(Waukesha, WI) The following is a statement from Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow regarding the State Assembly’s plan to solve Milwaukee’s pension crisis and fund local governments:
“Today, Assembly Republicans handed many Democrats exactly what they’ve wanted, a bailout of Milwaukee’s out of control pension fund in the form of sales tax increases for the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. Unfortunately, their plan doesn’t give us what we needed; a solution to the problems created by an outdated state revenue formula and decades of unfunded state mandates. The new money provided under the proposal falls far short of what a low-tax county like Waukesha needs to fight crime, support our 911 dispatchers, and keep our roads and the public safe. In fact, if unchanged, the new spending proposal would barely cover the cost of inflation in one year of our county budget. Making matters worse, the plan attaches just enough strings to tie our hands and prevent us from using the funds in the best way possible.
“Waukesha County is the lowest spending county per person in the state and has the second lowest tax rate, yet Assembly Republicans drafted a plan that favors our high tax neighbors to the east and leaves us nearly out of options to fund public safety priorities.
Despite the rumors that this is a done deal, I hope our Senators do what our representatives in the Assembly did not do; stand up for their constituents and support a long-term proposal that actually benefits Waukesha County.”
