Never Admitting Error, Republicans Defend Their Wrongs - - This Time, Election Rigging

No surprise that Wisconsin Republicans will not apologize for or withdraw their efforts to rig recall elections by recruiting fake Democratic candidates.

Or even admit there's anything wrong with it:  this was GOP talk radio shill Charlie Sykes' take on the issue Monday morning for his AM 620 WTMJ listeners, too:

'So what?'

And this from the party that just pushed through the Legislature an unneeded Voter ID (read: suppression) bill to fix an election system that was not broken - - just not partisan enough in cities and on college campuses where Democrats vote to suit their one-party tastes - -  to fixing elections altogether.

Have they been studying election reform essays by deposed Soviet bloc commissars, or the Putin regime?

Here's how Putin works, according to this media report:

The Kremlin's opponents have long accused it of manipulating party politics from behind the scenes. They say one of the most common methods has been to use "fake" opposition parties to steal votes from their real rivals. (emphasis added.)

Sound familiar?

From George Bush and the unnecessary invasion of Iraq, to Paul Ryan's assault on Medicare, to Scott Walker's erasure of collective bargaining rights for public employees in Wisconsin, Republicans act recklessly and then stand fast, even when they are objectively wrong - - and
 never admit they have made a mistake - - regardless of the circumstances.

Or the consequences - - which for Walker and his election-meddlers should come as early as July 12, unless their straw candidate tactic creates fake primaries, thus pushing the recalled candidates' even-more-deserved defeats six weeks further down the road.

Admission Of Triple Meltdown Should End Talk Of Nuclear Power Expansion, Doncha' Think?

Three reactor meltdowns, the Japanese now concede, pretty much puts the kibosh on nuclear power plant expansions.

As the Germans have decided.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper Sues To Remove Estabrook Dam

Here is the group's statement, in full:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 1, 2011
Contact:

Karen Schapiro, Executive Director (414) 507-7049

Cheryl Nenn, Riverkeeper: (414) 378-3043

Milwaukee Riverkeeper Files Suit to Bring Down Estabrook Dam

MILWAUKEE – Today, Milwaukee Riverkeeper filed a lawsuit against Milwaukee County, the owner and operator of the Estabrook Dam, for failing to maintain the dam in good repair and condition.

Milwaukee Riverkeeper is requesting that the court declare the structure a public nuisance and order that it be removed.

The Estabrook Dam, located on the Milwaukee River just south of Hampton Avenue between Glendale and Milwaukee, has been in decline for decades and Milwaukee County has not addressed numerous outstanding maintenance and repair requirements pursuant to state dam safety regulations, as well as orders issued by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR).

In July 2009, based on a determination that the dam was “dangerous to life, health, and property,” the WDNR issued Milwaukee County a “Formal Order to Repair or Abandon,” requiring that the dam be drawn down immediately and kept open until completion of all repairs.

The County was also required to provide written notification to the WDNR of its intent to repair or abandon the dam by January 29, 2011. The County failed to meet that deadline, instead noting that it was still considering its options.

According to Milwaukee Riverkeeper Executive Director Karen Schapiro, “as far back as 1995, WDNR ordered the County to make repairs to the dam. Sixteen years later necessary repairs have still not been made.”

Ms. Schapiro added, “the County has failed to maintain the dam in good condition as required by Wisconsin laws and it is presenting a serious hazard for all who recreate in the area. After decades of inaction, we have no choice but to push for its permanent removal through a lawsuit.”

Cheryl Nenn, Milwaukee Riverkeeper, further explained, ”removal of the Estabrook Dam will not only help to improve water quality and fish passage in the Milwaukee River, it will also save taxpayer dollars.”

Nenn noted that it will cost the Milwaukee County an estimated $1.5 million to properly repair the dam to extend its lifetime for 20 years. In addition, the County would need to spend at least $1.3 million in maintenance costs over 20 years and $2 -3.5 million for removal of contaminated sediment behind the dam. In contrast, at an estimated $650,000 for dam removal, plus $2 – 3.5 for sediment removal, it would cost the County far less to bring the dam down.

Plus, the County would be eligible to apply for federal and state grants for dam removal.

“Clearly, removal of the Estabrook Dam is in the best interest of the Milwaukee River and the community,” Nenn added.

-30-

Milwaukee Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect water quality and wildlife habitat in the river corridors and to advocate for sound land use in the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic River Watersheds.

Riverkeeper’s core programming involves patrolling, monitoring and advocating on behalf of the rivers. Milwaukee Riverkeeper is a member of the Waterkeeper® Alliance, an international coalition dedicated to clean water and healthy communities.

As Riverkeeper, the organization identifies sources of pollution, responds to citizen concerns, and works collaboratively to find solutions to problems affecting our local rivers.

State Sen. Alberta Darling Busy Giving Away Your Money

Republicans gave Alberta Darling the Senate Co-Chairmanship of the budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance, and she's using her power to raise your taxes and making special interests the rewarded recipients.

