Yet another WI budget amendment roils Dane County politics
The last state budget contained special interest gifts for real estate and other business interests that hammered (surprise!) Dane County in particular.
One provision stripped the County of some water management powers still enjoyed by all other 71 one Wisconsin counties, while another special interest provision was inserted on behalf of the Canadian tar sand oil pipeline firm Enbridge that exempted it from a County insurance requirement.
Now we are learning about another Dane County policy matter tucked into the budget to assist an upgrade to village status for the Town of Windsor that could help it fend off annexations from the Village of DeForest.
The measure was inserted into the budget by powerful legislators running the Joint Committee on Finance who live nowhere near the area, just as the water planning restriction and pipeline insurance provisions which hit Dane County through the budget were also championed by state legislators who do not live there.
Without taking sides on the Windsor-DeForest struggle, let's acknowledge that there are at least two sides to such conflicts and that border battles are not unique to Dane County- - ask the folks who live in the water-warring Town of Waukesha, or in and near the Town of Brookfield.
Should the Legislature jump in and 'solve' every local dispute? There's a border billing hassle right between two municipalities that have the word "Pewaukee" in their names.
Is it the Legislature's job to fix that, too, or is just Dane County that provides out-state legislators so much interfering fascination?
One provision stripped the County of some water management powers still enjoyed by all other 71 one Wisconsin counties, while another special interest provision was inserted on behalf of the Canadian tar sand oil pipeline firm Enbridge that exempted it from a County insurance requirement.
Now we are learning about another Dane County policy matter tucked into the budget to assist an upgrade to village status for the Town of Windsor that could help it fend off annexations from the Village of DeForest.
The measure was inserted into the budget by powerful legislators running the Joint Committee on Finance who live nowhere near the area, just as the water planning restriction and pipeline insurance provisions which hit Dane County through the budget were also championed by state legislators who do not live there.
Without taking sides on the Windsor-DeForest struggle, let's acknowledge that there are at least two sides to such conflicts and that border battles are not unique to Dane County- - ask the folks who live in the water-warring Town of Waukesha, or in and near the Town of Brookfield.
Should the Legislature jump in and 'solve' every local dispute? There's a border billing hassle right between two municipalities that have the word "Pewaukee" in their names.
Is it the Legislature's job to fix that, too, or is just Dane County that provides out-state legislators so much interfering fascination?
1 comment:
Apparently they think it's their job to create special legislation for all this stuff that should be resolved between municipalities. Of course much of it is cronyism for businesses that support the current administration. That's what's been going on since Walker first became governor in Jan. 2011.
They also passed special legislation for the Racine Unified School Board to allow the board president to appoint someone rather than run an election for the people to vote to fill an empty board seat. Of all who applied for the job, only two were considered. That's one more example where this legislature deems it to be okay to take away the rights of the people. I am sure there is a long list of this type of legislation that we don't know anything about. Expect that list to grow exponentially.
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