It is based on the principles advocated by the Sheehy Task Force: "State policies should reflect the reality that Wisconsin’s economic strength begins in the communities and regions and that regions compete globally. Growth sharing tax policies have been successful in other states such as Minnesota and are easily applied to metropolitan areas. Growth sharing can also be tied to support for regional services or infrastructure and therefore encourage service sharing.

REDI will enable communities to make an investment in infrastructure that supports economic growth and cooperation. Investment in infrastructure to support economic development has been lagging due to state and local fiscal problems. A new commitment to this type of funding should improve the state’s overall economy and help the state overcome its fiscal problems. Failure to invest in this new approach will only delay recovery further.

Our regions - based on economies.
(White counties are a "rest of state"
region.)

Chart: Jennifer Gonda

State shared revenues to cities, villages and towns in Wisconsin lost $232 million in buying power in the last decade, a 5.9% loss in unadjusted dollars combined with the toll inflation has taken on the dollar, as gauged by the Consumer Price Index.

It's another one of the subjects we hope city leaders and finance directors point out to legislators and their staff at the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and Wisconsin Alliance of Cities' biennial legislative luncheon, from   12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Thursday, May 19,  at the Inn on the Park, 22 S Carroll Street, Madison.

Ed captured on video

Ed said the long-term strategy must include:

• non-property tax sources of revenue;
• public employee labor law reform;
• health-care reform;
• K-12 education financing reform;
• and campaign finance reform.

He said all the above reforms are crucial to achieving property tax relief, and property tax relief in turn is crucial to retaining the middle-class homeowners on which healthy cities depend. Unfortunately, the political process too often loses sight of that goal, Ed said.

"The changes that state legislators have made over the last 20 years have been driven by special interests, not good public policy," Ed said in the interview. "What we (the Alliance of Cities) are going to try to do is inject policy, and we hope some of that sticks."

Ken Cole, executive director of the Wisconsin School Boards Association, said in a companion interview that K-12 financing reform is unnecessary, and Todd Berry of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance suggested taking counties off the property tax. Neither suggested attacking any of the laws that drive property taxes.

To watch the video interview with Ed, go here. Note that you must use Internet Explorer — non Microsoft browsers won't work.

A lot of folks are coalescing behind a five-year moratorium on Colorado's TABOR refund, but it's too early for public school advocates or others who rely on other public services to breathe a sigh of relief, Frankie Anhut of Impact on Education wrote in her final column in the Boulder (Colo.) Daily Camera.

"Today, Colorado is 49th in the country in K-12 spending relative to our state's wealth, so we have a long way to go before we can 'celebrate' being average. Hang on, it gets worse. This year, the state's inflation index increased by only one tenth of one percent, mainly due to lower prices for housing and cars — things school districts don't buy. On the other hand, the inflation index does not take into account real world costs facing school districts, such as the costs of gasoline for school buses, electricity to heat schools and health care insurance for teachers — which have experienced double-digit inflationary growth.

Button purchased on
State Street in Madison

"It lacks the population-driven growth of Sunbelt cities such as Las Vegas or Atlanta, but it is an excellent place to start and expand a business," Inc. said. It said Madison is "peculiarly well suited for the service-driven economic expansion. As state capital and locale of one of the region's top universities, its population is exceptionally well educated." The ranking focused heavily on a metro area's job-creation track record.

"The impact on business of a city's educational and training systems, housing and living costs, taxes, regulatory burdens, and quality of life--factors commonly measured by other 'hot lists' to identify strong economies--are all ultimately reflected by job growth," Inc. Magazine said. "Regions that consistently generate jobs in a broad range of industries rank at the top of the list."

The publication ranked La Crosse 17th among small cities. Story here.