
Currently, I'm working toward ending such a drain on taxpayer dollars. You may remember that I recently introduced a constitutional amendment that would require a real reason to recall an elected official. While my efforts will not impact any recall election this year, we must seriously consider preventing any recalls in our state's future.
Great Outlook for 2012
A great survey came out this week from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. It revealed that Wisconsin CEOs are very optimistic heading into the new year. The 2012 Economic Outlook Survey said 94 percent of CEOs say the state is heading in the right direction. Business leaders credit the long list of pro-business reforms passed at the state Capitol in the last year, which include tax cuts, regulatory reform and lawsuit reforms. The survey confirms that our efforts to repair our state’s economy are working effectively and being well received. Wisconsin is open for business!