tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304222062024-03-07T01:17:19.336-06:00Janesville - Rock CountyInteractive citizen grassroots commentary counterbalancing the biased reporting and socio-political campaigns used by the local media to influence public opinion in Rock County, Wisconsin.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2905125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-15546771306887275482022-01-04T12:51:00.001-06:002022-01-05T09:38:39.625-06:00Top Ten Stories In Janesville 2021<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0-CVK4mPtoodcvh3gP_0d0J2NPGXoVWG1ViSgPLyxuNdrgskiiI0dxOtLWLNFBQGgQhLs6xJwjRJzfbm4EJ0GY1hu_TFmBR6xZ7EQZP3yhv69Tc48Pe0FZ0zQV033ahh4DrcqrXiVSNLpdaAs2BjjqIlRg3iir642-KEnl-dmvQAcUFzVPkk=s887" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="887" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0-CVK4mPtoodcvh3gP_0d0J2NPGXoVWG1ViSgPLyxuNdrgskiiI0dxOtLWLNFBQGgQhLs6xJwjRJzfbm4EJ0GY1hu_TFmBR6xZ7EQZP3yhv69Tc48Pe0FZ0zQV033ahh4DrcqrXiVSNLpdaAs2BjjqIlRg3iir642-KEnl-dmvQAcUFzVPkk=s320"/></a></div>
#10 The influential lobby Forward Janesville, who previously endorsed every local tax hike imaginable, shut down a city proposal for a new transportation utility tax for streets when they discovered their membership businesses, religious orgs and non-profits were not exempt.
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#9 SHINE dropped "Medical" from its name, became an affiliate of pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps Koch Network, picked up a $35M Federal grant, announced expanding in the Netherlands and caught the attention of Propublica.
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#8 The hole left on the city's southside grows deeper as the owner/developer of the former GM site auctions off the property. The southside becomes the portrait of the city's recovery efforts after a top official calls the move "cut and run."<br><br>
#7 For Sale signs soon popped up on several longtime properties in the banquet and convention industry after the city signaled taxpayer funds to remodel the privately owned Uptown Mall. More collateral losses are expected in 2022.<br><br>
#6 A private equity firm buys a 100 year old manufacturer in former union town Janesville then moves production to Mexico leaving 160 employees out in the cold.<br><br>
#5 Unsportsmanlike conduct at area high schools goes beyond the game field as teens mock opposing cities with veiled racist and classist memes. Adults on social media say it's all in fun. But when the score is run up ...outrage!<br><br>
#4 With every attempt by the city to catalyze growth for wealthy north side and downtown elites, disenfranchised south side residents take to social media asking for basics are ignored.<br><br>
#3 The suggestion by the Jets owner to use COVID-19 relief money on a new ice arena was headline news in Janesville. But instead of outright rejection and shame, 6 of 7 city council members embraced the idea and earmarked $2M for designer plans.<br><br>
#2 Residents see rocketing quarterly utility bills and the vehicle tax doubled yet again as the city shifts more property tax obligations to utility billing while maintaining and increasing the levy draw.<br><br>
#1 Janesville continues to flounder without an elected mayor and city council representative of its neighborhoods.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-35319407753127233172021-09-09T10:49:00.013-05:002021-09-11T12:09:20.727-05:00Failed City Hall Hustles Three Card Monte To Scam Residents Yet Again.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2OkUhqG-RQhLjM1IfQTak5X99gV0S1OhjoQt4jruEpzZqaptBHL0skjx0BZQyE9cTZ9-evf2rjYEBVRWTYzOcHaCPG_y8TiSwzKWVdpI54KexeHG2ruENfRcQMv4-XVj0IjhcQ/s1400/monte.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX2OkUhqG-RQhLjM1IfQTak5X99gV0S1OhjoQt4jruEpzZqaptBHL0skjx0BZQyE9cTZ9-evf2rjYEBVRWTYzOcHaCPG_y8TiSwzKWVdpI54KexeHG2ruENfRcQMv4-XVj0IjhcQ/s320/monte.jpg"/></a></div>
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Here it comes again bay bay!!<br><br>Fool me once, shame on you, fool me again ...oh never mind.<br><br>
The last street hustle Janesville residents fell for, the $3M water main charge city hall operators shifted from property tax billing to utility billing while leaving the property tax levy draw intact, worked so well they may as well do it again. <br><br>
This time they're shifting curb and gutter property tax obligations to the utility and doubling the wheel tax. Much like the water main scam, what is left behind in property tax collections is the prize they seek.<br><br>
Right now, residents are paying ($20 annual) $1M wheel tax + $700K PROPERTY TAX curb/gutter + $700K UTILITY curb/gutter = $2.4M cash. Round figures. That doesn't include what the city gets from state, federal dollars or bonding.
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If approved, residents will pay a doubled ($40 annual) $2M wheel tax + $1.4M utility curb/gutter = $3.4M cash. Of note is that residents won't pay more for curb and gutter for now. It's currently 50% property tax and 50% utility. They intend on making the charge 100% utility. So, it's which billing statement curb/gutter is collected from that makes the difference. Again, what this latest scheme leaves behind in property tax coffers is the prize they want.
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What is left behind newly unappropriated are property tax collections that previously used to pay a $2.4M bond + the old 50% $700K curb/gutter = $3.1M. There's also $1.7M in debt service they claim we'll save on, but I'll leave that alone for another time. <br><br>If they were honest and upfront with residents, they would have to drop the local property tax levy draw from $35M to $31.9M, but they would never ever do that. They didn't decrease the local levy draw $3M last year when they shifted water main collections to utility, so why would they do it now? We paid double for it then and we'll pay double again.
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If the scheme is approved, residents will pay $3.4M combined utility fee/wheel tax PLUS $3.1M property tax collections for a whopping $6.5M cash total, but only $3.4M will be numerated for streets/curb/gutter. Again, those figures don't include state, federal or new bonding. The remaining $3.1M in property tax collections becomes a blank unappropriated lottery check they all get to deliberate over at budget time. That's the "emergency" loot they seek. </blockquote><br>There was no emergency to fund 12 miles of streets two years ago or now. Our streets aren't going to roll up like a sprung window shade if they don't do this. This isn't about meeting a Jan 1st deadline or road funding. The real emergency is a failed administration desperately trying to find money to fund their annual raises, bonuses, pensions and general payroll needs that their failed growth plan could not and never will deliver. This has been and will be an annual ritual for the foreseeable future with this group.
