Are local governments truly destitute and in desperate need of a massive increase of taxpayer funding? See charts above.
Why should state taxpayers bail out the lavish and reckless pension plans of the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County?
How much has the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County paid towards their pension plans for the last twenty years? Is this a case where the irresponsible local politicians, rather than fully paying for the pension they promised their government employees, just kicked the can down the road to create this bailout crisis?
Since all the locals that testified said it wasn’t enough, how long before the state is back at the table with another influx?
During negotiations, how much did the locals say it would take to actually solve the problems?
Was there any consideration of placing limits on local governments preventing them from allowing outside funding and administration of elections?
Some of these communities have gone to referendum to ask for more money and been denied. Towns under 3,000 population, and there are more than a thousand of them, can raise taxes by a vote at an annual meeting. Does the state want to be in the business of second-guessing the residents, and simply taking tax dollars out of a different pocket?