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Collaboration
Works Across Government
This past week, county Sheriffs from several counties in the 17th Senate
District were at the State Capitol as Governor Scott Walker signed Assembly
Bill (AB) 522 to become Act 164. I was proud to be the Senate lead on this
bill and authored Senate Bill (SB) 389, the Senate version of the bill.
Act 164 addresses the unpredictability of reimbursements paid by the state to
counties for housing and holding prisoners who have violated their conditions
of probation, parole, or extended supervision. The law specifies that the
Department of Corrections (DOC) is to reimburse a county $40 per day for
holding an individual, with the ability to pro-rate the reimbursement if
funding was not available for a variety of reasons.
Act 164 gives the DOC flexibility to charge a reasonable fee to violators of
probation, parole and those on extended supervision to reimburse the department
for the costs associated with providing supervision services. The
reimbursement rate remains the same, but DOC is required to use money
collected from supervision fees if the appropriation to reimburse counties
for probation, parole, and extended supervision is insufficient for
reimbursing a county for maintenance of a person placed in a county jail or
other county facility pending the disposition of parole, extended
supervision, or probation revocation proceedings. This change will insure
that counties are fully reimbursed for their costs.
All of the Sheriffs from the counties I represent asked for this bill. The
last time the counties were paid at a rate of $40 per day was in 2004. Since
then, the costs of housing violators has increased, but the reimbursement
rate has varied to an average of $28.08 to $32.55 per day. Act 164 gives the
department flexibility to collect more from violators to cover the costs for
which they need to reimburse the counties.
The Sheriffs who attended the signing told me that our collaboration is a
great example of the way that different units of government can come together
to solve problems. This problem was not just an issue between one county and
the DOC. It was a problem suffered by all of our counties and resulted from
statutory language that needed to be updated. The solution also would not
require additional state taxpayer resources.
Collaboration among the Sheriffs, county governments, DOC and the state
legislature produced a positive result for everyone involved. The counties
will be reimbursed for their services. DOC received more flexibility to
accomplish their mission. The legislature updated state statute to provide
for this flexibility.
Photo (left to right): Juneau County
Sheriff Brent Oleson, Vilas County Jail Administrator Bill Weiss, Sen. Howard
Marklein, Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister, Vilas County Sheriff Joseph Fath,
Governor Scott Walker, Iowa County Sheriff Steve Michek, Walworth County
Sheriff Kurt Picknell, former Walworth County Sheriff David Graves, Sauk
County Chief Deputy Jeff Spencer, Grant County Sheriff Nate Dreckman.
Iowa County Sheriff Steve Michek said, “I have been Sheriff of Iowa County
for 13 years. I, and many other Sheriffs throughout the state, have worked on
this issue every year and Senator Marklein got the job done. Thank you
Senator Marklein, I and the citizens of Iowa County appreciate your hard
work.”
Juneau County Sheriff Brent Oleson said, “On behalf of the taxpayers of
Juneau County, I appreciate Senator Marklein’s hard work to pass this law. We
have been working on this bill for a long time and appreciate that there is
finally resolution to this issue.”
Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister said, “Predictability is extremely helpful
in our budgeting process. This bill helps our department plan and benefits
taxpayers of Sauk County who have had to fill in the financial gaps left by
low reimbursements.”
Grant County Sheriff Nate Dreckman said, “This bill benefits the taxpayers of
Grant County who have had to make up the difference in the past. I am proud
to be a part of this solution and appreciate Senator Marklein’s diligence in
solving this issue with us.”
Lafayette County Sheriff Reg Gill said, “Lafayette County taxpayers were
given some relief through this bill. We will not have to make up the
difference from our county budget anymore and our department will be able to
plan more effectively into the future.”
While this law may seem like it has limited impact to most of us, it is a
great example of how different parts of government must work together to make
changes, modernize and achieve positive results.
All too often, we see headlines that demonstrate disconnect between the
Federal government and the state government; the local city council and a
state agency; a school board and the legislature. But more often than not,
the most successful legislation brings all of the stakeholders and
responsible parties to the table to discuss, winnow and debate the merits of
changes we propose to make.
