State Auditor Jan Mueller Retires

In a previous edition of Capitol Insight, I mentioned that our State Auditor Jan Mueller had announced her retirement from the Legislative Audit Bureau after 35 years of service in state government.  Her last day is Friday, June 17th.  In her honor, I introduced 2011 Assembly Joint Resolution 45 which commends Jan on her years of service and dedication to the state of Wisconsin, particularly the taxpayers.  

A native of Crystal Falls, MI, Jan began her career in Wisconsin's state government as a fiscal analyst at the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.  From there, she transferred to the Legislative Audit Bureau as a program evaluation supervisor.  She was then appointed as a special assistant to the Director of the Bureau of Health Care and Financing at the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services where she was involved with efforts to strengthen quality assurance in Medical Assistance.  She ultimately returned to the Legislative Audit Bureau where she served as Chief Policy Advisor and Executive Assistant to the State Auditor until she herself was appointed as the Wisconsin State Auditor in March 1998.

Since she was appointed State Auditor, Jan has effectively led the Legislative Audit Bureau in conducting more than 425 financial audits and evaluations of state agencies and programs, not including inquiries she's received from the Legislature.  Under her guidance and leadership, the Legislative Audit Bureau has become a nationally recognized government entity that was lauded as one of "the most important and credible audit shops in the country" by Governing Magazine in 2008.  Prior to that, in 2002 the bureau received the National Legislative Program Evaluation Society's Award for Excellence in Evaluation for adhering to the highest performance standards in evaluative work.

Having worked closely with Jan since I first took office in 2001 as a member of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, I've seen first-hand how strong and effective she has been as our State Auditor.  Throughout her tenure as State Auditor, she has identified millions of dollars in wasteful and fraudulent spending that resulted in legislation and changes to state laws intended to address these problems.  This includes nearly $20 million in fraudulent spending she identified within the Wisconsin Shares program two years ago, which led to changes by the Legislature in punishing those who scammed the program and deterring further incidents of fraud.

It has truly been a privilege working with Jan and I will miss her dearly.  I wish her the very best in retirement. 

Rep. Kerkman delivers a speech in honor of State Auditor Janice Mueller (left) before her colleagues in the Wisconsin State Assembly.  Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald is pictured to her right.

Audit Completed on State Unemployment Reserve Fund

This week, the Legislative Audit Bureau completed an audit of the state's Unemployment Reserve Fund for the 2008-2009 and the 2009-2010 fiscal years.  The purpose of this fund is to provide unemployment benefits to eligible individuals through taxes collected by employers.  These taxes are assessed to employers on the taxable wages of their employees in the form of a basic tax and a solvency tax.  The basic tax is credited to each employer's account based on that employer's unemployment experience rating; thus, those employers with more employee layoffs pay more than the employers with fewer layoffs.  The solvency tax is based on each employer's unemployment experience rating and payroll size.

The findings of the audit indicate that unemployment benefit payments continue to exceed employer contributions into the Unemployment Reserve Fund, resulting in a decline in the fund's balance.  As of June 30, 2000 the Unemployment Reserve Fund had a balance of $1.9 billion before falling into a deficit of $920.4 million by June 30, 2010.  In order to continue paying unemployment benefits despite the deficit in the fund, the state began borrowing from the federal government in February 2009.  As of May 31, 2011 the state had a balance of $1.3 billion owed to the federal government in addition to $25.4 million in accrued interest.  This is the 11th highest loan balance among the 29 states that have balances owed to the federal government.  Wisconsin will begin repaying this loan as well as the interest on September 30, 2011.

According to the audit report, this is only the second time in history that Wisconsin has had to borrow from Washington in order to maintain the Unemployment Reserve Fund.  The first time occurred in 1982 during a time of severe economic recession.

The negative balance within the Unemployment Reserve Fund and reliance on federal funds to continue paying unemployment benefits can be attributed to the economic climate our state has experienced in recent years.  During this time, a number of Wisconsin's employers filed for bankruptcy, closed down, or left the state, reducing the contributions into the Unemployment Reserve Fund.  As our state lost employers, we also lost thousands of jobs, resulting in higher numbers of unemployed workers who became dependent on unemployment benefits as their source of income.

