| Jan. 20, 2006 e-newsletter | |||
 |
|||
Just one bill we're fighting Truck bill could cost more than $2 billion |
| By Rich EgglestonA bill by Rep. Don Friske (R-Merrill)
would "impact the life expectancy of the highway system and have significant
cost implications related to the preservation of the highway infrastructure," the Department of Transportation says in a memo.
That's if you consider $2.15 billion in potential state and local bridge replacement costs significant. AB 678, to allow trucks hauling raw forest products and "intermediary lumber" to weigh up to 98,000 pounds, is scheduled for executive action by the Assembly Transportation Committee at a meeting that begins at 9 a.m. Thursday in Room 417 North of the Capitol. An engineering firm's report concluded that nearly 1,400 state highway bridges are unable to accommodate truck weights that would be allowed as a result of the bill.R. D. Mingo and Associates also concluded that 771 county-owned bridges would be inadequate to handle the increased loads. The cost of replacing the state bridges would be $1.75 billion, and the "worst-case estimate" of replacing the county-owned bridges is about $400 million. |
|
"We just don’t have the money to maintain our roads and bridges the way things are today," said Edward J. Huck, executive director of the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities. "We shouldn’t add to our inventory of crumbling roads and bridges, and heap still more costs on taxpayers." The DOT report is located here. One way to express your displeasure with the bill would be to e-mail transportation committee members before the Jan. 26 vote. Just click on their names: Reps. John Ainsworth, chairperson, Jerry Petrowski, vice chairperson, Eugene Hahn, Scott Suder, Don Friske, Al Ott, Andy Lamb, Karl Van Roy, Brett Davis, John Steinbrink, Barbara Gronemus, Gary Sherman, Amy Sue Vruwink, Louis Molepske and Tom Nelson. |
|
|
 |
Alliance mayor recognized in State of State
|
Mayor Kevin Crawford was the only local
elected official recognized by Gov. Jim Doyle during the governor's State of the State
address Jan. 17. "For any of you who visited Manitowoc after Mirro moved out, it was a pretty bleak situation," the governor said, "and we are incredibly thankful for the work of the mayor and particularly to companies like Orion who were willing to step up and put their investments into Manitowoc. And we have cut the unemployment rate by one half." Orion was one of three new businesses created from old Mirro Co. plant. Orion President Neal Verfuerth and plant manager Louie Mitcheltree accompanied Mayor Crawford. Manitowoc County's unemployment rate had reached 9.8% in the wake of Mirro's closing in 1994. Wisconsin's manufacturing successes were one of the themes of the governor's speech. |
| "Even though Washington obviously has
no plan for manufacturing, we do have one in Wisconsin," Gov. Doyle said. With
technology, training, trade promotion, and new investment, we are working to revolutionize
and modernize Wisconsin manufacturing ... and expand opportunities for middle class
families." Text of the governor's speech is here. Video of the speech is here. |
|
|
Dept. of Satire
Farm Bureau Blogged Down
| When the Wisconsin Farm Bureau put out one
of its periodic press releases the other day, we didn't pay much attention. The missive
was called "Don't mess with use value law," and it seemed just like the same old
same old. (Press release here.)
Then the Playground Politics blog posted a translation, and we took notice. The
translation is published below, without editorial comment, and with text color
unchanged. Playground Politics is located here. |
| The use value assessment of farmland law should
not be tampered with because it is accomplishing exactly what it intended to do: insure that farmers never have to pay property taxes on their land,
and ease the loss of farmland, according to Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation president,
Bill Bruins, who recently spoke at the Wisconsin Working Lands Initiative task force
meeting. Bruins addressed the Working Lands Initiative task force because the group had been discussing the policy that has cost Wisconsin's homeowners and businesses approximately $1.8 billion since its implementation in 1995. Specifically the task force suggested requiring conservation compliance in order to be eligible for use value assessment, a clear violation of the state’s uniformity clause. “The Farm Bureau opposes any alteration of use value that could jeopardize the future of our enormous business subsidy. Use value assessment is the most important thing the state of Wisconsin has done in the last 50 years to make Wisconsin agriculture one of the largest welfare recipients in the state,” said Bruins. “Use value not only stopped property taxes from being unfairly shifted to farmland, but it helped residential property taxes to skyrocket,” said Bruins. Bruins said prior to the use value assessment law, farmland was unfairly being taxed at the value of farmland sold for development, and a change was necessary since federal law precludes farmers from actually paying face value for anything. Since use value assessment was implemented, the rate of land converted from ag use to non-ag use slowed considerably. In 1993, 90,971 acres of land was converted to a more economically desirable use; by 2004 this loss was down to 44,403 acres, according to the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service. “If farmers were being assessed at market value, assessments in many parts of the state would be $3,000 to $5,000 per acre resulting in corresponding property taxes of $60 to $100 per acre. Use value has resulted in higher taxes for homeowners and less land being lost because of inequitable tax pressures,” according to Bill Bruins. |
||
|
| News Briefs Smoking is bad for business, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The center's numbers show that employees who smoke cost businesses an average $3,391 per person in lost productivity and extra medical expenses, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Jan. 20. Also, the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services calculates that state businesses lose $1.4 billion a year in worker productivity as a result of employees who smoke. Story here. Milwaukee goes wireless. Milwaukee's City Council has approved creation of a $20 million citywide Wi-Fi system that will create wireless Internet access citywide. The network is expected to be completed in about 18 months, with an area west of downtown completed in about four months.The plan calls for 60 Web sites, run by government entities or non-profit agencies, to be available free. To visit other sites, users would have to pay a monthly fee, expected to be about $20. The city's 14-year agreement is with Midwest Fiber Networks, a Milwaukee-based business that will work with EarthLink and other companies to create the network. Story here. |
|
|
| 2006 Alliance meetings | January 26-27 | Madison | |
| March 16-17 | Milwaukee | ||
| May 18-19 | Manitowoc | ||
| July 27-28 | Wisconsin Rapids | ||
| November 16-17 | Marshfield |
Upcoming Events (click on underlined text for more)
| 2006 | ||||
| Jan. 25 | "The Trouble With TABOR" forum | Cleveland (Wis.) | ||
| Jan 26-27 | Alliance meetings | Madison | ||
| Jan. 27-28 | New Cities Project (Mayor Dave Cieslewicz et al) | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Feb. 8 | "The Trouble With TABOR" forum | Eau Claire | ||
| Feb. 15 | "The Trouble With TABOR" forum | Green Bay | ||
| March 16-17 | Alliance meetings | Milwaukee | ||
| May 18-19 | Alliance meetings | Manitowoc | ||
| July 27-28 | Alliance meetings | Wisconsin Rapids | ||
| Oct. 11-13 | League annual conference | Middleton | ||
| Nov. 16-17 | Alliance meetings | Marshfield | ||
|
|
THE
WISCONSIN ALLIANCE OF CITIES
14 West Mifflin Street Suite 206
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
(608) 257-5881