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This should set off alarms once again among residents. Not just about the failed growth plans or the amount of money involved, but about the continued brazen deception and half-truth con game that has become the norm at city hall and our school district in Janesville. Residents are being fleeced. We'd have better luck playing three card monte with a street magician because at least we would win a confidence game or two before the final setup. <br><br>Council members or administration officials are always welcome and free to weigh in here or correct any errors. Or at least to set the record straight. I never want to misinform readers. But don't hold your breath.<br><br><B>Note:</B> The exact amount of the annual debt payments budgeted for streets/curb/gutter and paid from the General Fund is not clear. It ranges anywhere from $1.7M to $3.1M. What is clear is city officials claim the doubled wheel tax (cash) and shift to utilities (cash) will replace the annual borrowing note for streets/curb/gutter and "save" the city $2.4M annually.
<br><br> You can read the other half of the story at the Gazette <a href="https://www.gazettextra.com/news/local/janesville-proposes-wheel-tax-increase-curb-and-gutter-charge-backs-to-pay-for-road-repairs/article_f8057e3d-c8fe-5be2-8ecf-3e233ce248e2.html">here</a> if it's not behind a paywall.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-8892352428047100262021-03-15T10:37:00.019-05:002021-03-17T16:11:35.629-05:00Shocking City Hall Scam Grips Janesville Residents Again. We Pay Twice.<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rLjeABW8tRrmNG039S5YaUgxu0Vwozc9AaCtk-F8OzmohhxllRqzA0aOMJ6A8Anog1uTOE7XN9W7_9VcRPuCyw6BGz0FMZ68cLk4skPlxc8uXILHRgYq36gvVysH4GNfQ-8r1w/s1200/shift.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rLjeABW8tRrmNG039S5YaUgxu0Vwozc9AaCtk-F8OzmohhxllRqzA0aOMJ6A8Anog1uTOE7XN9W7_9VcRPuCyw6BGz0FMZ68cLk4skPlxc8uXILHRgYq36gvVysH4GNfQ-8r1w/s320/shift.jpg"/></a></div>
Two years ago I sounded the alarm when Janesville homeowners were hit with a city-wide assessment revaluation that saw residential tax assessments rise 31% while commercial properties saw only a 13% increase. <br><br>That differential, combined with the city locking in darkstore values for connected businesses like Farm & Fleet, Menards and dozens of others, drove a significant tax shift placing a greater burden on homeowners. City operators said the revaluation will not increase taxes but was necessary so everybody pays their fair share. Some people here cried, "Conspiracy! Divider! Greedy! Counter-productive!" Not at the city, but at me.<br><br>
Last year, I warned Janesville homeowners and renters will be soaked again when the city foisted a 53% increase on our water bills to replace water mains. They said the increase on our water bills will replace $3M in borrowing paid for through our property tax payments. They said this is necessary to reduce debt. Our water bills jumped of course, but the city's levy draw paid on local property tax bills was never reduced to match. We pay twice.<br><br>
Brace yourself again Janesville. This is a new year. That means Janesville taxpayers are in for a whole new tax shift scam not much different from the last. This time it's the proposed so-called "transportation utility." On the surface, it will be a windfall for the local political class road lobby and their pals bootstrapped by more dependence on government. But it goes much deeper because the people who are elected and charged with watching the system for Janesville taxpayers, the city council, are actually accomplices. And our newspaper and radio stations? They only do what they're told. Everything else is a mystery to them.
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The city's idea to "save" us taxpayers money is by swapping out departments, services and infrastructure held inside the local property tax levied budget and rebooting them as a line item "utility" on our quarterly water bills. Again, they did this last year with water mains. They said it's "a new way to pay."
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You might recall in 2019, with city council approval, City Manager Mark Freitag requested permission from the state PSC to charge users the $3M cost of annual water main replacement on their utility water bill. The city said this change in billing would provide cash instead of bonding and add about $8 a month or about $96 a year to the average water bill.
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Seems fair, right? Even the state applauded and said other cities should do the same. But nobody told residents that the previous $3M draw would become an embedded structural budget shell to remain a permanent fixture on our property tax bills. <br><br>No city council members stood up to tell it like it is, no one watched for us at city hall to demand a resolution that would remove the $3M from the local levy. This was about lessening debt, right? But they knew and because they knew, it is a conspiracy. No one from the newspaper, radio stations or community forums was watching or cared enough to show, under this scenario, how Janesville taxpayers will pay double for water mains. No one but me. Mind you, I'm not bragging about this.
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This year, Janesville residents face an identical scam with the city's so called "transportation utility." The city wants residents to pay for street replacement and rehabilitation through quarterly utility billing. They're even using the same concern about debt service.<br><br> Right now, the city draws funding for streets with the $20 wheel tax, state aid and property taxes. The amount captured in property tax appears to be about $2.5M annual. The wheel tax adds another $900K. State aid is whatever the state can give on top of that. And, just like with the water main scam, nobody on the city council has yet to promise residents the city will reduce its allowable property tax levy by the same amount charged in utility billing. No one involved with the power to demand tax fairness has the integrity to do so.
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We will pay twice. Again. About $5.5M (actually more because as a utility it is unrestricted by levy limits, they can increase our payment willy nilly) combined on water mains and roads in our utility bills and the $5.5M they fail to reduce in our property tax bills.<br><br>
In the meantime, the city and council divert attention away by blaming the state aid formula and want more power to defeat levy limits. They're also asking residents to call Madison to support a new local sales tax. This is insanity.
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Every year I've uncovered broken math and several forms of pathological deception from our city and school district engineers and every time I get a blank stare back.<br><br> If you're not following me, chances are you're getting only filtered and canned gumbo on local economic development and the city's tax increase derangement from the local media. Oh, and I don't do sports, murders or post pictures of my dinner. Thanks for reading!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-9612039946881698542020-10-04T07:45:00.003-05:002020-10-05T10:35:14.539-05:00Janesville Taxpayers: Don't Be Fooled By The Math Of School District Officials<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqs_e71lDzmtZ4MV7WVciSLq56ITo1UrH_0sMnhwr1pkrmLXmR5gaeBAXOKuL_bAhmxcUV2gDtGvaUMZkw0in7YL1sEGKcpLSjlNFJ2GScXCNnjzoRjFB3QCEOljn5L9SKCcWH6A/s988/fool.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: center; "><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="988" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqs_e71lDzmtZ4MV7WVciSLq56ITo1UrH_0sMnhwr1pkrmLXmR5gaeBAXOKuL_bAhmxcUV2gDtGvaUMZkw0in7YL1sEGKcpLSjlNFJ2GScXCNnjzoRjFB3QCEOljn5L9SKCcWH6A/s400/fool.png"/></a></div>
Janesville school district officials must think we're stupid with the new math they use to deceive taxpayers.