Two Fridays ago, she and Republican Assembly co-chair Robin Vos added a budget provision mandating that all local government highway work projects of more than $100,000 be awarded to private road-building firms - - a move that would raise the price of these jobs.

Even State Senate President Mike Ellis blasted it as a "stupid" giveaway - - but it's still in the budget draft that Darling - - the River Hills senator facing a recall election, and Vos - - a Racine County representative - - are writing.

Said Ellis in a written statement:

“At a time when we should be encouraging local governments to save money and to get the best deal on their taxpayer money as they possibly can, here we are discouraging an effective means of keeping highway project costs under control. Why on earth would we discourage cooperation between communities for the benefit of taxpayers?

“Whatever happened to honoring local control? The state simply should not be in the business of micromanaging local government, especially when the state’s interference is almost guaranteed to increase local costs.”

Ellis said the provision “doesn’t pass the smell test.” It hurts local government, he said, and is costly to the taxpayer.

“The only ones who seem to benefit are the road builders. Last session I criticized Governor Doyle’s unnecessary and costly auto insurance changes as a payoff to the trial lawyers. It doesn’t look any better when Republicans insert just as unnecessary and costly provisions that appear to benefit their friends.”

Then, late last Friday - - the best time, apparently, to slip pork into the budget - - Darling and Vos struck again. They added a mandate that Milwaukee taxpayers continue to pay the salaries and benefits of fired police officers convicted of crimes. This was a sop to the powerful Milwaukee police union.

Republicans talk loudly about controlling costs, but when it comes to rewarding political friends, they feel free to stick it to taxpayers, with Milwaukee residents and businesses at the top of the list.

Wisconsin Republicans Keep Adding Tax Breaks For Business - - So You Know Who Will Make Up the Shortfall

Republicans led by Alberta Darling keep shoveling pork to Big Business - - a fresh $129 million worth.

Republicans Justify Fake Candidates In Wisconsin

And these were the people pushing Voter ID to clean up elections. What a farce.

Last Week's Most-Read Blog Item - - Mike Ellis' Broadside Against Darling, Vos Road-Builder Giveaway

The complete text of the State Senate (R) President's attack on the Darling (R)-Vos (R) "stupid" move. Worth a read.

More On Darling, Vos' 11th-Hour Friday Hit To Milwaukee Taxpayers

Over the weekend, I posted an item about the decision at the close of business Friday by Joint Fiance Committee Co-Chairs Alberta Darling and Robin Vos to force Milwaukee-only taxpayers to continue to pay salaries and benefits to law-breaking police officers while their appeals wend their way through the system.

No other community's taxpayers have to do this by legislative fiat, but these Republicans awarded this favor to the Milwaukee Police Association, a well-connected union.

Why did the GOP put back into state law what the legislature removed in 2008, rectifying years of fiscal unfairness and obeisance to one powerful union?

Turns out these so-called pro-taxpayer legislators threw the Milwaukee cops a bone because Joint Finance voted to add into Walker-s union-busting approach a bit of equity when it came to state-mandated changes to police and firefighter health care and pension payments.

Walker had exempted police and firefighters from the mandated contribution changes, thus giving them special consideration and higher take-home pay, too.

So Joint Finance in its budget-writing capacity partially corrected the imbalance by making new police and fire fighter hires pay the larger health and pension amounts other public employees would pay under Walker's plan (blocked for now by a Madison court, and under appeal today at the State Supreme Court by the Walker administration).

And to mollify the MPA, rewrote state law to force Milwaukee to retain on paid status officers convicted of crimes but who are still appealing their cases. Which can take years.

Irony of ironies: Republicans have been blasting "union bosses" and "big labor" for months, years...but is there a more powerful union around the Capitol than the MPA?

The state budget-writing committee has answered that question for you.

Boehner Dismisses Auto Industry Turn Around

Republicans cannot give Barack Obama one iota of credit, so they want and need a high misery index, they think, to help boost GOP turnout in the 2012 presidential election.

The rest of us need to turn them out of office instead.

Discounting the importance of the US auto industry recovery - - up from the depths to which Republicans and George Bush sank the entire economy - - is a mean-spirited and plain stupid response to the success of an emergency, time-limited federal program that saved tens of thousands of American jobs and has helped build and sell millions of more efficient and better-built vehicles.

How Can Walker Appeal Judge Sumi's Ruling To The State Supreme Court?

Today's big showdown at the Stata Supreme Court is the Walker administration's effort to overturn Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi's permament injunction barring implementation of Walker's union-busting bill.

But as Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel notes in this fine analysis of the issues, the Walker administration was not an original complainant against the Sumi ruling.

Those complainants were Republicans in the State Senate involved in passing the measure with procedures so flawed as to be illegal, but they are not filing the appeal and have chosen not to even testify before Sumi before she made her ruling

I'm not a lawyer, so I ask but how the Walker administration even have standing to get in fromt of the Court in the first place?

