Scott Walker Column: "Let's Get Wisconsin Working Again"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 7, 2009

Contact: Jill Bader (414) 453-2010

Scott Walker Column

“Let’s Get Wisconsin Working Again”

By Scott Walker

Communities across Wisconsin are struggling to make ends meet.  Factories and businesses are closing or relocating, hard working people are losing their jobs, and families are forced to cut back. In fact, recently Forbes Magazine ranked Wisconsin the third worst state in which to do business because it’s so expensive to live and work here.  

We can’t sustain our state with policies that increase costs on businesses and families and drive away good jobs.  We need to change the way Wisconsin does business, finding new ways to do more with less – instead of raising taxes and growing government.  That’s what I’ve been doing for the past seven years as Milwaukee County Executive, and that’s what we must demand from our leaders in Madison too. 

The problems facing my county are the same problems facing communities all across Wisconsin.  We’ve been forced to make tough choices to hold the line on taxes. And we’ve crafted eight balanced budgets with no increase in the property tax levy from the previous year.  We’ve slashed the county debt by over 10% and reduced the taxpayer-funded workforce by more than 20%. 

We stopped growing government, and instead told department heads how much money they would have to spend, and asked them to prioritize based on available revenue – just like we all prioritize spending within our family budgets.  And we did it without sacrificing quality.

Despite the national recession, in 2008, when other state and local governments faced massive budget shortfalls, my county finished the year with a slight budget surplus.

Our choices aren’t limited to raising taxes or cutting services. Greater innovation will allow us to maintain essential government services without sacrificing community assets that enhance our quality of life.

The county budget I presented September 24th seeks to reduce the size of county government while encouraging economic growth.  Once again, we’ve looked for creative ways to fill budget shortfalls.  Some examples include asking county employees to be more in line with private sector employees and accept modest changes in wages and benefits, and turning underutilized traditional swimming pools into more modern water parks.  We’ve also proposed creating a non-profit organization to run the Milwaukee County Zoo to combine the continued financial investment and skill of the county, with the Zoological Society’s expertise in education and conservation.

And for the eighth year in a row, our 2010 county budget does not raise the property tax levy from the previous year.

Our leaders in Madison need to approach problems the same way, by looking out for hard working families, instead of protecting the status quo at their expense.

This year, Governor Doyle and the legislature raised taxes and fees by more than $3 billion, increasing taxes on income, property, automobile insurance, nursing home and hospital care, and even cell phone use.  To “cut costs” they reduced funding for law enforcement and other local government services, and approved the early release of criminals into our communities to save money.  This is the wrong direction for Wisconsin.

We need to fundamentally change the way government does business in Wisconsin.  It’s time to put government back on the side of the people and get Wisconsin working again.

Scott Walker is Milwaukee County Executive and Republican candidate for governor.

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