{"id":2977,"date":"2023-05-21T16:07:13","date_gmt":"2023-05-21T16:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=2977"},"modified":"2023-05-21T17:21:22","modified_gmt":"2023-05-21T17:21:22","slug":"robin-vos-on-milwaukee-they-might-have-to-go-bankrupt-but-its-last-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=2977","title":{"rendered":"Robin Vos on Milwaukee: \u2018They Might Have to Go Bankrupt,\u2019 But It\u2019s Last Resort"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.wisconsinrightnow.com\/milwaukee-bankrupt-bankruptcy\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"milwaukee<\/p>\n

Milwaukee \u201cmight have to go bankrupt\u201d due to its financial mismanagement, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said this week on the Wisconsin Right Now Uncensored podcast. Vos stressed that a Milwaukee bankruptcy should be a \u201clast resort\u201d that no one wants to see happen, but he also said that bankruptcy should not be taken off the table as an option.<\/p>\n

Vos reiterated that the Assembly\u2019s shared revenue plan<\/a> gives Milwaukee two options to potentially avoid that scenario: 1, putting a new sales tax increase to a referendum to fund pension obligations (presuming voters passed it; Vos said Milwaukee leadership would have to make a strong case to the electorate) or 2, agreeing to a compromise that would allow the Common Council to raise the sales tax instead but only with a unanimous vote.<\/p>\n

As for whether a referendum would pass, Vos said of Democrats in Milwaukee, \u201cIf they go out and sell it, there\u2019s a chance. Are they going to have to admit 20 to 30 years of previous mayors\u2019 mismanagement? You betcha they will.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can listen to Vos\u2019s comments at the beginning of our podcast here: <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Assembly Republican Leader Devin LeMahieu has been engaged in a public game of chicken with Vos over the referendum question. Lemahieu says the Senate version of the shared revenue plan won\u2019t include the referendum requirement because he thinks it would fail, sending the city hurtling toward bankruptcy. <\/p>\n

Both houses must agree to send a plan to Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. Evers has tweeted that he agrees with LeMahieu on the referendum question, even though he previously asked for exactly that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that would not fix the problems in Milwaukee. Because I think a referendum vote would fail,\u201d said LeMahieu. <\/a> \u201cSo I think the way to do it is through a vote by the common council and the county board.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Vos said for the first time that bankruptcy might not be a bad thing due to the city\u2019s financial mismanagement, bringing up the experience of Detroit. In making the comments, Vos made it crystal clear how far he is willing to go, essentially taking the \u201cbut they might go bankrupt\u201d card away from Democrats (and LeMahieu) and drawing a line in the sand on the referendum question. Asked how willing he is to bend on the referendum question on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being not willing to bend at all, the Assembly speaker said he is at a 9.9.<\/p>\n

In 2019, the Detroit Free Press wrote of<\/a> Detroit\u2019s 2013 bankruptcy: \u201cNow billions lighter in debt and running $100 million-plus annual surpluses, Detroit is in phenomenally better financial shape than when it entered the bankruptcy, which lasted 17 months.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the referendum, Vos said, \u201cwe aren\u2019t going to make it easy to raise taxes. That\u2019s really what the ending sticking point is. They want to make it as easy to raise taxes as possible in Milwaukee and Milwaukee County, and it shouldn\u2019t be like that.\u201d He said that both the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) and Evers have asked previously for a referendum on raising the Milwaukee sales tax. \u201cIt\u2019s not a radical position,\u201d said Vos. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to create a brand new tax, the people should be the ones enacting it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he doesn\u2019t \u201cwant the entire bill to die\u201d but that he is \u201cpretty steadfast to not make it easier for people who mismanaged their own finances to raise taxes. I feel like it\u2019s a core Republican principle.\u201d<\/p>\n

He made the bankruptcy comments when asked what would happen if a referendum were voted down; what is the fallback option?<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want this to happen, but they might have to go bankrupt,\u201d Vos said of Milwaukee. \u201cI mean, that is not anywhere near the top of the list, but it is certainly something that has to be considered when you have financially mismanaged the city to the point that they have. The only option that might be left is bankruptcy. Again, that should be the absolute last resort, but it shouldn\u2019t be off the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vos said that, if people in the city don\u2019t want to increase revenue to avoid a reduction of services, \u201cthe only other option might be bankruptcy.\u201d He reiterated that Republicans in the Assembly also gave Milwaukee the option to increase the sales tax through a unanimous vote of the Common Council instead.<\/p>\n

In the latter scenario, Vos said elected officials would \u201call have to own the decision.\u201d He said Milwaukee is trying to \u201cmake up for the financial mismanagement of the past,\u201d explaining again that the \u201conly option that might be left is bankruptcy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked the ramifications of that, Vos said, \u201cLook at what happened in Detroit.\u201d He said a federal judge went in and made the city a receivership and \u201cthey changed how they did business and turned Detroit around. Some aspects of it might be positive.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, though, that it was \u201ctoo early to tell\u201d and that bankruptcy \u201cshouldn\u2019t be on our radar.\u201d He said officials have the ability \u201cto get the referendum passed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vos said that he and other Assembly Republicans started coming up with a new shared revenue plan last November because \u201cinflation caused by over spending in Washington was having an incredibly negative impact on local governments.\u201d The current version of the Assembly plan increases local government funding by a minimum of 15%.<\/p>\n