Who Thought Up Walker's Union-Busting Bombshell? Anyone...Walker...Huebsch...Bueller

Glad to see that the Journal Sentinel is looking to establish the origin of the union-busting plan.

How come no one in Walker's office, or his DOA, or the Gov. himself has stepped forward and said, "my idea?"

Or should that be, "my bad?"

Wisconsin Republicans Looking To Rig Recall Elections With Straw Opponents

Having just pushed through a Voter ID bill to repair elections that were not broken, Republicans are now busy trying to fix elections, period.

Dan Bice reports that Republican strategists (sic) are trying to recruit fake Democrats to run in some recall elections - - sowing false Democratic discord, forcing primaries and heavier Democratic expenditures - - so that the Republicans will be able to split the Democratic vote, string out the process and perhaps hang on.

Dick Nixon and his legacy of dirty tricks is alive and well in his partu.

Sen. Lena Taylor Wows in South Dakota

The Milwaukee Democratic State Senator brought the crowd at the annual South Dakota Democratic Party dinner to its feet with an account of the political struggles in Wisconsin and its connections to fights against The Right elsewhere. I was in the crowd; she did us all proud Saturday night.

Darling, Republicans, Serve Milwaukee Cops A Late-Night Snack Of Budget Pork

Honest to God, I wonder how these people sleep at night.

Isn't it hard to get comfortable with two faces to put on a pillow?

After pledging no more late-night budgeting shenanigans, and shedding torrents of crocodile tears over the plight of the poor, burdened taxpayer, the co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee - - I'm looking at you, Republican fiscal phonies Alberta ("How Many Reasons Do You Need To Recall Me") Darling and Robin Vos - - slipped into the budget an amendment at closing time that forces Milwaukee taxpayers only to continue paying police officers removed by the chief for misconduct.

The amendment has no statewide fiscal impact and has no place in the budget. It's pure, special-interest meddling aimed at one city and its taxpayers.

This unfair sop to the Milwaukee Police Association had been awarded by the Legislature years ago, and corrected only two or so years ago -- but now it's back in the sleaziest of procedures.

Remember when Scott Walker himself promised that there would be an end to budgeting slime?

If this sticking-it-again-to-Milwaukee ripoff isn't removed on the floor of one body or the other, then Walker should veto it.

In case you forget what Walker said on his campaign website about these matters, I will reprint it below from a posting of mine just last week.

In fact I've even proposed - in terms of the budget process, but it would apply to anything - other things that would help transparency," he said. "I don't think there should be any votes in closed caucus, on any issue. If a county board or school board can't discuss a budget in private, then the state Legislature certainly should not. There should not be any closed caucuses on the budget."

"And I would make it, by statute, that the Legislature can't vote on anything after 10 at night or before 9 in the morning," Walker said. "They did things this last (budget) at 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. As I tell my staff, nothing good happens after midnight. But they did it on purpose because not only do they not want average persons to know, they don't want reporters with deadlines to know - after 10 you miss the nightly TV news and you're not in print for the daily newspapers. They push it back on a Saturday, hoping people won't read about things like that"

Wisconsin Republicans Open To Flinching, Survival

Within 24 hours, Scott Walker walked back his "I'll sign any" concealed firearms pledge and Joint Finance dropped Walker's scheme to suspend the state's enforcement of consensus regulations designed to keep phosphorus and the choking algae it promotes out of the state's lakes and trout streams.

These steps only modify Walker's radical agenda, but demonstrate that Walker, and Joint Finance's co-chair Alberta Darling understand that running the show based on the Tea Party voices in their heads could cost them everything as recall elections loom.

Saving the recalled Senators, and Walker next year could cost the Right $75 million; their funds are ample, but not unlimited as a 50-state election cycle approaches, so I see these small steps by Walker & Co. as edging back from the brink.

Our response: more pressure, with eyes on the prize.

About That Iron Mine Up North, And How It's Going To Save The Economy...

Let's hear it for institutional memory: Xoff remembers when the same firm making all those rosy projections about the Ashland iron ore mine's economic benefits goofed statistically when analyzing a business proposition in Madison in 2006.

Perhaps A Win for Environment, Business In Legislature Over Water Pollution Control

The Journal Sentinel is reporting that legislators on the budget-writing Finance Commitee are rebuffing Scott Walker's plan to suspend implementation of Wisconsin's existing, consensus-driven rules to remove polluting phosphorus runoff into state rivers, streams and lakes.

Though legislators are free to revisit the idea, it appears as if Walker's outrageous proposal is dead, for the time being.

Some quick observations:

Republicans heard effectively from conservation, outdoors', tourism, and environmental groups, plus local governments and citizens alike protesting the lack of logic in Walker's plan. Everyone knows phosphorus is algae food, and fouled waterways kill recreation.