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Their four year operations referendum shows an escalating amount each year, almost doubling, of captured revenue while their math claims to ask less from taxpayers each year. That's quite a trick. They made this claim in the Janesville Gazette and again on a WCLO radio program.
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The problem is; they don't tell us each tax increase from the previous year becomes permanently embedded into the operational budget. They also finalize this deception by claiming each $100,000 in taxable property assessed value pays a total of only $127 over the life of the referendum. If it costs Janesville taxpayers $39 to raise $3,500,000 in the first year, only a fool would believe it will cost us only $31 to raise $7,500,000 the next year, $29 to raise $11,500,00 in the third year, and so on. The fact is, their referendum will cost the owner of an average $168K assessed home $563 over the life of the four year referendum - and that's a conservative figure.
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Keep in mind this is a tax hike referendum beginning with a base budget and different revenue cap established through a state formula each year and ends four years later. That means the school district can also claim any other increases it may be entitled to under the cap each year AND THEN exceed that by the amount in the binding referendum.
<br><br>The school district begins post-referendum year five with a base budget including the final $14.5M captured in year four fully embedded, under the cap and permanent. In other words, just because the referendum expired, doesn't mean it no longer impacts homeowners.<br><br>
The proposed tax hikes are outrageous enough, but for me, having folks running our city and schools with a seemingly perpetual mentality to deceive residents should have no place in our community. The school superintendent and finance officer watch each other's back as they double down on this deception while our local media offer no debate, rebuttal or inspection. City hall officials are no different. Even more troubling is some see this behavior as normal if not rewarding.
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If you wake up in the morning in Janesville, it seems like city and school officials find a new excuse every day to increase our tax burden AND conjure new ways to deceive us. This simply doesn't have to be and it shouldn't be this way for the good folks who want to call Janesville home.
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But it's too late to fix with the current leadership. Janesville needs a clean sweep top to bottom of the phantoms running our fair city along with a complete restructuring of how we elect residents to represent us in city hall and the school district.
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Please vote NO on all tax hike referendums on the November ballot. We simply can't afford them on top of our property tax bills that are already among the highest in the nation per home value. But we also have to come together soon in an effort to reform our city and schools. Clearly, we are not represented.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-15881607793226549332020-09-02T23:48:00.008-05:002020-09-09T12:43:35.557-05:00What They Won't Tell Us About Janesville's School Referendums<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12MLwC5ts0MWxTodfAy1OZH6t0s7CMNN1lHpPYaj5Yf5J_iq_PP0fu092gWIQEcTV3lsK6oD2YaP-_ILkCrQsgt9b6RTSqq5HmwSYh0coYkGW69FLu4nevaKw4aEItOCv990VNA/s780/referendum.png" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: none;"><img alt="" border="0" width="400" data-original-height="623" data-original-width="780" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12MLwC5ts0MWxTodfAy1OZH6t0s7CMNN1lHpPYaj5Yf5J_iq_PP0fu092gWIQEcTV3lsK6oD2YaP-_ILkCrQsgt9b6RTSqq5HmwSYh0coYkGW69FLu4nevaKw4aEItOCv990VNA/s400/referendum.png"/></a></div>
TIF Districts in Janesville will hit the Jackpot if voters approve school referendums proposed by the Janesville School District. The three tax hike referendums combined (including one for Blackhawk Tech) will significantly increase everyone's property tax bill, but any new dollars collected from properties inside TIF Districts in the name of education will instead go directly into the TIF surplus fund for redistribution - NOT for school needs!<br><br>
Early reviews show city TIF District surplus accounts will pick up $236K in the first year from the proposed Janesville school district's operational budget referendum alone. $472K in the second year. $708K in the third and $944K in the fourth year. The total jackpot is expected to reach an estimated $2.4M. To be fair, the amount is almost irrelevant since even one dollar diverted away from the purpose of the referendum is theft.<br><br>
Believe it or not, state law prohibits using TIF surplus revenue (increment) for public schools despite the fact these referendum dollars are collected in the name of education and school improvements.<br><br>
I won't even begin to explain how, why and who rigged the system this way. But I will recommend voting "NO" on all three referendums.<br><br>
NOTE: The dollar amounts were calculated from a confusing school district "doubling" explanation as reported by the Janesville Gazette. The amounts could change at any moment, but the TIF Districts role and ability to confiscate tax revenue for use other than intended remains firmly intact.
<br><br>Aside from the expected windfall for TIF Districts, initial estimates for the schools' operational referendum indicated a tax bill on a Janesville home with a tax assessed value of $175,000 in 2020 would increase $70 in year one, $140 in year two, $210 in year three and $280 in year four. The total take would be $700 over the four year term of the proposed referendum. <br><br>If your pre-referendum 2020 tax bill was $4,000, it would be $4,280 in the last year of the referendum assuming no other increases, referendums or adjustments. Good luck with that and what happens in year five looks to be a double disaster.
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<a href="https://www.gazettextra.com/news/education/janesville-voters-face-simultaneous-referendums-this-fall/article_85973ac5-af8e-570c-ba72-2931426ea9d1.html">New figures released a couple days ago</a> by the Janesville school administration however changed the first year tax bill increase on a $100K assessed home to $39. So the first year increase on a $175K assessed home would now be $68 (down from $70) with declining, not doubling, amounts each year thereafter. Their new adjusted amounts seem deliberately deceiving without explaining whether each annual increase is accumulative on the pre-referendum tax bill.
