Thumbs Up/Down for Monday, March 7
Thumbs up to city’s financial websites. Residents with strong opinions about how Janesville spends taxpayer dollars now have better access to the numbers. The city has launched two new websites that let the public more easily tap data on budgets and spending. These sites, budget.ci.janesville.wi.us and expenditures.ci.janesville.wi.us, were created as a nod to more open government. The first details how money has been spent in budgets dating to 2008. The second lets users track all expenditures, including payments to vendors. Maggie Hrdlicka, city spokeswoman, says the interactive websites let users visualize data in various ways, such as using bar graphs, line graphs and tables. Users can compare spending from past years or how money is spent across various departments. Residents should put these websites to good use. For annual estimated costs of $12,000, this transparency should be money well spent.
Thumbs down to not installing ignition interlocks. Wisconsin can stiffen drunken driving laws all it wants. But if court orders aren’t followed, it won’t make roads safer. State transportation records show that barely half of drivers ordered to have interlocks on their vehicles actually had the devices installed. That’s appalling. Companies who contract with the state report when the devices are installed, and the devices are monitored. One problem is cost—about $1,000—but a state fund helps in hardship cases. Another problem is an ignition lock isn’t required until a license revocation ends. Driving before revocation expires risks only a ticket for operating without a license. Offenders who don’t get the devices on their vehicles as required risk only traffic tickets. Driving without one isn’t a crime under state law. “It just appears to me no one really cares…,” Beloit police Sgt. Mark Douglas told WISC-TV. Shocking. With this I-don’t-care attitude, no wonder Wisconsin has big problems with drunks and related carnage on highways. When they return to work, lawmakers must stiffen penalties for driving without ordered interlocks. One step that might help is a bill that passed the Assembly. It would let offenders forgo interlocks if they’re eligible for a sobriety program. That might help curb recidivism by getting people sober.
Thumbs up to closing a drunken-driving loophole. Speaking of drunken driving, under a bill now in effect after being signed by Gov. Scott Walker last week, motorists suspected of their first offense no longer have the right to refuse blood draws. Police and prosecutors consider blood alcohol content a scientific way to best prove drunken driving. As surprising as it might seem, more people are arrested for first-time drunken driving than for repeat offenses. This legislation, from Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, lets police ask judges for warrants to get blood samples from first-time offenders. Critics argue warrants are supposed to be for crimes and a first offense in Wisconsin remains a civil fine, not a crime. But statistics show more suspects had been refusing blood tests in recent years. Without these, police must rely on field sobriety tests and other probable causes that later face court challenges.
Thumbs up to UW-W’s economic impact. Officials often tout UW-Madison as an economic engine for Wisconsin. A new report suggests UW-Whitewater doesn’t do too badly, either. An annual economic impact study pegs UW-W’s value to Walworth, Jefferson and Rock counties at more than $407 million annually. The university also supports 4,352 jobs. The study considered university spending on payroll, supplies and capital investments, as well as spending by students, faculty, staff and visitors. Also, UW-W generates $17.9 million in annual tax revenue. “We’re proud of UW-Whitewater’s profound impact on the region,” Chancellor Beverly Kopper said in a university news report. “Not only are we changing lives by offering students robust academic, cultural and athletic experiences, but UW-Whitewater also brings money, employment and volunteerism into the area. This economic study further demonstrates what a tremendous investment the campus is for our community and the people of Wisconsin.” Lawmakers should keep that in mind as they chip away at state support.