The legislators knew if they followed Walker's lead, the US Environmental Protection Agency was likely to come into the state and take over waterway cleanup and management, further removing local inputs.

And I also think Republicans knew this would help spur the recalls pending against six of their Senate members; why give the opposition more ammo?

So for now, it feels like a victory, but we'll have to make sure pressure is maintained, and people understand - - as has been proven by a similar effort to retain the state's recycling program that Walker also tried to convince the Finance Committee to kill - - that grassroots politcking can have results.

Walker Wants Some Restrictions On Concealed Carry

A showdown with the free-to-do-anything crowd?

Freeing Development Near Milwaukee Lakefront From Freeway Chaos

We'll see how open for business Wisconsin really is.

"Accountability" In W-2 Under Walker Means The Poor Can "Drop Dead"

The Walker budget will make W-2 and its recipients more accountable, the GOP spinmeisters say - - meaning poor people will be forced off the program.

This is like "flexibility" for the UW system, which meant Walker political control of a somewhat more independent Madison campus.

Or "streamlining" at the DNR, meaning fewer rules, and less oversight of the regulated.

Remember: look behind the language when Walker and his people speak. Their mission is to obscure and dissemble, not inform.

Wisconsin Water Pollution Runoff And Runaround

A lot has been written about Gov. Walker's just plain absurd suspension of years of work to get the algae food known as phosphorus out of Wisconsin waters, but there's a story in a larger story in the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram that takes the cake:

I was writing a story about the phosphorus rules a couple months ago and I asked a top DNR water guy how the EPA felt about delaying the rules for two years. He  said the governor’s office is handling that, so I sent an email to the governor’s press secretary asking how the EPA felt about the delay, and he responded that I should talk to the DNR, they were handling that.  

Madison Attorney Lester Pines Nails The Wisconsin AG's Office

Thanks from us non-attorneys to law and political blogger Tom Foley for the link to the letter lawyer Lester Pines fired off to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court in defense of his client, State Senator Mark Miller - - and of Wisconsin judicial process. It's a great read.

Several months ago, Pines and co-counsel Susan Crawford showed their mettle with a similar smackdown aimed at Republican Senator and Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, and the full text of that letter in a blog posting here still ranks #4 in hits at The Political Environment since Google began tracking such data about a year and more than 2,000 posts ago.

The Legislature Should Follow Candidate Walker's Transparency Rules When His Budget Is Debated

To: Republican State Sen. Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald - - he of the insufficient Open Meetings notice and quick gavel FUBAR that made his management and passage of the Budget Repair (sic) Bill illegal, creating FitzWalkerStan and all that came after it, as I recall.

From: Scott Walker's Campaign Website.

Subject: Candidate Walker's promises about transparent budgeting.

Candidate Walker posted a campaign interview he did with the Lakeland Times in which which he criticized previous legislative procedures and promised an amazingly open budget debate.

So Scott Fitzgerald and brother Jeff running things over in the Assembly might want to brush up on what are surely now-Governor Walker's budgeting expectations and rules, which include some excellent, Good Government practices, like open caucuses, and consideration of fiscal items only and reasonable hours to accommodate media and the general public.

Here's what Walker said:

"In fact I've even proposed - in terms of the budget process, but it would apply to anything - other things that would help transparency," he said. "I don't think there should be any votes in closed caucus, on any issue. If a county board or school board can't discuss a budget in private, then the state Legislature certainly should not. There should not be any closed caucuses on the budget."

What's more, he said, the budget should only entail budgetary items; there shouldn't be any nonfiscal items in it.

"And I would make it, by statute, that the Legislature can't vote on anything after 10 at night or before 9 in the morning," Walker said. "They did things this last (budget) at 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning. As I tell my staff, nothing good happens after midnight. But they did it on purpose because not only do they not want average persons to know, they don't want reporters with deadlines to know - after 10 you miss the nightly TV news and you're not in print for the daily newspapers. They push it back on a Saturday, hoping people won't read about things like that"

We Should Stop Taking The Great Lakes For Granted

Lake Superior is warming dramatically, part of a broader trend, a report notes.

More reason to stop the rush to dig a 21-mile long iron ore strip mine near the lake.

The Great Lakes are the world's largest supply of fresy surface water. We should be their stewards, not their exploiters.

Milwaukee Police Chief Pleads For Changes To Proposed "Reckless" Gun Carry Bill

Milwaukee's Police Chief implores Gov. Scott Walker to take charge of Republican legislators bent on making it as easy to carry a handgun in one's pocket as a wallet.

We'll see if Walker and others in his law-and-order party are willing to listen to the chief of Wisconsin's largest police force.

Romney The Latest Weak, Baffling and Doomed GOP Presidential Candidate

Mitt Romney, announcing today for the Republican presidential nomination, will find that voters will dismiss him as a rather plastic opportunist, without values beyond Oval Office dreaming.

When he was the Massachusetts Governor, Romney, as a progressive with business acumen, pushed through universal, mandated health care coverage there.