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The language construction in the referendum question will be the bottom line. If it's a spending referendum, tax payers can expect to be hammered because it will allow the district to levy whatever it takes, regardless of state aid amounts or economic factors, to get that amount. If it's a taxing referendum with a strict cap on levy dollars each year, Janesville taxpayers may have a better guarantee, but the amount the district wants is expected to almost double the local levy for operational spending in four years. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-59389711143560774152020-08-01T12:51:00.010-05:002020-08-01T13:09:46.043-05:00Wisconsin Counties, Sheriffs and Local Administrations Throw Gov. Evers and His Mask Order Under a BusIt was only a few days ago when leaders of the Wisconsin Counties association and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities spoke about their struggles to enact local mask mandates in the absence of a statewide order.
The hapless leaders spoke as if their hands were tied without a statewide mandate.<br><br>
<blockquote><a href="https://www.nbc15.com/2020/07/29/wisconsin-counties-cities-face-difficult-mask-decisions/">NBC 15 Excerpt</a><Br>
Cities are looking for some kind of uniformity statewide, Deschane said.
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“Cities see people getting sick, they’re getting these reports daily on people being hospitalized, dying and all the rest,” he said. “They feel a great sense of frustration but they don’t necessarily have the tools to act. ... We are all in a boat that none of us wanted to be in together but we have to figure this out.”</blockquote><br>If only they had a statewide mandate, everything would be fixed was their message.<br><br>In a surprise move few expected including myself, Gov. Evers gave them the uniformity they wanted. He announced a statewide mask up order that takes effect today. What did Evers get in return? Nothing.
<br><br>There was no statement from the Wisconsin Counties association or the League of Wisconsin Municipalities thanking the Governor for getting them out of their "woe is me" bind or showing support to enforce the mask up order. Nothing.<br><br>
In fact, <a href="https://www.tmj4.com/news/coronavirus/these-wisconsin-sheriffs-say-they-wont-enforce-gov-tony-evers-statewide-mask-order">an increasing number of local law enforcement</a> agencies are warning citizens not to call about mask complaints because they won't respond. <br><br>Even Democratic leaning <a href="https://www.gazettextra.com/news/local/rock-walworth-county-police-agencies-don-t-expect-many-arrests-from-mask-order/article_bf571302-68a5-5f3a-a198-8b7045022571.html">Janesville and Rock County</a> said calls would be low priority and expect to issue little to nothing in fines. Their response for the most egregious violators is educating people and working towards voluntary compliance. They won't even say whether they agree with the Governor's order. That's not a very big vote of confidence for Gov. Evers.<br><br>Truth is; without enforcement, Gov. Evers mask up order becomes little more than a toothless recommendation and we're back to square one. <br><br>But if anything positive will come out of Ever's sudden executive order it will be exposing all the counties and cities and their associations who claimed "without statewide uniformity" as frauds. Their hands were never tied to enact their own local mask up ordinances. They just needed something or someone to blame why they won't.
<br><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers announced statewide mask mandate beginning at midnight tonight.<br><br>This map shows how, uh, well his mandate has been received. Counties shown in red refuse to enforce it. <a href="https://t.co/XQrg2b44kS">pic.twitter.com/XQrg2b44kS</a></p>— Michael Haz (@Michael_Haz) <a href="https://twitter.com/Michael_Haz/status/1289607590129725445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 1, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-29216599965005114932020-04-10T14:14:00.000-05:002020-04-10T14:51:38.965-05:00In Janesville Nothing Is Certain But
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bcZP9GZDTRGzn924cbvTtoDtzkdiAtK4hfRL6KSoTHlo_NNVuwo4cHdHVkXGVLPXskQi7uCj33pauyS_PvEKozkb6zcTLrXmNS8CzWxKJshl-I5-Tu8Ud3Ku4iVhfCAp7ifKrQ/s1600/D%2526T_Banner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_bcZP9GZDTRGzn924cbvTtoDtzkdiAtK4hfRL6KSoTHlo_NNVuwo4cHdHVkXGVLPXskQi7uCj33pauyS_PvEKozkb6zcTLrXmNS8CzWxKJshl-I5-Tu8Ud3Ku4iVhfCAp7ifKrQ/s400/D%2526T_Banner.jpg" width="400" height="188" data-original-width="460" data-original-height="216" /></a></div>
<br>Unbelievable! But if you're familiar with the relentless tax gouging march by the folks running the city of Janesville. Believable.
<br><br>At today's daily briefing by city hall foot soldiers delivering orders from City Commander Mark Freitag, the city assessor will be moving forward yet again with a new line of property tax increases for a select group of Janesville homeowners, this despite last year's historic 31% tax bill increase and the potentially devastating economic hardship posed by the Coronavirus crisis. About 1,875 homeowners will be getting the hit.
<br><br>Instead of delivering property tax relief from a mounting budget surplus, they said the adjustment is necessary and part of their "strategic plan."
<br><br>The Janesville City Council no doubt has approved of this nasty move. The Janesville Council President and council candidates including Council Member Sue Conley who is running for State Assembly should step up and explain their position.
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You can watch the briefing below. The assessor comes on at 11:00.<br><br>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbZHwG7LoGE">4/10/2020 Daily Briefing</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-78593276468742893412020-01-23T13:11:00.001-06:002020-01-23T13:11:18.608-06:00City Punishes Farm Family. Then Punishes Taxpayers With The Bill. <br><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUnyzC8jGgCGDOa0fOXS_rPyoL0_GLtYoGgyKS90B7JXlpY3l6tKRg8qrZk2TxxypP18y7oP3yV63m9pkSPt9xiEDyp1ePDmKaprrnieghVvRKOpl2v7N0KjQjO8xw2IfEEePCdw/s1600/stealth.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUnyzC8jGgCGDOa0fOXS_rPyoL0_GLtYoGgyKS90B7JXlpY3l6tKRg8qrZk2TxxypP18y7oP3yV63m9pkSPt9xiEDyp1ePDmKaprrnieghVvRKOpl2v7N0KjQjO8xw2IfEEePCdw/s400/stealth.png" width="400" height="300" data-original-width="1600" data-original-height="1200" /></a>
<br><br>From the "we have to destroy the farm in order to save it" files comes another story about the misleadership and really bad decisions from within Janesville's backward if not corrupt city hall. <br><br>Before I begin, I must give the Janesville Gazette another one of those rare once or twice a year credits for the story. <br><br>
This time it revolves around a couple ...well, here's the Gazette's quick take ...<br><br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQmqIkDODX4PV-qMpT_Fqw70vHNQe-b5c8ghjYc657kQ0N2454DxN5nhzGKYDF4uEzHFzvhJRYJpHgZQXMIkSeq_GmWzQu38udcKtMXUlr2CozEMPZX9PKBA4esvRNisF9NaqDQ/s1600/confiscate.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfQmqIkDODX4PV-qMpT_Fqw70vHNQe-b5c8ghjYc657kQ0N2454DxN5nhzGKYDF4uEzHFzvhJRYJpHgZQXMIkSeq_GmWzQu38udcKtMXUlr2CozEMPZX9PKBA4esvRNisF9NaqDQ/s400/confiscate.png" width="400" height="156" data-original-width="546" data-original-height="213" /></a>
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The city took their land, but it wasn't in lieu of a six figure debt payment as the local Janesville Gazette suggests. <i>The city took their land to punish the couple for not being able to afford to pay the city's demand.</i>
That's right. The couple said they can't afford to pay and with dwindling farm activity and other pressures, said it would take 170 years of their modest annual farm rent income to pay the city's bill.