The best bills come from strong discussion, thorough deliberation, mutual
goals and collaboration. Act 164 is a good example of these things and was
passed by a nearly unanimous, bi-partisan vote of the legislature. I
appreciate all of the hard work done by our local Sheriffs and am honored to
work with them to change this law.
Photo (left to right): Juneau County Sheriff Brent Oleson, Vilas County Jail
Administrator Bill Weiss, Sen. Howard Marklein, Lafayette County Sheriff Reg
Gill, Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister, Governor Scott Walker, Iowa County
Sheriff Steve Michek, and former Walworth County Sheriff David Graves.
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Family Care / IRIS 2.0 Concept Plan Public Hearings
The Wisconsin Department of
Health Services (DHS) will be holding public hearings to solicit comment
regarding the Family Care / IRIS 2.0 concept plan that will be submitted to
the Joint Committee on Finance on April 1, 2016. A draft of the concept plan
is available on the DHS website.
March 7, 2016 - 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Florian Gardens Conference Center
2340 Lorch Ae.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
March 7, 2016 - 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Alliant Energy Center Exhibition
Hall
1919 Alliant Energy Center Way
Madison, WI 53713
Both hearings will also be live
streamed so that anyone with access to the web may participate. Please
visit the DHS
website for links and instructions on the day of the hearing.
Please note: Due to the limited
time to make revisions before submission of the concept plan, and extensive
public comments received previously, the Department will not accept written
or verbal testimony before or after the hearings.
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In The 17th Senate District
Sen.
Marklein attended the Old Settlers Meeting in Reedsburg on February 20,
2016.
Photo
courtesy of Cheryl Schwarzenbart.
Sen.
Marklein and Peggy enjoyed the Church of God Pancake Supper in Reedsburg on
March 3, 2016.
In
The Capitol
Governor
Walker signed AB595/SB440 on March 1st, a bill I worked on with Rep. Todd
Novak (R-Dodgeville). This bill makes several technical changes to
current law regarding tax administration. Pictured left to right - Sen. Marklein,
Kody Kvalheim, Governor Scott Walker, Rep. Todd Novak and Mike Wagner,
legislative liaison with the Department of Revenue.
Governor
Walker signed Senate Bill 687 on March 2nd. This bill provides a pathway for
managed care organizations to continue providing long term services. Teri
Buros from ContinuUS and representatives from AARP joined me for the signing.
ContinuUs is a managed care organization within the 17th Senate District that
serves numerous people within our community.
Sen.
Marklein welcomed a group from Ithaca Elementary School on Friday, March 4,
2016.
Sen.
Marklein (far left, middle row) wore his purple tie for the Bulldogs!
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Useful
Information
Wisconsin Monthly Housing Statistics
The Wisconsin Realtors
Association released the following data related to housing in Wisconsin on
February 22, 2016. To see more data related to these statistics, please visit
their website.
Wisconsin
Regional Report
Reflecting
residential data through January 2016
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Median Price
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Sales
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County
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1/2016
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1/2015
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% Change
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1/2016
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1/2015
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% Change
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Grant
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102,500
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98,500
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+4.1%
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22
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12
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+83.3%
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Green
|
115,000
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147,900
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-22.2%
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17
|
21
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-19.0%
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Iowa
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118,250
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111,000
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+6.5%
|
14
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14
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0%
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Juneau
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94,500
|
84,750
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+11.5%
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16
|
18
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-11.1%
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Lafayette
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NA
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NA
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NA
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NA
|
6
|
NA
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Monroe
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119,250
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85,750
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+39.1%
|
18
|
24
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-25.0%
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Richland
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NA
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53,552
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NA
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6
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10
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-40.0%
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Sauk
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150,000
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169,950
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-11.7%
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49
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30
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+63.3%
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Vernon
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75,337
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73,950
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+1.9%
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10
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12
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-16.7%
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