November 20, 2001 e-newsletter
Green Bay Conference
Local Govt. on Front Line
in Fight Against Terrorism
Local government is on the front line in the war on terrorism, speakers told about 120 local leaders at the Nov. 12 municipal security conference sponsored by Mayor Paul Jadin of Green Bay.
"All of you are on the front line in the current war," U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Wis.) told participants as the conference opened. "...Whatever it is we can do to help you out, we'll be there."
"Local government is the first responder," said Madison Mayor Sue Bauman. "It doesn't matter what's going on the state or in the nation. It's you, the people in your community, who are going to respond first."
Dr. Seth Foldy, Milwaukee's health commissioner, told the conference's luncheon that the front line extends to the war on bioterrorism as well as the war on more easily recognized forms of terror.
"There is an important fantasy, that in the event of a disease outbreak, the cavalry is coming," Dr. Foldy said. "I can assure you that this is not the case. The expert you need to talk to today is your local health officer."
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Dr. Foldy said a public health emergency is a
local challenge. He said aggressive surveillance -- the ability to detect an outbreak
almost as soon as it occurs -- is vital to dealing not only with bioterrorism but with
infectious diseases in general. Yet for the most part, aggressive surveillance just doesn't exist today, he said. That's notwithstanding the cost of delay in a major smallpox outbreak, which has been put at $200 million an hour. "This is the time to demand that state and federal governments support local public health," he said. To see a summary of the "Dark Winter" drill involving a fictional smallpox incident, go here. To see domestic terrorism preparedness material created by the City of Beloit, go here. |
Sun Prairie
Telecom Utitity Saves Taxpayers $1.2 million
The Dane County community of Sun Prairie saved city and school taxpayers $1.2 million over three years by creating a municipal telecommunications utility that provides a high-speed communications link to schools, libraries and other city facilities, the Speaker's Telecommunications Task Force was told Nov. 13.
The local water and light utility did so without hiring a single employee, through contracting out to private companies, Larry H. Bocock, superintendent of the Sun Prairie Water & Light Commission, told the task force.
| David Benforado, executive director of Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin,
said the water and light commission in September 2000 submitted a bid of $183,300 for a
three-year contract to create the system, while Verizon North, formerly known as General
Telephone & Electronics Corp., bid $577,590. The Sun Prairie school district saved
more than $800,000 on a similar bid. Task Force chair Rep. Phil Montgomery (R-Ashwaubenon) asked Bocock and Benforado if Sun Prairie wasn't losing property tax revenue as a result of the city and schools' business going to the municipal utility. |
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Benforado said the property taxes Verizon pays go to the state, not to local governments and schools. In addition, the municipal utility overall paid the city more than $600,000 in lieu of taxes last year, he said. Benforado added that the Wisconsin State Telecommunications Association opposed Sun Prairie "every step of the way."
If you want to pass the League of Wisconsin Municipalities' resolution opposing legislation that would prevent communities like Sun Prairie from saving their taxpayers money, click here.
Brownfields Update
Applications for a state brownfields grant to help communities revitalize blighted properties are now available through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The Brownfield Site Assessment Grant (SAG) program has $3.4 million in available funding over the next two years to help local governments investigate brownfields. Applications and instructions for the first $1.7 million are now available from the DNR Remediation and Redevelopment program. Applications for both large and small grants are due Jan. 18, 2002.
If you want to apply for a portion of the money, click here.
Media and Crisis Management Workshop
in Sheboygan
Issue Management Resources is conducting media and crisis management workshops for Alliance members on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29 in Sheboygan in connection with the Alliance's Nov. 29 and Nov. 30 meetings in Sheboygan. The Nov. 29 workshop is filled, but there are spaces in the Nov. 28 afternoon session at Sheboygan City Hall.
The first city leader or staffer from a community can attend at no cost (to you); for second or subsequent staff members the cost is $250.
To RSVP for the Sheboygan meeting, click here.
Health Insurance Costs
Pegged in Beloit
| Milliman USA, Inc., a national actuarial firm,
projects the City of Beloit will pay out over $55.4 million for future lifetime medical
and dental costs for its current roster of 397 active and 178 retired city employees. The
study assumed no additional employees would be hired for 10 years. City Manager Jane Wood called the findings sobering, but not unexpected. "This is a huge financial challenge for the City of Beloit and one that is beyond our ability to fund," she said. For a copy of the city's
press release on the study, look here. |
Quick Take
Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago Counties have developed an agreement to form a regional solid waste system that is expected to save the three counties $8 million in recycling costs over 12 years and $35 million in garbage disposal costs over 25 years. For the Green Bay Press-Gazette story, go here.