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So it was agreed and the city took their land.
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It's one thing if the couple requested the curb, gutter and sidewalks, or fell behind on property tax. But they did not. The $130K bill for unrequested, unnecessary public works literally fell from the sky into their mailbox.
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Why is the land NOT in lieu of the $130K road cost? Because according to the newspaper story, the city will replant the land (not sell it to recoup the money) with native wildflowers and turn it into a park while holding the property in a covenant for the family in case the family at some point in the future can afford to pay the ransom.<br><br>So how does the city pay the bill with the land they confiscated? They don't. Who pays? Unsurprisingly, the Gazette doesn't dig into that because well, THAT would ruin everything.
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And so it is. They force $130K worth of needless public infrastructure on this family, get $130K in land value AND still collect the $130K from taxpayers snookered to pay the bill. It's a Win-Win double jackpot for the city! No eminent domain necessary. They'll all get raises and special commemorative coins from the city manager for this one.<br><br>
What many in Janesville see as an obvious, bold act of extortion and an affront to common sense and decency, is turned into a "gift" trope by the city with the protectionist Gazette in tow. All in all, this story like dozens of eye-opening raging stories before it, is likely to just die on the vine. But to the folks running city hall, it's just another day and week in Janesville Wisconsin.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-84124991974912832712020-01-05T12:59:00.001-06:002020-01-05T14:54:42.865-06:00Top Ten Janesville Stories From 2019<br>#10: The city's bizarre plan to relocate its growing homeless population from downtown to Palmer Park, then to Traxler, eventually settling on a parking lot near the police station.
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#9: Uncovered by citizen journalist "The Rock," was another city fail when a contractor hired for restoration work after the removal of the Monterey Dam reported that more testing of the soil was needed for contaminants and structural integrity to build a berm. For his diligence, the contractor was fired.
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#8: The city's skyline changed forever as the iconic GM smokestack was dragged down into rubble without notice. For many in Janesville the chimney was a symbol of activity, prosperity and community. Daft city officials squandered the historic moment.
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#7: Warned of a historic property tax shift and hike resulting from their support of the city's wrongheaded growth plans, the Janesville school board made the ultimate sacrifice; they voted themselves an annual property tax relief stipend! No referendum.
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#6: City Hall opened 2019 by expanding TIF District agreements to include housing developments. The city closed 2019 with a proposal to loosen TIF District property tax kickback terms even further for downtown, from 15 years to 20, for select developers.
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#5: Under normal circumstances this would have been #1, but the sale of the Janesville Gazette, its radio stations, followed by the sale of the Beloit Daily News, should have brought renewal and hope. It didn't. On the plus side, I have more content than ever.
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#4: With the end of the bitter, petty and divisive partisan politics of Paul Ryan and Scott Walker, 2019 marks a potential new beginning for Wisconsin and Janesville. Both have packed up their bags and were last seen heading to the East Coast.
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#3: The run-up to a holy-cow 53% increase in water rates, purportedly needed to lower the city's long-term debt load by $24M, coincided perfectly with the city's urgency to open a new $24M borrowing note for hockey rinks at the capital investor owned Mall.
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#2: The Janesville School Board sold out by putting developers' profit over childrens' education and taxpayers when they endorsed city deals exempting sweetheart housing developers from paying property taxes from up to 500 families paying market-rate rent for the next 15 years.
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#1 A perfect storm of bad city economics and mismanagement culminated in the city-wide property tax revaluation to deliver historic increases on homeowners tax bills. The Janesville Gazette editorialized that the dynamics behind the tax hike are a "mystery."<br><br><blockquote>One honorable mention. The city of Beloit picked up two major construction developments in 2019. It was announced that a developer for Amazon will be building a one million square foot warehouse in the city. Meanwhile, local investor D. Hendricks paired with Q. Studer to propose building a new ball park for the Beloit Snappers. The big kicker: Local taxpayers will not be put on the hook paying out long-term annual subsidies for either of these proposals. SHOCK!</blockquote> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-18556089570749846452019-10-24T15:48:00.001-05:002019-11-07T11:29:53.163-06:00Janesville School Board Delivers Crushing 25% Average Tax Increase to Homeowners<br>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3kqyyVDUz2bfrlFQIMcFtdvIXebxisMS-4Ozcv7XGqThni29KVgGOw87fsLML_wygfpAlBY1XCqVphBjcoRskKxx6o36aZl96eYbK5elQb33XULe8erzRbxcrpmYR5nlpVTI_oA/s1600/tornado1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3kqyyVDUz2bfrlFQIMcFtdvIXebxisMS-4Ozcv7XGqThni29KVgGOw87fsLML_wygfpAlBY1XCqVphBjcoRskKxx6o36aZl96eYbK5elQb33XULe8erzRbxcrpmYR5nlpVTI_oA/s400/tornado1.jpg" width="400" height="400" data-original-width="1080" data-original-height="1080" /></a></div>
<br>This. Is. Incredible.
<br><br>But there's more punishing blows on the way. <br><br> According to a Janesville Gazette story on this week's school board meeting, the board voted unanimously to increase the local budget levy by 8.6% and pay down some notes that will "save" the school district $500K in debt service. That increase came despite declining enrollment and a last minute $2M injection in state aid.
