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on on this budget bill.
>> All right. Charles

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Franklin, thanks very much.
>> Thank you.

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>> The issue of trying to
hold down property taxes

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while also being able to
fund services pertains not

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just to schools, but to
things like fire

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departments and EMS, like
schools. Cities also pass

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referendums, asking local
voters permission to raise

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property taxes to pay for
basic services. Now, this

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has become more common in
recent years, as state

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funding for local
government continues to

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fall behind the cost of
inflation. In our ongoing

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series looking at the
biggest issues in the race

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for governor "Here& Now",
senior political reporter

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Zac Schultz asked the
candidates if they want to

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see any changes to how the
state shares revenue with

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local government.
>> In 2023. Governor Tony

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Evers and legislative
Republicans celebrated a

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bipartisan compromise that
boosted funding for local

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governments by nearly 20%.
But after more than a

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decade of property tax
freezes, local governments

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around the state have still
been forced to go to

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referendums since then to
ask the voters to raise

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their own taxes to cover
the increased costs of

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basic services like police
and fire protection. We

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asked the candidates for
governor if they want to

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see changes to how the
state shares revenue with

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local governments.
>> I served two terms as a

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locally elected official. I
think we need to make sure

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that they are well funded.
I think, especially on the

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infrastructure side in
regards to roads, because

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that's oftentimes the
biggest thing for local

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units of government. We
need to make sure that they

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have good funding to be
able to maintain their

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infrastructure, especially
roads and bridges.

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>> As the county executive,
80% of our local tax levy

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is going towards, you know,
state mandated services.

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These are services that,
you know, most folks may

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not actually utilize, but
those most used amenities,

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like our public parks, like
our county zoo, like our

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county transit system,
these are non-mandated

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services. And it really
puts those particular

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services that help to
improve the quality of life

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for individuals who live in
or around or just play in

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Milwaukee County. Those are
always on the chopping

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block. And so we actually
need a better course of

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action. We need a better
relationship with the state

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of Wisconsin for all local
municipalities to be able

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to fund the necessary
programs and services that

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their residents expect, but
also rely on every day.

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>> I think that the state
needs to meet its

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commitment to local
governments and to our

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public schools. You know,
the promise was that the

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state would cover two
thirds of the cost. And we

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have really very, very
infrequently ever lived up

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to that. Meanwhile, local
property taxpayers are

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asked to raise their own
already too high property

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taxes just to keep the
lights on for our schools

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and keep the snowplows on
the road and police and

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firefighters on the street.
That's not fair. The state

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is sitting on a
multibillion dollar surplus

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and has for years, and it's
time that we reinvested

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that money where taxpayers
expect and deserve it to be

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spent in our local
communities.

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>> When we have the number
of referenda that are still

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going on, when, you know,
places like Whitewater and

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Stevens Point have to go to,
right, we have to go to

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referendum in order to
create positions for

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firefighters. That system
is still not working the

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way it needs to work. And
so, you know, I think that

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no matter what we do, we
need to ensure that the

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relationship between local
government and state

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government is strong and
that we're hearing what's

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happening at the local
level. And I think that we

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have for many years, as
state shared revenue was

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frozen, I think we were not
listening to local

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government as their costs
were increasing.

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>> The state has been
starving our local

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municipalities and for over
a decade now. And so it's

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imperative that we have a
more equitable shared

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revenue formula to make
sure that our local

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municipalities have the
resources they need. They

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say when government is the
government that's closest

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to your door, is the
government that's going to

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pass policies that impact
you quickest. So it's it's

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it's for communities. It's
necessary for our

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communities to have
municipalities that have

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the resources to provide
the services that people

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need.
>> We do need more

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investment in local
government. When I talk to

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municipalities and cities
all across the the state,

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they are really struggling
to be able to provide the

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services that their
constituents expect. Basic

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services. We're talking
about making sure that

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their parks stay open,
their public libraries stay

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open, that there's a public
pool that that kids can go

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to in the summer. So we're
going to have to look at

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that formula of how we fund
municipalities and cities

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to make sure they can
provide those services.

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>> You know, local
governments are really

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struggling under the weight
of a lack of funding. We

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need to do better and make
sure that local communities

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have resources. My platform
of building the economy is

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really focused on looking
at the main streets around

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the state, saying, what do
you need? What are your

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priorities? Giving some
resources so that then they

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can start to generate
momentum and be able to

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have local economies that
are providing good jobs,

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health care and the
services that Wisconsinites

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need.
>> There's long been a

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funding flaw that has made
it more difficult for

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municipalities to be able
to get the resources, or

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even the money that goes to
Madison, to come back at

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the same rate. This has
been an issue in Milwaukee.

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That's why we've seen the
raise in sales tax in the

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city of Milwaukee and
Milwaukee County. But that

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didn't change the formula.
The percentage is still the

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same. So effectively,
there's even more money

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00:05:37,671 --> 00:05:41,708
coming in. But at a time
also when people are

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feeling the pinch, you know,
at the grocery store or

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00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:47,548
anytime they're at any
checkout counter. Now we

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have this increased sales
tax, which is making it

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even harder for people. But
the reason that is the case

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is because Madison has
failed in the legislature,

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has failed to actually
implement a real solution

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to make it easier for
municipalities to get the

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support they deserve. And
we're going to be convening

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a group of local elected
officials of mayors very

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soon to be able to have
this conversation, have

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this discussion in a real
this discussion in a real