Now he opposes it - -  a rather substantial flip.

He also had said Republicans should be more supportive of gay rights, but now opposes gay marriage.

In other words, he is too willing to follow polls and compromise or overthrow his principles (sic) to stay with a party lurching harder and faster to the right.

In appearance and practice, Romney is stultifyingly similar to the used-up flip-flopper Newt Gingrich to find much useful support among the rabid conservatives who speak loudest and work hardest in Republican primaries.

And Independents will see him as even more boring and insubstantial - - a la the anti-charismatic Haley Barbour.

Look for Romney to fade, too.

Besides, he doesn't have fancy bus with the media in tow.

More National Media Commentary About Paul Ryan

Over at Paul Ryan Watch.

Feingold Raising Money For State Senate Recall Elections

Glad to see this, and its national ride.

Here's is Russ's website.

Is Walker's Creation Of DNR, Inc. Waiting Until After The Budget?

Walker's remake of the DNR into a business promotion arm to better serve our job creators is still pending - - last month's roll-out never happened - - what with a controversial budget, and that stalled 'budget repair bill' headed either to the State Supreme Court or the budget process as a mere amendment, and then the State Senate recalls occupying Republicans.

Here's how the plan was outlined in a memo that leaked out of the DNR.

And why it's a bad idea.

Milwaukee's Conditions For Selling Water To A City Like Waukesha, WI

People ask me, from time to time, what exactly is in the City of Milwaukee's policy resolution about selling water outside of the Great Lakes basin to a City, like Waukesha, which is pursuing a diversion of Great Lakes water and is considering Racine, Oak Creek and Milwaukee as the possible source.

Milwaukee's resolution, approved unanimously, expresses a complicated but coordinated set of steps and expectations - - all of which support regional development - - and lays them out for potential buyers' negotiators to absorb in advance.

So, from time to time, I post the full content of the City of Milwaukee's resolution, as I will do again below, with what I think are pertinent sections bold-faced:

Number

080457

Version

080457 Resolution 7/1/2008

Version: 1

Substitute resolution establishing terms and conditions by which the City of Milwaukee will provide water service to neighboring communities. ALD. BAUMAN

WATER SALES

Substitute resolution establishing terms and conditions by which the City of Milwaukee will provide water service to neighboring communities. Analysis The City of Milwaukee’s current policy for reviewing potential agreements for water service to other communities is contained in Council Resolution 980871, adopted April, 1999, as amended by Resolution 020459, adopted March 25, 2003.

This resolution rescinds the policy set forth in those resolutions, and creates a new policy for negotiating and reviewing potential agreements for water service to other communities. This new policy differs from the current policy in 3 principal ways:

1) It states that before negotiations may commence regarding an agreement for water service, the following must occur:

The Common Council directs the Milwaukee Water Works, the Legislative Reference Bureau and the Department of City Development to perform analysis and evaluation relating to the proposed agreement; these agencies shall submit their reports via a communication file not less than 7 working days prior to the Common Council committee for which it is scheduled.

The community which has applied for water service shall submit a written response to the aforementioned communication file not less than 7 working days prior to the committee hearing, providing information relating to the community’s comprehensive plan, affordable housing plan and public transportation plan.

The Common Council directs the proper City officials to begin negotiations with a community for a water service agreement. The current policy does not require that these studies be completed before negotiations may occur.

2) It creates a water service negotiating team which shall be responsible for reviewing and negotiating potential water service agreements. The team is authorized to commence negotiations upon Council adoption of a resolution directing negotiations.

3) It states that before an agreement for water service may be executed, the community which has applied for water service from the City of Milwaukee must enter into an intergovernmental agreement that contains a “non-compete” clause and an economic compensation provision.

The policy set forth in this resolution does not apply to agreements referenced in Common Council File Numbers 080011 and 080012.

Body

Whereas, The Water Works currently has significant excess capacity and could readily supply water to new customers; and

Whereas, The City of Milwaukee is widely recognized for its superior quality of drinking water, which may prompt requests for the Water Works to expand its service to new areas; and

Whereas, By providing water to other communities, the City, directly or indirectly, facilitates residential, industrial, retail and commercial growth in other communities; and

Whereas, This growth may result in lost opportunities for additional housing, jobs and tax base in the City of Milwaukee; and

Whereas, It is in the best interest of the City of Milwaukee that the Common Council establish procedures and policy criteria relating to potential agreements for water service to other communities so that such decisions can be based on timely, accurate and complete information; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, By the Common Council of the City of Milwaukee, that the provisions set forth in Resolution File Number 980871, adopted April 20, 1999, and Resolution File Number 020459, adopted March 25, 2003, establishing policy and procedure for potential water service agreements, are rescinded, and a new policy addressing those matters is created; and, be it

Further Resolved, That this policy establishes procedures and policy criteria for potential water service agreements between the City of Milwaukee and other communities, as follows:

Requirements before negotiations of a potential agreement may occur

The following criteria must be met before any negotiation of a potential water service agreement may be authorized:

1) The Water Works shall introduce and receive approval, via Common Council resolution, for the Water Works, the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) and the Department of City Development (DCD) to perform analysis, in accord with this policy, relating to a proposed water service agreement.