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The Gazette takes the usual soft approach beginning with "Taxpayers might not notice an increase in their tax bills come December" and how the district "held the line" on the tax rate keeping it nearly flat from last year at 8.48 per 1,000. But with property assessments going up an average 25% this year and residential at 31%, the flat tax rate is expected bump up the school tax portion of the bill the same percentage of our assessments. That translates to an average 25% increase for homeowners and renters. It's either 8.48 per 1,000 means 8.48 per 1,000, or it doesn't. Unless there was a huge mathematical error, typo or pile of unicorn dollars left uncounted in their figures, this is going to hurt a lot. <br><br>Meanwhile on social media, school supporters say the district did their part and are not to blame for the massive increase. Others claim if you don't like it ...move.
<br><br>For the past six months, I've been warning about a perfect storm of devastating tax hikes resulting from a historic tax shift of wrongheaded economic development policies, dark store value lock ins and assessment decisions by the city. But even this doesn't add up.<br><br>The city has nearly zero countable new construction since most of it is quarantined in TIF Districts. So the city-wide average assessment bump of 25% acts as quasi-growth. How that plays out and whether it limits the school district's tax hike could be significant. The district, for their part, appears to be using the citywide assessment as a convenient backdoor for a a substantial revenue increase.<br><br>
Yet soon after the school hike uproar, the Gazette wrote <a href="https://www.gazettextra.com/opinion/our_views/our-views-building-a-property-tax-mystery/article_7b50c817-d92b-57fb-9d01-a42c686acc32.html">it's a mystery</a>, and everyone should keep calm.<br><br>
Link: <a href="https://www.gazettextra.com/news/education/janesville-school-board-oks-tax-levy-increase/article_5c64b07f-9ba0-5e26-aef0-f4972c8b7eb3.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=janesville%20gazette">Janesville School Board OKs 8.6% tax levy increase</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-29199532174797672262019-09-13T21:41:00.001-05:002019-09-13T23:17:23.368-05:00Monterey Bay Contractor Gets Stuck In City Hall Muck<br>
Wow. Will the scandals and cover-ups at Janesville city hall ever come to an end? <br><br>New revelations about interactions between a contractor and city officials regarding restoration work in Monterey Bay show a carefully plodding administration withholding important information with an intent to deceive.<br><br>According to FOIA documents gathered by a local Facebook page, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRockJanesville/">The Rock</a>, Janesville officials tried to either plead ignorance or pretend like they're not obligated to offer any information about the levels of toxic contamination they were aware of unless asked, instead hoping a contractor would unwittingly bury under acres and acres of muck first.<br><br>
The Janesville Gazette editorial <a href="https://www.gazettextra.com/opinion/our_views/our-views-city-gets-stuck-in-the-monterey-muck/article_1f6aa312-5dbe-53f8-a07c-9ea756870b59.html">predictably attempts to soften</a> the city's responsibility in this disturbing episode by blaming both sides. However, the contractor appears only guilty of seeking more information and additional testing to clear the air.<br><br>City officials involved in the cover-up are wasting no time to snuff the scandal out by respinning the storyline while a slew of documents tell a story of indifference in the city's responses to the contractor. Even the Wisconsin DNR, other than washing their hands clean of any responsibility, appears unwilling to commit or disclose any information regarding the Monterey controversy.
<br><br>As a writer with a strong opinion, I don't want to color the work of the excellent citizen investigative journalism provided by the Rock on this issue. So, I encourage any of my readers who care about Janesville and the pattern of behavior in our local government to visit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheRockJanesville/">The Rock Facebook</a> for more information on this extremely important matter.<br><br>For those new to this concerning issue, I suggest scrolling down the Rock's Facebook page to at least the Sept. 6th post titled, "The problem in Monterey Bay" and work your way up to bring you up to date.
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Read it for yourself. You decide.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-795210019219667802019-09-11T13:44:00.001-05:002019-09-11T15:13:17.373-05:00Shell Game: To Keep Up With Peer Cities, Janesville Water Rates Jump 53% <br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcfFgg5lqXAsgPB4jkOXMg77uQSVa0LEubJT8HKqhhJ-lY3yRDpFdmrjt5Kz4A7NRbbPS2rZDHfz-_QwxRXmWn-OfFeiHAbPGCXR75VBcFPnlnIFDZrbrVyc-PvnMirNxfQtVwQ/s1600/water1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBcfFgg5lqXAsgPB4jkOXMg77uQSVa0LEubJT8HKqhhJ-lY3yRDpFdmrjt5Kz4A7NRbbPS2rZDHfz-_QwxRXmWn-OfFeiHAbPGCXR75VBcFPnlnIFDZrbrVyc-PvnMirNxfQtVwQ/s320/water1.jpg" width="320" height="211" data-original-width="1280" data-original-height="842" /></a></div>
<br>You probably have heard by now.<br><br> The state's PSC panel approved Janesville's unprecedented 53% water rate increase. That's right. Not a 2%, 3% or a 5% increase. 53%. That's a five followed by a three. Fifty-three. After approving the massive increase, officials on the PSC praised Janesville for "taking its medicine" to pay cash for water mains and said other Wisconsin communities should follow their lead. Again, this is a state-run panel praising a city for raising fee rates astronomically, not lowering them, as a result of decades of efficiencies and growth plans. If you believe that.
<br><br>To look into the history of the city administration's rate hike request, we have to go back to 2016 when <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2016/07/so-predictable-soon-after-downtown-tif.html">I predicted</a> that due to the city's downtown TIF District among other factors, the city will begin putting the squeeze on Janesville homeowners. I wrote in 2016, "With commercial assessed values declining and future assessed growth quarantined in TIF’s – the people left holding the bag and a much larger share of paying for general fund operations are the residential property owners." Some folks might say that was an easy call, that things go up and higher taxes pay those costs. True I suppose. But keep in mind the city's ARISE design, now into its tenth year, is meant to induce growth and according to the rules, expand the base and lower the rates. <br><br>After having our quarterly water bills (water, waste and fire protection) double over the last five years, some city ambassadors would logically expect a rate cut during all of this reported ARISE growth. Right? No, instead they're now saying if we don't raise taxes and fees, we will face greater debt. Something isn't working, but that is the premise behind their water rate increase. They also warned us that if Janesville is unwilling to accept those increased tax obligations, our local economy could death spiral. Their words. Not mine. So let's move on to 2017.<br><br> In 2017, the city manager, Mark Freitag, created a "peer city fee and tax matching machine." No, I'm not joking. <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2017/07/janesville-manager-complains-city-fees.html">Freitag created a job position</a> at city hall for someone to comb through fees in other Wisconsin cities and flag any Janesville fees that may be falling below the amounts charged in peer cities. In effect, flagged fees aren't a response to an expected budget shortfall or cost metrics but are sent to the city council for increases. Apparently, some city officials will raise taxes and fees for no other reason than a deep-seated resentment felt that residents might be getting off cheap. This tax and fee hiking ritual is done every year. <br><br>And so it was. After several years of water rate hikes, the city still had room to match peer city water rates. All they needed was a reason.
