JEFFERSON, Wis. – Last week, leaders from town, city, village, and county government joined those representing Jefferson County at the state and national level for the “Spring Legislative Breakfast” held at the Jefferson County Courthouse. This event, the second of its kind, provided a collaborative opportunity for those leaders to share things they are proud of in their community, what they wanted to bring to others’ attention, and ways to partner in the future to accomplish shared priorities.
Jefferson County Administrator Michael Luckey opened the event highlighting some of the county’s requests in the upcoming state budget and goals identified by the County Board of Supervisors. Those included a more equitable split of circuit court costs, funding of the nonfederal share of certain mental health programs, advocacy for new housing development and rehab, support for farmland preservation and parks programs, an update on the tremendous economic development momentum in the county, and a request for clarity and certainty of reimbursement through existing federal grant agreements.
Representatives from the offices of U.S. Senators Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin spoke as well. Pam Travis from Sen. Johnson’s office presented his priorities on fiscal responsibility and transparency and gave updates on federal legislation and investigations. Christopher Bogan from Sen. Baldwin’s office spoke about constituent services and offered the Senator’s assistance with grants or other federal programs.
State Senator Melissa Ratcliffe (16th Senate District) and State Representatives Brienne Brown (43rd Assembly District), Joan Fitzgerald (46th Assembly District), and William Penterman (38th Assembly District) commented on the first few months of this legislative session and the upcoming biennial state budget. Ratcliffe focused on education, property taxes, local road aids, and Medicaid expansion for postpartum care. Brown also touched on that final point as well as a bill before the Committee on Agriculture that creates a pilot program for pasture grazing. Fitzgerald talked about her support of healthy school breakfast and lunch assistance, a bill that deals with PTSD coverage under workers compensation, a bipartisan bill she co-authored for a sales tax exemption for gun safes, and local road aids. Penterman shared his perspective on some of those topics as well, adding his thoughts on budget priorities such as fiscal responsibility, the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program, eliminating the Governor’s proposed tax increases, and prohibiting foreign adversaries from owning Wisconsin farmland.
Commentary from the many Town Board Chairs in attendance centered on support for grant applications, road aid, and assistance with Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Priorities from Jefferson County’s cities and villages, shared in remarks by Fort Atkinson City Manager Rebecca Houseman, included EMS issues such as paramedic education and Medicaid increases for nonemergency transport, support for housing development, communication and design requests with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and a request to give local government some autonomy to pursue diverse and creative revenue streams.
The event concluded with a question and answer session and an opportunity to network and begin the necessary follow-up conversations. Jefferson County plans to host another Legislative Breakfast in early December.
