Friends,

Welcome to my e-update. I hope that this update will help keep you informed on what is going on down at the Capitol and how it might affect you. I plan on writing regular updates to you throughout the budget debate to keep you involved with the long process we have between the Governor’s Budget Address and the final passage of the 2011-2013 Budget.

You, along with the rest of Wisconsin, (and country) have probably followed along over the last month as the State Senate and Assembly finally were able to pass some major pieces of the Budget Repair Bill. As I have stated throughout the debate, this bill was something that would not have been necessary if politicians, both Republican and Democrat, over the last 17 years had acted responsibly with your money. While this bill itself does not balance the state budget, we are giving our state and local governments the tools and flexibility to balance their budget with the pending cuts in shared revenue.

The Northwestern reported that the Oshkosh School District will save over $3 Million each of the next two years which will offset projected cuts in State aid. The Winneconne News reported that at the end of the day, the Winneconne School District will only see a net loss of around $60k. A loss for sure, but not to the point where they need to lay teachers off or drastically cut programs.

(source: http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20110306/OSH0105/110306001/Budget-bill-wash-schools)

Raising taxes is completely off the table to balance this budget. The Democrats passed $2 Billion in tax increases 2 years ago in a budget repair bill they rammed through in 24 hours without a hearing (compared to the 4 weeks this bill took). The only way to solve this problem is to cut government spending. This Budget Repair Bill gives the local communities the ability to absorb these cuts. At the end of this budget cycle in 2013, assuming no economic growth at all, the State will only have a $250 million deficit; unheard of in recent memory. If there is ANY economic growth, the State will be in the black. Also, today the Governor rescinded all layoff notices to State workers, saving 1500 jobs in the immediate future which is wonderful news.

I look forward to continuing our conversation regarding the budget in the upcoming months. If you have any ideas to help balance our budget in other ways, please feel free to contact my office at 608-266-7500 or Rep.Litjens@legis.wi.gov.
 

Janice Flenz, Outagamie County Register of Deeds                                Sue Ertmer, Winnebago County Clerk
Dina Mumford, Outagamie County Treasurer                                         Julie Pagel, Winnebago County Register of Deeds