2) The City Clerk shall introduce a communication file to transmit Water Works, LRB and DCD analyses, and the report from the community which has applied for water service, and the Water Works, LRB, DCD and the community shall submit their analyses to the communication file not less than 7 working days prior to the date on which the file will be heard before the appropriate Council committee.

Reporting requirements

A. Milwaukee Water Works reporting requirements

The Milwaukee Water Works shall submit to the communication file a written evaluation of the water service request including a feasibility analysis of the proposed sale of water, which shall include, but not be limited to, increased revenue, cost of production, effect on the City's water rates, impact on capacity utilization and any required capital costs, and other information the Water Works deems relevant to the Council's consideration.

B. Legislative Reference Bureau reporting requirements

The LRB shall submit to the communication file a written report that analyzes and evaluates the following:

B-1. The reason for the request for water (e.g. is the request for water the result of a water shortage, water contamination, public health concerns, drought or some other conditions).

B-2. The economic profile of the community, including tax rate, assessed valuation per capita, median household income, per capita income and median home value.

B-3. Poverty rates, minority representation and other demographic and community characteristic data it finds to be pertinent.

B-4. The current status and an analysis of past and future trends relating to the availability of public transportation and affordable housing.

B-5. The environmental impact of the proposed sale.

B-6. Other information that the bureau finds pertinent to the Common Council’s consideration of the proposed water service request.

C. Department of City Development reporting requirements

The DCD shall submit to the communication file a written report that analyzes and evaluates the following:

C-1. Whether the water can be used directly or indirectly to facilitate new residential, industrial, retail or commercial development in the community which has applied for water service, and the value of such development and the number of new jobs and residents that such development will generate.

C-2. Potential negative social and economic impacts on the City due to lost opportunities for attracting new businesses and jobs to Milwaukee, and the loss of businesses and jobs that exist in Milwaukee.

C-3. The current land use patterns in the community which has applied for water service and expected trends in land use if Milwaukee provides water to the community.

D. Reporting requirements for the community which has applied for water service

In addition, for purposes of Common Council review, the community which has applied for water service from the City of Milwaukee shall submit a written report to the aforementioned communication file indicating that the community has adopted and implemented:

D-1. A comprehensive plan pursuant to s. 66.1001, Wis. Stats., and, if the plan has not been completed, indicate the status of the community’s compliance with each of the 9 requirements which comprise s. 66.1001 (2), Wis. Stats.

D-2. A comprehensive housing plan and can demonstrate that such plan has resulted in the creation of affordable housing opportunities that have resulted in racial, age and income diversification, with data on the percentage of population in assisted and affordable housing that is age 30 or less, above age 30 and below 65, and age 65 and above.

D-3. A comprehensive public transportation plan and can demonstrate that such plan has resulted in the expansion and improvement of public transportation links between persons living in the City of Milwaukee and job opportunities in the community which has applied for water service. Such plan may include, but is not limited to, participation and inclusion in the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Transportation Authority or an equivalent entity.

3) The Water Works shall introduce and receive approval, via Common Council resolution directing the City negotiating team to begin negotiations with a community for a water service agreement, and any negotiations with a community which has applied for water service from the City of Milwaukee shall consider the analyses provided in the aforementioned communication file.

The negotiating team shall be composed of the Mayor, or the Mayor’s designee; the City Attorney, or the City Attorney’s designee; the Superintendent of the Milwaukee Water Works; the Common Council President, or the President’s designee; the Comptroller, or the Comptroller’s designee; the Director of the Budget and Management Division, or designee; and one representative from the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Before an agreement for water service may be executed the community which has applied for water service must enter into an intergovernmental agreement that contains a “non-compete” clause and an economic compensation provision that is substantially similar to the “Cleveland Agreement” which is attached to this file; provided, however, the precise amount of economic compensation shall depend on the particular circumstances of the community which has applied for water service.

; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Common Council directs all City departments and agencies to cooperate with the Milwaukee Water Works, Legislative Reference Bureau and the Department of City Development in providing all necessary information for studies of proposed water service agreements pursuant to this resolution; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the policy set forth in this resolution does not apply to agreements referenced in Common Council File Numbers 080011 and 080012.

"Walkerville" Is A Capitol Idea

When the Republicans vote on Scott Walker's punish-the-cities, enrich the already-rich state budget, perhaps with his union-busting provisions inserted to sidestep the State Supreme Court, it looks like it will all take place in the shadow of a new downtown and democratic Madison neighborhood named after Walker himself.

