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Iranians and how we are
separating ourselves from

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IRGC.
>> The economic engine of

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the state is looking at a
whopping county government

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budget shortfall. Milwaukee
County leaders project a

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$50 million deficit next
year, and a nearly $170

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million shortfall in five
years. That's if measures

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to cut costs aren't taken.
What is happening? We turn

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to Jason Stein, president
of the Wisconsin Policy

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Forum, and thanks for being
here.

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>> My pleasure. Thank you.
>> So what is happening? I

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thought that the shared rev
deal and new county sales

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tax was supposed to make
things okay.

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>> Right. So you're
referring to a 2023 law

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that provided both new
sales tax authority to the

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county, as well as
additional state aid. And

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those were helpful. I mean,
the sales tax revenue is

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going to be nearly $90
million projected for 2027.

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So without that money, that
that $50 million shortfall

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is even larger. But at the
same time, that deal also

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imposed new costs on the
county to, you know, shift

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to the state pension system,
which is a good long term

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fix but is challenging in
the short term. And then

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additional law enforcement
costs and other costs. So

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it was very helpful, but it
didn't change the fact that

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the county has a structural
imbalance between how fast

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its revenues are growing
and how fast its expenses

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are growing. And you see
that showing up in this

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this budget shortfall.
>> So I understand that 75%

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of the county's budget is
mandated state services,

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some of which you just
spoke to, including court

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operation and highway
patrols. So what goes the

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quality of life? Things
like parks and pools.

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>> Absolutely. And, you
know, there are a number of

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also discretionary
challenges that the county

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has. The county also has
its transit program, which

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is facing a big challenge
in 2027 because it's

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finally exhausted. The
federal pandemic aid, which

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stuck around a little bit
longer for transit

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operations than other parts
of government. So that's a

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challenge. It has a county
courthouse that it needs to

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replace. That's nearly a
half $1 billion project.

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And then you talk about its
parks, something like that

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amount in deferred
maintenance to its parks

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system. So it has a lot of
generational challenges

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that are still pressing it
pretty strongly.

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>> So how does the county
stave off these deficits?

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>> I mean, I think when you
have a challenge of this

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size, you're going to have
to look on the cost side

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and the revenue side. So, I
mean, the challenge on the

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cost side is that the
county has really had 20

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years now of making, you
know, cuts and trims and

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other things. But, you know,
they're going to have to

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look in transit. They're
going to have to look

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across their, their system
to try and find some

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savings. And then at the
same time, they're probably

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going to have to find
revenues, whether that's

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it's from increasing their
vehicle registration fee,

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whatever it happens to be
that they can do because

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there aren't a lot of
levers they can pull.

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>> Should or could the
state do more?

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>> I mean, the state in the
current budget, it should

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be said, did a lot for the
county in that the state

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put forward funds for
patrolling the highways in

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Milwaukee County. So that
was a big financial help.

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Governor Evers, with one of
his partial vetoes, also

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lowered the cost of. To
counties of housing

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juvenile offenders in a
state prison for youth,

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which. That helped
Milwaukee County more than

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any other county. So there
was assistance there. But

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you'll you'll you'll
certainly hear elected

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officials from the county
going to the state again

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over the next year.
>> How vexing is this

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perennial problem,
especially for the county

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executive now running for
governor?

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>> I mean, it's every
county executive faces this.

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I mean, another county
executive who became

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governor, Scott Walker, you
know, faced the same

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shortfalls in some of these
capital challenges have

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built up over a period of
time. That goes back to the

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2000, when Walker was
Milwaukee County executive.

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So it's certainly a
challenge. I think one of

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the things that I'm sure
the county executive will

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will ask for, you know,
elected officials to ask

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for is freedom from the
state limits on county

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property taxes. So more
flexibility to raise local

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revenues to deal with these
problems. But of course,

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the state has been
reluctant to give that

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flexibility.
>> So I trust that

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Milwaukee County is not the
only county that is facing

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00:04:37,845 --> 00:04:39,880
these kinds of budget
crunches.

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>> No, that's certainly the
case. I think it is worth

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noting, though, that
Milwaukee County,

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particularly in the city of
Milwaukee, has some of the

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poorest residents. So any
county or any city that has

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a transit system, for
example, is facing that

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00:04:54,328 --> 00:04:57,898
same problem with the loss
of federal revenue,

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ridership and ridership
revenue being down and the

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cost being up. But in
Milwaukee County, it has a

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00:05:04,271 --> 00:05:06,540
particular pinch and
resonance because you

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really have people that are
relying on that transit

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system, low income people
to get to a job, to get to

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a doctor's appointment, to
get to the grocery store.

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And so the impact is
magnified, I think, over