Demo E-NewsLetter

Finally some good news on jobs! Updated figures show improvement in job growth across Wisconsin - including our local communities. April job numbers released last week found that all 12 major metro areas experienced a drop in their unemployment rates from March and 70 of 72 counties had lower rates in April than the previous month.

Each of the counties in the 13th Senate district had a meaningful drop in their unemployment rates since January:

County	Jan. Unemployment Rate	April Unemployment Rate	Change	Ranking
Columbia	8.7 %	7.5 %	-1.2	44
Dane	5.3 %	4.9 %	-0.4	72
Dodge	8.7 %	7.6 %	-1.1	42
Jefferson	9.1 %	8.1 %	-1.0	37
Waukesha	7.0 %	6.4 %	-0.6	62

Republicans are balancing the state budget without raising taxes, by eliminating the structural deficit, by freezing property taxes permanently, and bringing the state’s fiscal house into the best shape in 15 years.

Here is a brief summary of the latest action by the Joint Finance Committee:

K-12 Education

K-12 education is the single biggest spending item in the whole state budget. Holding the line on spending means making tough choices. But the Finance Committee voted last week to provide more than $100 million in additional funding compared to Gov. Walker's budget, which had contained a decrease of about 8 percent - that's less than the 10-percent cut many agencies are being asked to take.

The changes to K-12 are part of a much larger reform package that includes a wider range of options for education, greater accountability, more spending in the classroom and less on administration, money-saving reforms and a permanent property tax freeze.

Technical Colleges

Technical colleges provide an important service to our state, especially at a time when so many workers are going back to school, re-training, or gaining a new skill. The governor’s budget would have reduced state aid to technical colleges resulting in about a 3.1 percent decrease in overall funding - again, less then the 10 percent many agencies are cutting.

Republicans on the budget committee made an important change to help absorb this reduction: allowing tech schools to exceed their levy limit if approved by a referendum vote and providing a one-time levy limit exemption for districts equal to the amount of refunded or rescinded taxes.

Simply put, if a local community votes to support its tech college with additional tax money, they should be allowed to.

Transportation

A strong transportation infrastructure is essential to job creation and a strong economy in Wisconsin. Businesses need to be able to move products in a timely and efficient manner, employees need to get to work safely, and commerce depends on the reliability that infrastructure provides.

Transportation projects in Wisconsin are principally funded from three sources: the state transportation fund, bonding, and federal funds. Under Gov. Doyle, the transportation fund has had $1.4 billion raided from it to be used in the general fund. The fund has experienced a shortfall of more than $360 million.

The Finance Committee voted to keep the fund solvent, making sure appropriate improvements are funded, projects aren't left on the drawing board, and keeping our roads free of potholes.

Tourism Update

The State Dept. of Tourism recently announced that it is spending more than $3 million to launch a new summer marketing campaign in markets across the Midwest. The “Picture the Fun” campaign is meant to inspire travelers in Wisconsin to discover and share their idea of fun this summer.

The campaign will run in markets across Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa. Check out TravelWisconsin.com and the Department of Tourism Facebook page and Twitter feed throughout the campaign to see the latest. And if you have a friend in a neighboring state that wants to know the best place for a summer vacation, make sure to forward this email to them!

The mission of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism is to market the state as the Midwest’s premier travel destination by executing industry-leading marketing programs and establishing strategic partnerships. The Department plays a significant role in generating greater economic impact and jobs for Wisconsin. For more Wisconsin travel information, visit www.travelwisconsin.com.