Learning Nothing From Their Self-Inflicted Open Meetings Fiasco, GOP Ready To Ignore Another Law

Last time, the statute-breaking was led by Gov. Scott Walker and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, rushing their so-called Budget Repair Bill through an illegal vote, and spinning Wisconsin into FitzWalkerStan, Land of Recalls.

This time the same Republican strategists are getting ready to flout a new law - - their law - - requiring a two-thirds vote in the Legislature on any measure that raises taxes.

Remember that's what Republicans rushed into state law in February, right after Walker was elected, to outfox what they were sure would be tax increases proposed by Democrats some day.

Oops: Now the Republicans are advancing through the Committee on Joint Finance that they control a budget that raises taxes on the working poor - - something I pointed out three months ago and which has been there in plain sight since Walker's budget was leaked to me - - but since it's only an increase on the working poor - - and not on real people in the GOP's country-club world - - the Republicans feel they can ignore the new two-thirds' threshold they created.

Get ready to watch Republicans argue - - while hoisted awkwardly by their own petard - - that the tax increase that the Legislature's non-partisan advisory staff says is a tax increase somehow isn't a tax increase.

PolitiFact decided it was a tax increase and graded Walker down for breaking a campaign promise not to raise taxes.

Prediction: We'll witness Republicans pass their budget on a majority vote basis - - in other words, break the law - - and throw the state into fresh chaos. And into court, for sure.

Again.

You know what they say about people who keeping repeating the same bad, unproductive, self-defeating behaviors?

State Sen. Dan Kapanke, Facing Recall, Hopes Public Employees Sleep Through The Election

Guess who just woke up the electorate?

I Guess Chris Christie Really Doesn't Want To Run For President

If this is how New Jersey's cost-conscious Republican Governor uses state resources:

"Christie Takes State Copter to Son’s Ballgame"

For pointers, Christie could Google, or call Scott McCallum. 

DNR Wardens To The State Capitol Monday? How Come??

Is there a big budget vote Monday? Is Walker getting the union-busting bill added to the budget?

My reliable sources are reporting that DNR wardens are being told to report to the State Capitol building Monday.

More later...

State Sen. President Ellis Calls Giveaway To Road-Builders Stupid, Senseless And Wasteful

I had noted earlier today on my blog the blatant giveaway that Republican budget-writing committee chairs Alberta Darling and Robin Vos inserted into the bill as the holiday weekend approached Friday that basically privatized most local government road work.

Darling's fellow Senator and President Mike Ellis has today weighed in - - calling the idea was "stupid," and wasteful, and senseless - - and said he'd try and pull it from the budget.

So is anyone coordinating this budget-writing in the Walker era, or is it every porker for him/herself?

Ellis' statement, in full, posted today on The Wheeler Report:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    June 1, 2011

Ellis Blasts Finance Vote on Transportation

A provision inserted in the state budget that prohibits counties and municipalities from using their own employees on highway improvement projects is a senseless assault on local control and state taxpayers, state Senator Michael Ellis charged today.

“This is stupid,” Ellis said. “I will definitely have an amendment to remove this senseless provision when the budget comes to the state senate.

“In times of economic uncertainty and diminished government budgets, we should be encouraging local government to find savings wherever they can. In fact, that’s the entire premise behind Governor Walker’s plan to scale back collective bargaining for many public employees – to provide the tools local governments can use to find savings in employee fringe benefits, retirement and other employment-related areas in order to better deal with drastic reductions in state aids.”

Ellis said it doesn’t make any sense that the Joint Committee on Finance has voted to take away a very effective tool that many towns and municipalities have used to control the costs of repair and upkeep of their local roads.

Last week, the committee voted to prohibit local governments from using their own workforce to perform highway improvement projects under their jurisdiction if the project costs more than $100,000.

In addition, local governments are prohibited from doing any public construction, public works project or construction-related service for or with another unit of government under any agreement or arrangement, including, without limitation, an intergovernmental cooperative agreement or under local government purchasing provisions.

“Prohibiting counties and municipalities from using their own employees and from cooperating with other local governments will force those governments to use private contractors who pay a higher prevailing wage, thus increasing costs to local taxpayers, Ellis said.

“At a time when we should be encouraging local governments to save money and to get the best deal on their taxpayer money as they possibly can, here we are discouraging an effective means of keeping highway project costs under control. Why on earth would we discourage cooperation between communities for the benefit of taxpayers?

“Whatever happened to honoring local control? The state simply should not be in the business of micromanaging local government, especially when the state’s interference is almost guaranteed to increase local costs.”

Ellis said the provision “doesn’t pass the smell test.” It hurts local government, he said, and is costly to the taxpayer.

“The only ones who seem to benefit are the road builders. Last session I criticized Governor Doyle’s unnecessary and costly auto insurance changes as a payoff to the trial lawyers. It doesn’t look any better when Republicans insert just as unnecessary and costly provisions that appear to benefit their friends.”

In State Budget, Quiet Gift To Road-Builders Slipped In Friday Before Holiday Weekend

You'd think that more billions for the road-builders in the Walker budget would keep that politically-savvy lobby happy.

