I will be holding a joint listening session with the 67th Assembly District’s state senator – Senator Terry Moulton. We will give residents an opportunity to discuss issues relating to Wisconsin’s 2012-13 Biennial Budget. Due to scheduled floor sessions in Madison we’ll only be holding one town hall meeting this week; however, I will be scheduling more in the future. My office will keep you updated once we have more information on when and where they will be.

Monday, April 18, 2011
4:00-6:00pm
Bloomer Public Library
1519 17th Ave.
Bloomer, WI 54724

If you are unable to attend (but would like to share your thoughts on the budget), please feel free to call my office toll free at (888)534-0067 (or e-mail me at Rep.Larson@legis.wi.gov).
 

Many have been inquiring about the status of the veterans facility proposed for Chippewa Falls. I have spoken to the Department of Veterans Affairs on this issue, and they reported that construction is indeed in the works. They expect groundbreaking to occur in June and the facility to be open in November 2012.

There has been some recent press over staffing. The Department intended to have the facility staffed like most others with state employees, but the governor recommended contracting those jobs out to private employees. A final decision is still being worked out by the Department of Veterans Affairs. They are doing a survey of other states which contract employees to better objectively evaluate the best practice for the facility in Chippewa Falls.

Currently, approval is needed for the home’s operating budget, primarily dealing with the question of staffing. This provision has been included in the proposed budget that will come to the Legislature for debate and voting. Agreements are squared away on the federal level for construction, so groundbreaking should proceed as planned.

The Chippewa Falls Veterans will bring a $20 million project and 90 full-time professional jobs to the area in addition to adding vitality to the area’s construction industry.