{"id":2454,"date":"2023-04-28T01:13:53","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T01:13:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=2454"},"modified":"2023-04-28T01:14:29","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T01:14:29","slug":"10-easter-eggs-conservatives-will-love-in-the-assemblys-shared-revenue-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=2454","title":{"rendered":"10 Easter Eggs Conservatives Will Love in the Assembly\u2019s Shared Revenue Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.wisconsinrightnow.com\/wisconsin-assembly-shared-revenue\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Milwaukee<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a pretty genius conservative wish list baked into the Wisconsin state Assembly\u2019s shared revenue plan.<\/p>\n

The press conference in Milwaukee on Thursday came with very unusual imagery: Milwaukee\u2019s Mayor Cavalier Johnson and County Executive David Crowley standing with Assembly Leader Robin Vos and other Republican leaders at a podium. And getting along. What that means, though, is that Vos and other leaders GOT MILWAUKEE TO AGREE to a host of things conservatives will love. Strategic brilliance.<\/p>\n

How? Because Milwaukee has a looming pension liability and massive budget gap and, legitimately, the shared revenue formula was outdated and, local communities say, broken. Shared revenue (the amount the state gives to local governments) has dropped but inflation rose; one community even toyed with the idea of shutting off every other street light. The only critic who really emerged out of the gate was Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow, but even his biggest criticism was that he wanted Waukesha County to get more money.<\/p>\n

But rather than give away the store when they changed the shared revenue formula, Republican leaders used Milwaukee\u2019s desperation because of its pension boondoggle to play hardball. One could flip the rhetoric and say that perhaps Johnson and Crowley are more reasonable than conservatives give them credit for, or, at least, they\u2019re more reasonable than political animal Tom Barrett. Granted, that\u2019s not saying a lot.<\/p>\n

Vos said the plan represents the \u201csingle largest investment in local governments in the history of Wisconsin\u201d and stressed it was bipartisan. Local governments, all of them, will each see at least 10% boosts in shared revenue, and it could grow if the sales tax grows. The funding will come in part through a portion the state sales tax.<\/p>\n

The City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County could create<\/a> new sales taxes as part of the plan, which would be 2% for the city and a .375% expansion for Milwaukee County, if they can get voters to approve them in referendums. However, if conservatives don\u2019t live there, they don\u2019t have to pay it. Most of that will have to be used for the city\u2019s pension obligations and public safety resources, like police, fire and EMS.<\/p>\n

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson called Vos a \u201ctough negotiator,\u201d and Vos praised Johnson for being collaborative.<\/p>\n

Here are 10 easter eggs in the plan that conservatives might appreciate:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Milwaukee can\u2019t defund the MPD!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Defund the police is over, at least in Milwaukee, if the plan is approved. Vos said the plan would ensure \u201cno further cuts in police and libraries.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The plan requires that the number of sworn officers on the force stays at 1,630, which it is now and it will grow to 1,725 over time. This means city officials are AGREEING to not cut the number of sworn officers more<\/p>\n

    Vos said that \u201cone of the best parts of the deals\u201d is a requirement that will ensure the number of Milwaukee police officers will not go down. He called that a \u201chuge benefit for the state.\u201d<\/p>\n

    As Wisconsin Right Now previously reported<\/a> in 2021, the number of sworn officers in the Milwaukee Police Department dropped almost 18% between 1995 and that year. Meanwhile, Milwaukee has seen record homicide numbers. Thus, to be clear, the city has already decreased the number of officers on the force. But the new plan stops the bleeding.<\/p>\n

    Part of the bill restores about 100 police officer positions over the next few years, in addition to more investments in public safety, said Andrew Wagner, president of the Milwaukee Police Association, in a press conference. He praised the plan, saying that it puts an emphasis on investments in public safety and should increase safety in Milwaukee. He praised state legislators and said the proposal had bipartisan support.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. \n

      The Milwaukee street car can NOT expand<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Vos also revealed that expansion of the Milwaukee street car \u201cwould not be allowed\u201d under the plan.<\/p>\n

