Walker's Budget Calls for $1.2 Billion in Local Aid Cuts

Madison – With 96 members of the Legislature present – 14 Democratic senators still conspicuous in their absence – Gov. Scott Walker Tuesday presented a budget that calls for $1.25 billion in cuts to local government as well as other sweeping changes.

The Capitol was still closed to all but a small number of citizens, and Democrats made a statement before Walker spoke that they believed that the closing of the building during government business was a violation of the state's open meetings law. A decision from the Dane County Circuit Court from a scheduled hearing on the legality of the closure was still awaited.

The Senate Democrats have held up action on budget bills since fleeing to Illinois almost two weeks ago to protest what they see as an assault on public workers' rights. Walker challenged the senators to return on Tuesday to avoid paralyzing the government process and costing the state $165 million in bond refinancing.

Walker has also said that the budget he was delivering relied on adjustments in his so-called "budget repair bill," the legislation that brought on weeks of round-the-clock protests at the Capitol an in the streets of Madison.

Cheers erupted from the Republican delegation as Walker strode to the podium.

Key points in Walker's budget proposal include: 

• The plan would cut $4.2 billion, or 6.7 percent, in spending that will  decrease the structural deficit by 90 percent from $2.5 billion to $250 million. This would be lower than the last eight state budgets presented by Democrats or Republicans, Walker said. 
• It would reduce state aid to public schools and local governments by $1.25 billion, Walker said. The cuts would be offset by $1.5 billion in savings from his budget repair bill. Most of those savings would come from cuts in salaries and benefits to public employees, including the elimination of most collective bargaining rights for public unions. 
• The budget would set hard caps on property tax levies in communities throughout the state. This would prevent local governments from increasing property taxes to offset cuts in state aid. 
• Walker said the proposal works toward a "serious and long-term solution" to the growing cost of the state's Medicaid program. He said individuals in the program will be asked to pay modest copays and premiums as they search for employment.
• The budget would create a reading initiative that will require all third-graders to achieve basic literacy. 
• It would expand choice and charter programs. The budget would lift the cap on the number of students eligible to participate in the Milwaukee parental choice program and phase out income eligibility requirements. 
• The budget allows any University of Wisconsin system four-year campus to create a charter school. 
• It also would allow the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and eventually UW-Milwaukee, would gain greater flexibility under the budget. The budget would give the universities greater control over how much they charge for tuition and how they spend money. 
• The budget proposal would provide additional resources to the state's DNA lab to assist criminal investigations. It also gives more money to investigators tracking online predators targeting children. 
• Walker included money in the proposal for the accelerated reconstruction of Interstate 94's Zoo interchange near Milwaukee and additional money to continue construction on I-94 between Milwaukee and Chicago. 
• It would eliminate capital gains taxes for investors in Wisconsin companies that provide jobs for people. The budget also provides tax relief for employers who hire more people to work in our state.

After introductions, Walker began the body of his address with a story of two brothers in the dairy business who were saved from financial collapse by state intervention.

"We can and must keep our promise to the people of Wisconsin that they will always come first," he said.

"We need a commitment to the future so that our children don't face consequences even more dire than those we face today."

Walker said that the biennial budget he was about to present relied on the changes in his controversial budget repair bill.

"We need the savings in the budget repair bill because we face a $3.6 billion deficit. Let's face it – Wisconsin is broke."

Walker said that while his budget contained some $1.25 billion dollars in cuts that would affect local government, the budget repair bill would provide $1.5 billion in savings.

"This is why it is so vitally important that our Senate Democrats return to do their jobs," Walker said. If they don't, he said, it would result in severe job losses in schools across Wisconsin.

Walker said that he would lift caps on the number of children that can be enrolled in charter and choice schools, and that dividing up the University of Wisconsin System would give greater flexibility to each separate campus and would result in improved higher education.

"Public safety remains a priority," Walker said, promising to strengthen truth in sentencing. Walker has specifically exempted police officers from the cuts in benefits and bargaining rights that would affect most other public employees.

Walker repeated his campaign promise to create 250,000 jobs, touting public-private partnerships that would stimulate the economy and bring business to Wisconsin, along with his vow to step up the construction of the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee County.

People at all strata of the economy need property tax relief, Walker said, "and this budget delivers."

"We are returning to frugality," Walker said, "now and into the future."

Walker invoked the memory of Gov. Tommy Thompson's efforts to bring fiscal stability to the state, and ended his speech to applause, saying:

"We can do it and we will do it. Working together, I know we can do it."