He said Republicans have squeezed efficiencies out of local governments and held down property taxes for years, but inflation and big wage increases in the private sector were making it hard for local governments to generate enough revenue to stay competitive. He also said that the old shared revenue plan showed a major bias against small towns and rural areas, which the Assembly plan rectifies.<\/p>\n

According to Vos, Assembly Republicans then came up with the plan (that was copied by Evers) to put 20 percent of the state sales tax into a segregated fund to increase shared revenue payments to local governments. He said Republicans negotiated with the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to find \u201can updated way to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

It is stunning that Senate Republicans will allow their “Leader” Devin LeMahieu and Tony Evers to kill the shared revenue plan because they think a referendum would fail. How dare any politician be expected to trust voters with decisions about their taxes? https:\/\/t.co\/LmnJoR69rJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jeff Wagner (@jeffwagner620) May 19, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Vos said Assembly Republicans put a number of conservative elements into the plan, including restrictions \u201con who can close a business down\u201d because current law has none; revising the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission so the chief sets policy not the civilian commission (Milwaukee and Honolulu are the only cities set up the current way); and ensuring that the new money goes to fund essential services like law enforcement, EMS, and for roads, not \u201cnew age mumbo jumbo.\u201d The plan essentially ends defunding the police in Wisconsin, and it puts police officers back in Milwaukee schools.<\/p>\n

Vos noted that some members of the Common Council previously \u201cput money into the hop and have all these crazy things.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also pushed back at criticism from Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow that his county doesn\u2019t benefit enough, saying that \u201cWaukesha County gets a 500 percent increase. Maybe Republicans in Waukesha County want a 1,000% increase.\u201d But he said that the Waukesha County increase \u201cis pretty reasonable.\u201d<\/p>\n

He noted that Republicans in the Assembly have to deal with the reality of a liberal governor. \u201cThis was the best deal we could cut,\u201d he said. \u201cWe negotiated in good faith for months.\u201d He said that Republicans made it clear the referendum question was a \u201ccore principle\u201d to them from the beginning.<\/p>\n

Asked if there is any chance he would negotiate that away, Vos did note, \u201cIf they\u2019re willing to offer some core principles of theirs, that\u2019s super important to us. You never say never.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he said the \u201cidea of just giving it away and saying let a core principle of ours fall by the wayside is absolutely, positively unacceptable. It\u2019s never going to happen.\u201d Asked what he would be willing to horse trade for the referendum, he declined to say. <\/p>\n

He said Republicans in the Assembly had \u201cnegotiated in good faith for months with the Senate\u201d and that everything else in the bill they already agreed on. As for Evers, he said \u201chis answer is always more money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you negotiate in good faith, one person can\u2019t walk away and say change the deal and keep their honor,\u201d said Vos.<\/p>\n

\n

Scene in Milwaukee County tonight: County Executive David Crowley, Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Speaker Robin Vos sit next to each other at the ceremonial swearing-in of Rep. Bob Donovan. pic.twitter.com\/sZoQrGoqSA<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jason Calvi (@JasonCalvi) January 9, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He said that he wished Rebecca Kleefisch or Tim Michels were the governor. But he said they are not, so he had to sit down and try to find common ground with the left. He said that Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley insisted on having a specific formula to meet pension obligations, and Republicans gave them that. In return, the Democrats agreed to defund DEI and \u201cfocus on merit,\u201d among other conservative principles, said Vos.<\/p>\n

He believes that a \u201cunited Legislature\u201d should negotiate with Evers. In the past, LeMahieu has not always done that, said Vos, which has made him \u201creally angry\u201d in the past. \u201cWe need to both stand there together,\u201d he said, or it weakens Republicans\u2019 negotiating strength. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the way this entire deal should be going,\u201d said Vos. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll three have to jump off together,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why we are turning from that reality to say we all have to do this together,\u201d Vos said of LeMahieu. <\/p>\n

Vos stressed: \u201cI do not want Milwaukee to fail.\u201d He said \u201cMilwaukee is our biggest economic driver\u201d and he wants \u201cthem to solve their own problem.\u201d He added, \u201cIt\u2019s not a bailout\u201d because the state isn\u2019t just handing money over to Milwaukee to fix the pension mess. He noted that new city employees will be part of the Wisconsin Retirement System going forward.<\/p>\n

According to Vos, the Assembly plan is a \u201cconservative reform package. We are trying to find ways to win as conservatives in a very challenging environment with a liberal governor.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Vos, \u201cNo one wants to see Milwaukee go bankrupt, That should be the absolute last resort.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he hopes the Senate \u201ctakes a breath and do a little huffing and puffing\u201d and then unite with the Assembly over the plan. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really good deal for the citizens of Wisconsin.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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