MARCH 12, 2002 02-88 RESOLUTION
(CARRIED_______LOST_______LAID OVER_______WITHDRAWN_______)
PURPOSE: OPPOSE GOVENOR BUDGET PROPOSAL
INITIATED BY: COUNCIL MEMBER BLOECHL
WHEREAS, Governor Scott McCallum proposed legislation designed to eliminate an expected $1.2 billion deficit in the current state biennial budget, which includes these features that affect the City of Oshkosh:
•Reduce shared revenue allocated to the City for the 2002 operating budget, in the approximate amount of $2.5 million, which represents an estimated 7.1% impact on the budget; and
•Eliminate all shared revenue by the 2004 operating budget year, which is currently about $12.8 million and would represent a 36.5% decrease in the city’s operating budget.
•Impose a property tax levy freeze on local communities, which would prohibit those communities from increasing taxes to maintain services that would otherwise be eliminated due to cuts in shared revenue; and The Governor has said his proposal results in only a 4% reduction to local governments, as he includes, and does not propose to reduce, the 2/3ds funding of local schools within his calculation. In addition, the governor has criticized the number and overlap of local units of government; and
WHEREAS, across-the-board cuts in the 2004 operating budget would reduce city services, such as police, fire, ambulance, street cleaning, maintenance and repairs; busing and transportation; street lighting; senior center, library and museum services; planning and building inspection activities. It would eliminate all garbage and refuse collection, close parks and the Menomonee Park Zoo, and eliminate forestry and health services. In all, about 200 fulltime positions (or 35% of the workforce) would be eliminated. [There is no plan to reduce the state work force by a similar amount.] These and other reductions would significantly affect the quality of life within the City of Oshkosh, and would provide only nominal property tax decreases; and
WHEREAS, a property tax levy freeze reduces local control over local spending issues in addition to other mandates and restrictions the legislature, from time to time, has imposed on local units of government; and
WHEREAS, there is no proposal to immediately eliminate required local government activities, known as state mandates, adopted by the legislature and approved the governor, most of which carry no state funding to assist local governments as they seek to carry out these imposed obligations. This further reduces the ability of local governments to deliver appropriately its offering of services to its citizens based on locally prioritized and identifiable needs; and
WHEREAS, the number of local government units, be it cities and villages, towns and counties, regional plan commissions, sewer and water districts, and so forth, is a direct result of, or even encouraged by state law. As an example, residents in the urbanized area of the Town of Algoma invoke state law as they seek to incorporate as a village, rather than consolidating with the City of Oshkosh, thus creating another unit of local government; and
WHEREAS, local governmental units in the more densely populated areas of the State, such as in Brown, Dane, Kenosha, Milwaukee, Outagamie and Racine Counties have opportunities for merger and consolidation, but such activities require changes in state law. No similar opportunities exist for the City of Oshkosh, which is surrounded by the Towns of Algoma, Black Wolf, Nekimi and Oshkosh; and
WHEREAS, last year, the governor applauded efforts of local governments in curtailing and reducing expenses when he told the Alliance of Cities that state government should model itself after local government. When promoting his current budget proposal however, he called local governments the “big spenders”; and
WHEREAS, since 1986, the number of state employees has grown by 11,750 positions, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, while the number of City of Oshkosh employees has grown by 59. The population of the City of Oshkosh during the same period of time has grown approximately 10,000;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of Oshkosh that the City:
1. strongly opposes the governor’s proposal for eliminating the shared revenue program without requiring similar reductions by the State of Wisconsin; and
2. congratulates cities, towns, villages and counties, which have previously met the state objective to control local government spending under the expenditure restraint program, and encourages the State of Wisconsin to be as fiscally prudent; and
3. encourages the legislature and the governor to approve necessary legislation to eliminate all unfunded state mandates, to return budgeting and taxing control to the local community, to permit merger and consolidation of services and local government units where appropriate, to discourage the proliferation of new local units, and to restore to the State of Wisconsin the fiscal integrity consistently maintained by the local units of government being targeted by the governor’s proposal; and
4. strongly encourages all government officials to seriously debate and resolve the State of Wisconsin fiscal issues without resorting to unprofessional and undignified remarks as justification for their respective proposals; and
5. encourages the residents of the City of Oshkosh to become fully-informed citizens and taxpayers understanding the consequences facing the City if the Governor’s proposal is passed and to firmly convey to their elected state officials all appropriate comments concerning these matters.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the city clerk is authorized and directed to forward copies of this resolution to the Governor and the state legislative delegation representing the City of Oshkosh.