Unfortunately, there is no easy fix in addressing the deficit within the Unemployment Reserve Fund other than starting with paying off the debt our state owes to the federal government.  From there, the focus will be on fostering economic recovery by encouraging employers to open their businesses in Wisconsin and create jobs and opportunities for our unemployed workers.  The sooner we can move these workers from unemployment checks to paychecks, the sooner we can pay off the $1.3 billion debt we incurred from unemployment benefits.

Area Eagle Scouts Honored

Matthew Tamminga of Burlington and Nicholas Mowry of Kenosha were recently honored for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest honor attainable through the Boy Scouts of America.  Statistics show that only 3 percent of those active in the Boy Scouts reach the rank of Eagle Scout.  Tamminga is the son of Rick and Jodi Tamminga, and Mowry is the son of Mike and Janice Mowry.

Tamminga earned 22 Merit Badges and served in six different leadership roles as a member of Boy Scout Troop 336 in Burlington as he worked toward the rank of Eagle Scout.  For his community service project, he organized volunteers to assist him with building an 80-foot walkway with a 10' x 10' viewing area at Tamarack Swamp in Seno Woodlands near Burlington.  He recently graduated with honors from Burlington High School and plans to attend the University of Wisconsin - Platteville where he will study Mechanical Engineering.  Governor Scott Walker, Representative Robin Vos and I presented Tamminga with a citation to commemorate his achievement.

In working toward the rank of Eagle Scout, Mowry, the son of an Eagle Scout, earned a total of 43 Merit Badges, including the 15 badges required to become an Eagle Scout.  He also served in a number of leadership positions with Boy Scout Troop 512 in Kenosha, including Assistant Patrol Leader, Patrol Leader, Assistant Senior Patrol Leader, Senior Patrol Leader, and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster.  He was also voted into the Order of the Arrow where he attained the rank of Brotherhood.  In completing his community service project, Mowry built a tribute encircled by a garden in honor of our veterans from the past, present and future.  The tribute features plaques honoring those who served the United States in the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Coast Guard.  The tribute also includes a flag pole where the United States, Wisconsin, and the POW/MIA flags fly overhead as well as two benches for the convenience of visitors.  A graduate of Bradford High School where he was ranked in the top five percent of his class, Mowry will attend Michigan State University to study Music Performance with an emphasis on piano and music composition.  Senator Wirch and I attended Mowry's Court of Honor where we presented him with a citation on behalf of the Legislature.

I offer my sincerest congratulations to both Matthew Tamminga and Nicholas Mowry on becoming Eagle Scouts and wish them the very best in their future endeavors!

Representative Kerkman is pictured with Eagle Scout Nicholas Mowry and Senator Bob Wirch at Mowry's Court of Honor held at St. Mary Catholic Church in Kenosha on June 12th.

Matthew Tamminga is recognized during his Eagle Scout Court of Honor Ceremony on June 14th.

Kenosha County Dairy Breakfast on June 18th

Mark your calendars and plan to enjoy some quality time with your family in a traditional Wisconsin setting.  Dan and Marie Weis invite you to join them and their family at their dairy farm for the annual Kenosha County Dairy Breakfast this Saturday, June 18th.  Breakfast will be served from 6:30 - 10:30am, and will include scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, pancakes, fresh bread, yogurt, muffins, milk, juice, and ice cream.  Additional festivities planned during that time include milking demonstrations, children's games, a tent featuring Wisconsin products, and a display of antique equipment.

For additional information and to purchase tickets, please contact Rachael Crane from the Kenosha County Dairy Promotion Team at 262-206-8149 or at rnrcrane@yahoo.com.  Tickets are $6.00 apiece, and children 6 and under can attend for free.

If you are interested in tracking the progress of legislation introduced this session, please visit http://legis.wisconsin.gov/ and click on the Notification Service link found on the homepage.