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In 2018, Freitag, driven by consultants and rubber stamped by our failed city council, put in a request to the PSC for a 53% water rate increase to pay for replacement water mains. The state only recently OKed the city's request. It should be noted that the Janesville Gazette reports the approval as a "state order." That is not correct. The city is raising water bills by choice. Nothing prevents the city from cancelling the rate hike.
<br><br>Supposedly, and I didn't research this, the city was already spending $3.5M on water mains budgeted annually and paid for with borrowed money. What this water rate increase does is allow the city to cut General Fund budgeted revenue draw (borrowing) momentarily, "Look ma, we cut $3.5M from our city budget!" and replace it with $3.5M cash in water bill collections. There's the shell game. Shell games are a matter of timing and intent.<br><br>
According to Math, the 53% hike in the Janesville water rate will confiscate $80.5M from residents over the next 23 years. According to their Logic, this is needed because without it the city claimed its capital reserve was projected to finish $11.3M in the red by 2043. What a deal!
<br><br>But the shell game is needed because underlining the city's budget mismanagement and failed growth policies is a perfect storm coming of major property tax increases on Janesville's residential taxpayers that is as historic as the 53% water rate increase.<br><br> My early findings showed that in order to keep the appearance of their growth plans as budget neutral as possible to show it's working, the city would have to cut about $7M from its annual budget. An impossible task given the wild spending mentality of the Freitag administration. But this $3.5M water rate increase acts as a back door to artificially cut budgeted draws while making no actual cuts in programs and services. <br><br>Yes, the state requires the $3.5M be spent on water mains, an expense however previously paid from General Fund notes. We can argue over who is responsible for water main replacement, but this in effect conveniently shifts a portion of the expected historic property tax increase on water utility customers.
<br><br>After constant rate and fees increases since the day Freitag was hired, all he needed was a better reason to match peer cities on water rates and he found it in the water mains.
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Drink up!!
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-15438930126014906402019-08-20T07:21:00.000-05:002019-08-20T07:27:23.507-05:00Paul Ryan Scouting For Home In DC<br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eytmlp7QAO7UUFrpe6ugKcllBfyQSJwKz-WGsvoC2jfeWE6wgY6bqJ2_nAcHvwc-E_KgAYI4CnzxjwhNo1GOkJ6d3SAe09dosZe7TjsFl7tCVEyNb-02UAgcJSl-Savb7zKGng/s1600/swamp_ryan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0eytmlp7QAO7UUFrpe6ugKcllBfyQSJwKz-WGsvoC2jfeWE6wgY6bqJ2_nAcHvwc-E_KgAYI4CnzxjwhNo1GOkJ6d3SAe09dosZe7TjsFl7tCVEyNb-02UAgcJSl-Savb7zKGng/s320/swamp_ryan.png" width="320" height="214" data-original-width="400" data-original-height="267" /></a></div><br>
According to a scoop from Politico, Paul Ryan will be moving his family out of Janesville to a suburb of DC.
<br><br><blockquote><b>Politico</b> <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/20/paul-ryan-returns-to-washington-1468994">Excerpt</a>:<br>
But for a man who prided himself on going back to Janesville each weekend, the move is notable.</blockquote>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-26604685205948351382019-07-30T10:04:00.003-05:002022-08-01T09:23:06.175-05:00Janesville Officials and Newspaper Feel Cheated Out Of State aid, Lash Out At Wisconsin Communities. <br>
In case you missed it, the Janesville Gazette posted an awful if not disturbing editorial, titled, "Other Cities Playing Janesville As Fool In Scheme" on Sunday attacking the cities of Beloit, La Crosse and Appleton, and Wisconsin communities in general for what the newspaper claims has been a conspiracy to cheat Janesville out of state shared revenue.
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The Gazette's allegations are drawn from charts slapped together by the Wisconsin Policy Forum showing Janesville near the bottom in state aid and road maintenance spending compared to peer cities since the early 2000's. Because of that the newspaper states matter of factly those cities have been conspiring against Janesville and playing us for a fool. Their editorial ends with, "Cities such as Appleton can no longer rely on people's ignorance to perpetuate this shared-revenue scheme. We're wise to it, now."
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Shockingly, the Janesville newspaper is not alone in their conspiracy theory. During the state's Joint Finance Committee hearing held in April, Janesville city manager and the police chief alluded to a deep resentment they apparently hold against Wisconsin communities. City manager Mark Freitag asked and I quote, "How long must Janesville residents subsidize state shared revenue distributions to winning communities?" JPD Chief Moore later said he supports the 2% increase in state shared revenue but asked that not all Wisconsin communities should receive additional distribution because he feels Janesville has been cheated.
<br><br>Wow. Very bizarre.<br><br>I totally get the request and support for more state aid, but to literally ask that others should not share in the same award?
<br><br>Financially, there's no reason why many cities in Wisconsin should lobby for a change in the state aid formula as there are just as many satisfied with it to those that aren't. But to turn it into an active conspiracy and feel intentionally cheated?