      But here\u2019s the kicker. We\u2019ve also learned that the plan would not allow EXISTING public dollars to expand the street car. That means it\u2019s stopped unless some private grant emerges, which is unlikely.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \n

        The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission will have a cop and firefighter on it, for sure!<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        The Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission will see changes empowering the police chief, not the commission, to make policy decisions in consultation with the mayor and Common Council.<\/p>\n

        But just as important, the Commission, frequently filled with anti-police civilian appointees chosen by the mayor, will now have at least two mandated positions for appointees who have served as a police officer and firefighter.<\/p>\n

        The police and fire unions will nominate three people for each slot, and the mayor will pick from those three.<\/p>\n

        That\u2019s a big deal for public safety in Milwaukee because the civilian-appointed commission includes some anti-police, far-left members who notoriously mistreated prior police chiefs (Read: Alfonso Morales.)<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. \n

          Elimination of the personal property tax<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          The personal property tax is being eliminated, Vos said, calling it an \u201conerous tax for small businesses. Of the plan, Vos said: \u201cWe eliminate a tax in a bipartisan way.\u201d<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \n

            No business closures for more than 14 days if another pandemic hits, without a vote<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            The plan prevents local public health officers from shutting down businesses for more than 14 days if there\u2019s another pandemic.<\/p>\n

            The local government would have to vote every 14 days if there are closures. Now, public health officers, who aren\u2019t elected, make those calls.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. \n

              Milwaukee can\u2019t spend ANY NEW money on diversity, equity and inclusion positions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              The City of Milwaukee can\u2019t use the new money on diversity, equity and inclusion positions, Wisconsin Right Now has learned.<\/p>\n

              Milwaukee County\u2019s provision didn\u2019t go as far, but they agreed not to discriminate in contracting and hiring.<\/p>\n

              For the city, it\u2019s strong. No more DEI with public dollars \u2013 that means tax levy dollars, not just new money.<\/p>\n

                \n
              1. \n

                Protecting access to quarries to reduce roadbuilding costs
                \n<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                Republicans believe local governments need easy access to road and stone to reduce the cost of construction. That means quarries.<\/p>\n

                But NIMBYS (not in my backyard folks) have tried to stop them. The plan changes how governments can regulate quarries to make it easier to get the product and stop NIMBYs.<\/p>\n

                8. Towns and rural areas benefit big!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

                Townships, which are often rural with conservative voting populations, are being financially caught up with how cities and villages have been financed.<\/p>\n

                Although everyone benefits by 10% at least increases in shared revenue in the plan, the largest percentage increase will go to communities with populations under 30,000 \u2013 which means rural areas and small towns, which are often conservative.<\/p>\n

                Prior to the plan, cities and villages got more money than towns because when shared revenue was created, towns didn\u2019t play as much of a role with fire and police and EMS services as they do now.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. \n

                  Changes to local government operations on new programs & budget cuts<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Under the new plan, you have to have a 2\/3rds of a county board or common council to create new programs.<\/p>\n

                  When they submit a budget, they will have to detail what 5% cuts would look like so the public has a better understanding of what\u2019s at stake.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. \n

                    An innovation fund<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Millions of dollars will be available through an innovation fund if communities agree to find ways to share services and become more efficient.<\/p>\n

                    Of course, Gov. Tony Evers would need to sign the legislation for it to become law. The state Senate would also have to approve the Legislation. Also genius: It will be presented in a separate bill from the budget, so Evers can\u2019t do line item vetoes. He can\u2019t strike out the easter eggs!
                    \n<\/strong><\/p>\n

                    But with a long line of local officials, including prominent Democrats in Milwaukee, supporting the plan, how does Evers get away with stopping it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                    This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.wisconsinrightnow.com\/wisconsin-assembly-shared-revenue\/ There\u2019s a pretty genius conservative wish list baked into…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":2456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wi-right-now"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2454"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2457,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2454\/revisions\/2457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}