Bills to Watch
To help you keep informed, the bill number on the list below is a link to the bill history, which in turn includes a link to the text of the measure. The bill sponsor's name is an e-mail link which allows you to express your opinion or seek further information. Click on either. And of course, you can ask us for information on any of these measures any tme. We'll try to keep you informed of pending action on bills and other Alliance issues in the "Upcoming Events" section at the bottom of this and future newsletters.
Bills we'll be watching -- and in many cases lobbying -- include:
SB 185, Sen. Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee), replacing state law with union contract provisions for the discipline of police and firefighters.
SB 248, a telephone industry bill introduced Sept. 20 by Sen. Kevin Shibilski (D-Plover), a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, to rescind the rights of municipalities to create telecommunications utilities. We believe Congress pre-empted legislation of this sort in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. A federal judge in Virginia agreed last spring. For the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's story on the Wisconsin implications, look here.
SB 267, by the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, limiting local flexibility in providing emergency medical services.
AJR 10, by Rep. Mark Pettis (R-Hertel), a constitutional amendment to limit property tax increases by cities, villages, towns and counties for individual parcels of property.
AJR 50, by Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), a constitutional amendment to restrict the state's ability to impose regional or geographically selective taxes.
AB 35, by Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greenfield), changing the bonding requirements for city, village and county officers.
AB 113, by Rep. Scott Gunderson (R-Union Grove), prohibiting local residency requirements.
AB 399, by Rep. Donald Friske (R-Merrill), would exempt cities, towns, villages and counties from paying the state gas tax. It was amended and endorsed as amended by the Assembly Transportation Committee Sept. 20. Repeal of the state gas tax for other levels of government is one of the Alliance of Cities' pro-active issues. For more, look here.
AB 490, by Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greenfield) would phase in, over a 10-year period, the transfer to the state transportation fund of all sales tax revenue from the sale of automobiles and auto parts.
AB 494, by Rep. Scott Gunderson (R-Union Grove), prohibiting cities and villages from approving annexations of land in another county.
AB 501, this session's urban towns bill, is again sponsored by Rep. Bonnie Ladwig (R-Racine). The bill would allow towns of at least 7,500 population that meet the bill's other criteria to undertake a process to become an "urban town," thereby freezing their borders and exempting themselves from most county zoning, but not giving them TIF or extraterritorial zoning or plat review authority.
AB 510. The compromise TIF legislation passed the Assembly 93-3 Oct. 23. It was produced as a result of negotiations led by the Wisconsin Economic Development Association. It eliminates some of the damaging provisions of the legislation that came out of former Gov. Tommy Thompson's TIF working group. The compromise is sponsored by Rep. Michael "Mickey" Lehman (R-Hartford).
AB 518, introduced by Rep. Neal Kedzie (R-Elkhorn), is the companion bill to SB 248.
AB 524, by the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, limiting local flexibility in providing emergency medical services.
AB 558, by the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee, benefits for those called to active duty, amended in committee to allow local governments to make up the difference between military pay and civilian pay,
AB 584, by Rep. Tim Hoven (R-Port Washington), on utility shared revenue payments. Adopted 96-2 in the Assembly Nov. 6.
AB 612, by Rep. Julie Lassa (D-Plover), to allow local governments to provide health insurance benefits to retired officers.
Upcoming
Events
Nov. 27-29 DNR
Pilot Recycling Program listening sessions
in DeForest, Eau Claire and Oconto.
Contact Cynthia Moore, DNR.
Nov. 27-29 UW Economic Summit in Milwaukee.
Nov.
29-30 Alliance meeting, Sheboygan
Dec. 4
Ass'ly
Enviro. Cmte, 11 a.m., 300 NE, Capitol
Green Tier DNR
regulation
Dec. 4
Partners in Local Govt. 10:30 a.m.,
City-Cnty Bldg., Mdn.
Dec. 6
Ass'ly
State-Local Finance, 11 a.m., N. Hrg. Rm.,
AB 601
and AB 637.
2002
June
14-18 U.S. Conference of Mayors, Madison
(Editor's Note: picture from the Green Bay News-Chronicle reprinted with permission.)
THE WISCONSIN ALLIANCE OF CITIES
14 West Mifflin Street Suite 206
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
(608) 257-5881
