Doyle Budget Promises Increased Aid For Cities

In answer to a question posed by the Oshkosh Northwestern on levy limits, I said this: "The Democrats now control the governor’s office and the state Senate. Every Democrat elected in November including the governor said that they are either against local levy limits or for allowing levies to grow by more than 2%. City Councils across the state, including ours in Oshkosh, need to hold them to their word."

If a report in the Sunday Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is accurate, it looks like the governor is ready to keep his word and will call for allowing levies to grow by 4%. He'll also be proposing rewards for frugal local governments:

• Providing $88 million in potential bonus payments, starting in 2009, to be shared by local governments that increase their levies at 85% or less of the maximum allowed.
• Rewarding local governments that didn't levy all they could have in property taxes last year by letting them add those unused amounts to what they can levy this fall.

Neither of those rewards will be of much help to the city of Oshkosh in 2007. However, the governor is also proposing an increase in shared revenue, which WILL help; but the increase is only a paltry 1.5%. The state government's systematic underfunding of the shared revenue program has been devestating to Oshkosh, and is the single biggest reason for our budget woes. Pressue must be put on the governor's office and the majority Democrats in the state senate to restore that program to a level that would make it clear that the state is committed to funding a basic set of services for all municipalities regardless of their income levels.

Doyle's proposals will help cities, but let's be clear that they are at best baby steps.