Wrong.

I'm told that last Friday, as the Joint Committee on Finance wound down towards the three-day Memorial Day weekend, it voted to add to Scott Walker's proposed budget a fresh giveaway to the road-builders: a requirement that all 72 Wisconsin Counties hire private contractors for any job over $100,000.

And the measure bars counties and other municipalities from performing such work for another unit of government - - so a village can't contract with a County to get an intersection rebuilt, for example, if the cost exceeds $100,000.

All this work is to be privatized - - even though the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has said and documented that private contracting for road-building costs the public more money.

These items are in the Omnibus Transportation Motion, sections 18-20, which was sprung as motion #352 before Joint Finance Friday around noon, and was sponsored by the co-chairs, Republicans Robin Vos and Alberta Darling.

[Update - - Republican State Senate President Mike Ellis angrily and it great detail Wednesday afternoon threw Darling and Vos under the bus, calling the measure "stupid" while pledging to kill it.]

Set aside reacting to this solely as a fresh blow to local control and decision-making - - a concept tossed overboard when Walker and his legislative allies rushed through their elimination of collective bargaining for virtually public employees.

And it's more than a further transfer of public dollars to private interests who supported Walker and his fellow Republicans, though these examples are piling up.

This one has a public safety consequence:

Counties repave roads in the summer and plow them in the winter. Many county workers perform both duties.

If you strip the road-building money from their budgets, the Counties, now under state-mandated revenue limitations, cannot retain their plow operators when it snows.

So you say, "Oh, I get it. Another way to get rid of public employees - - making it a conservatives' two-fer, with more public money going to private-sector firms."

Not so fast:

Modern snow plows are not just dump tricks with big blades: They are sophisticated vehicles, requiring mastery, in bad weather, of road surface temperature sensors that govern when and where and what sort of mix to put down, as well proficiency with specialized vision technology that allows drivers to operate in blinding snow.

Bottom line:

If the Joint Finance committee and the full legislature retain this new, self-dealing pork buffet for the road-builders and asphalt-suppliers (hello, Koch Industries), you might not want to meet a snow plow coming the other way this winter.

Or get out on the highways, which, as we are told over and over again, are the links that keep jobs filled and the economy flowing.

Walker, Darling Busy Rewarding Their Friends With Budget-Writing Power

This is the way the Republican Party operates in Wisconsin: Put into the state budget more tax breaks and therefore increased public money channeled to the wealthy - - paid for, in part, with higher tax collections laid on the working poor [the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal program, is being scaled back by Scott Walker and the budget-writing committee, c0-chaired by River Hills Republican Stat Senator Alberta Darling].

Scott Walker, and his GOP legislative water-carriers are using the budget-writing process and the public treasury - - our money - - to enrich the wealthiest and business owners who already enjoy a plethora of tax breaks.

Who will write them "thank you" checks - - which Darling and Walker will stoop low, very low to take, and deposit, and use to fend off the recall elections coming their way.

Yet Another Wisconsin Tax Break For The Wealthiest

The Institute for Wisconsin's Future explains how it works:

Excuse me. Governor Walker said Wisconsin was broke. Can we afford to give money away?

There they go again -- those crazy kids in the Wisconsin legislature want to spend millions of dollars that we don't have. This Thursday, June 2, the Assembly Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on a bill to cut taxes on investment profit. Under this bill, AB 85, investors do not have to pay any state taxes on 60% of investment profits.

How much will this cost the state? The Wisconsin Department of Revenue estimates the state will lose $118 million in revenue for  2012, $113 million in  2013, and $127 million every year after that. 

Who wins?  The tax cut would give the top one percent of taxpayers (millionaires) over $5,400 apiece. A small number of middle class families earning $70,000 a year could cash in and collect — $88. People who earn their money by building homes, producing machinery, caring for the sick or protecting families from fire and crime do NOT get this tax break.

Who loses? Wisconsin would lose over $230 million in revenue in the 2011-2013 budget if the bill passes. That means even larger school classes, fewer fire and police personnel, less road repairs, more cuts in services for the elderly, children and people with disabilities.     

                                                                                  

The AB 85 tax cut on capital gains is a gift to the richest people in the state, a gift  the rest of us can’t afford.

The lead authors are Rep. Ziegelbauer and Sen. Leibham. The hearing will be held in Room 328 NW. Let them know what you think of their plan. You can let the rest of the committee know how you feel too.

The following link will give you a list of members with hot links to their contact information.

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/commpages/IndividualCommittee.aspx?COMMITTEE=Ways+and+Means&HOUSE=Assembly

PS -- What are capital gains? 

-- Capital gains are profits from selling stocks, investment real estate, bonds and expensive  assets like art. 

-- Home sales are not included unless the profit is over $500,000.  

-- Retirement accounts are treated as ordinary income with no capital gains tax break.                                 

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