Madison, Wis. – Today, the Wisconsin Policy Forum released a report titled, Public Sector Workforce Takes a Hit, highlighting how “turnover raises questions about the public sector’s ongoing ability to fill critical positions and merits the consideration of policymakers.” This data draws attention to a reality many municipalities are facing across the state, both rural and urban, as they report a growing difficulty filling critical police, public works and EMS positions.
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities’ Executive Director, Jerry Deschane, issued the following statement highlighting how legislators are needed to help address this growing problem due to Wisconsin’s broken system for funding local government:
“In Wisconsin, state tax revenues have tripled in the last 30 years and inflation is rising above 8 percent, but the share of state taxes going to support critical positions such as police, fire, EMS and other local services – including public works – has actually decreased,” said League Executive Director Jerry Deschane. “The broken system of funding local governments is leading to less emergency service personnel being available to respond to your emergency call and leading to a continual loss of trained, licensed personnel who are leaving vacancies in crucial positions. We need our state partners to join us in fixing the broken system of funding local governments.”
Read more about how state lawmakers can fix the system for how local governments are funded in this month’s edition of the League’s “The Municipality” magazine here.
