Madison— The recently discovered falsified law enforcement employee counts at Green Bay by Mayor Eric Genrich has prompted state legislators to begin work on a Truth in Reporting requirement for local governments. At issue are city budget documents that contradict Mayor
Genrich’s communications wherein he indicated that he increased the number of police officers in Green Bay. In fact, the actual number of police officers in Green Bay has decreased since he was elected, as verified by budget and personnel documents. According to recent reporting, this fact was misrepresented to the Green Bay Common Council as well.
“We simply can’t allow local governments to promote false or misrepresented data, especially when it’s on something as critical as public safety,” said State Rep. David Steffen (R-Green Bay). “The legislature is considering a billion dollar investment in our local governments this
budget cycle, but how can we do a proper needs assessment if a community is cooking their books?”
In response to the discrepancies between the Mayor’s communications and the actual number of police officers in Green Bay, both the MacIver Institute and the Green Bay Press Gazette did some fact checking. Both sources arrived at the same conclusion: the number of police officers in Green Bay today is less than the number of officers employed prior to Genrich’s term.
State Rep. John Macco (R-Ledgeview) was also astonished by the situation. “Our community depends on our elected officials to be honest and our government to be transparent,” said Rep. Macco. “It is a great disservice to our police and the citizens of Green Bay to intentionally lie about what is actually happening to the number of actual officers on our streets.”
Rep. Steffen and Rep. Macco have committed to working with their legislative colleagues to develop a Truth in Reporting requirement for all Wisconsin municipalities.
For more information please contact Representative Steffen or Representative Macco at Rep.Steffen@legis.wisconsin.gov or Rep.Macco@legis.wisconsin.gov.