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The Gazette's, City Manager's and Police Chief's talking points are so similar it is hard not to believe they are reciting from a deeply partisan playbook of divide and conquer victimhood politics spread by city hall operatives. <br><br>On the other hand, the Janesville Gazette and those running city hall endorsed Forward Janesville's lobby efforts to shift hundreds of millions in state aid away from local roads to enumerate funding for the I39/90 expansion. So, if anyone should be upset and hold resentments, it should be those communities from all over the state, including Janesville residents, that lost local road funding over the last ten years due to the endorsed legislative agenda and lobby efforts of Forward Janesville. It was Forward Janesville and their I39/90 coalition spearheaded by TDA lobbyist Craig Thompson, now the director of wisDOT (I want to scream) for his reward, who tilted the tables against local road funding.<br><br>Thompson's connection to Forward Janesville also helps explain why his department tied any extra state money for local roads in Evers budget to economic development. It's payback time!!<br><br> When Forward Janesville is involved, you can bet higher taxes are on the way for everyone else. Janesville now has a municipal vehicle tax thanks to Forward Janesville. <br><br>What a web they weave.<br><br>You can read about Forward Janesville's statement against state aid for local road funding <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2014/06/wisconsin-ruralcity-roads-are-crumbling.html">here</a> and <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2012/04/janesville-is-i3990-expansion-worth-80.html">here</a>. Keep in mind that the Janesville city council ENDORSED a group whose mission was to cut off state funding for local city streets. <br><br><blockquote> Note: I'm not a Janesville official or elected representative, but I strongly disagree with the Gazette's and city official's allegations, resentment and characterization of Wisconsin communities. That is not who we are in Janesville. I hope.</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-35217027738210364902019-07-26T09:33:00.001-05:002019-08-04T09:56:43.343-05:00Silence Is Support: Janesville School Board Sold Out Children's Education For Developer<br>
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<br>Perhaps it was bad timing OR great timing depending on your perception, but Janesville school board members recently voted themselves a $200 a month stipend. Personally, I think pay, raises or any form of compensation for the school board or city council should always go to referendum. I just believe that lawmakers slash local board members should not have the power to give themselves pay, raises or other taxpayer funds when they feel like it. But that's for another story.
<br><br>But, what makes the Janesville school board pay decision exceptionally egregious if not totally damning in their fiduciary responsibility as a unit of local government is the fact that within the same week, not one board member or administration official stepped up to defend local taxpayers or school children against a recent city council deal exempting (refund) property taxes for a connected developer of a 260 unit apartment building for the next 17 years. That's right, 260 families paying competitive market-rate to a development firm, with property tax embedded into their monthly rent bill, will contribute NOTHING to police, fire, city operations, local roads and schools for the next 17 years and get this, ...the city justified their decision by claiming the assistance was necessary to ensure a reasonable rate of return for the developer. Their words. Not mine.<br><br>Of course nobody wants to deny a developer a reasonable rate of return. But it certainly should not be the taxpayers responsibility or come at the expense of a child's education to ensure that margin. The school board was silent.
<br><br>On the surface this is nothing new for Janesville's dysfunctional economic planning. In order to keep their "but/for" demand of TIF District law honest, the city practically PROHIBITS development without TIF subsidies and has mortgaged off the best chance for tax revenue growth for the next 25 years. What makes this recent "incentive" deal so much more wrong than other kickback deals the city slapped together for developers, is the cost incurred on the community from those 260 families. That cost over 17 years is estimated at $7.6 million. So it's a double hit.
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Mind you, this isn't about benevolence or hardship for those families or the developer. There is no hardship on their part. This is not low-income housing. They ARE market-rate. Besides not opposing the city's wrong-headed deal with the developer, the school board so far hasn't offered any plans for raising funds to pay for the education of children from those 260 families for the next 17 years. As it stands, somebody will be paying much more than their fair share in property taxes once again. That somebody is you and me. <br><br>This entire episode comes on top of early reports showing Janesville homeowners are about to get hit with a 3% shift increase in the overall general property tax burden shared with commercial property owners. So the school board's immediate priority was making sure they got some property tax relief for themselves.<br><br>For the record. Janesville school board members are: Steve Huth, Jim Millard, Greg Ardrey, Michelle Haworth, Karl Dommershausen, Kevin Murray, Cathy Meyers, Dale Thompson, Lisa Hurda.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-50723548882200513632019-07-26T08:36:00.001-05:002019-07-26T09:44:41.619-05:00Lars Pripp, Peace and Justice Activist<br><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Zie2TviUTWZvxPn_Sd3xTea9BqEo0uIwMNcKLmQ3W1md9eKUpi5tRNV60L7aE-94cDtqNvPnVpAmxXmTPMOdUxvIc8z-jGZvqqpOfmwpgeFz0d9voR7O2v0F0TtpCTqnIWdgpg/s1600/vet_peace.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Zie2TviUTWZvxPn_Sd3xTea9BqEo0uIwMNcKLmQ3W1md9eKUpi5tRNV60L7aE-94cDtqNvPnVpAmxXmTPMOdUxvIc8z-jGZvqqpOfmwpgeFz0d9voR7O2v0F0TtpCTqnIWdgpg/s320/vet_peace.JPG" width="182" height="320" data-original-width="182" data-original-height="320" /></a></div><br>
Lars Pripp, a Marine Veteran who was often seen in the Veterans For Peace and Justice rallies on South Main in Janesville on Tuesday afternoons, passed away at his home in Beloit on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. He was 71.
<br><br>He will be missed.
<br><br>
<a href="https://www.hansengravitt.com/obituary/lars-prio">Obituary</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-72149858340663715642019-06-11T03:48:00.001-05:002019-06-11T10:33:48.485-05:00Boom: Janesville City-Wide Tax Assessment Hammers Homeowners and Renters <blockquote>
When Forward Janesville lobby operators said Janesville residents must accept increased tax obligations, they weren't joking.</blockquote>
<br>The preliminary numbers from the city's property tax re-valuation look extremely bleak for homeowners and renters in Janesville. <br><br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23j-NJjuKZG6BJoqOwAo1QqGdibVPYPsGZ-_CW6USaZuNNsGVmdoqtNjkvy-mGPFun1HrKLIvESmrwFHIU_grCb6njKAaSNENxrwAjPPDAcj9R5UetmFljFsQErwq0a-fXWdJLg/s1600/taxshift.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23j-NJjuKZG6BJoqOwAo1QqGdibVPYPsGZ-_CW6USaZuNNsGVmdoqtNjkvy-mGPFun1HrKLIvESmrwFHIU_grCb6njKAaSNENxrwAjPPDAcj9R5UetmFljFsQErwq0a-fXWdJLg/s400/taxshift.png" width="400" height="266" data-original-width="902" data-original-height="600" /></a><br><br>
Folks, I'm not talking about tax rates, TIF Districts or the effects from Dark Store loopholes here. I'm focusing strictly on the share of the total cost paid by residential property taxpayers into the General Fund VERSUS commercial and manufacturing property to run local government and schools in Janesville. A three point shift might not seem like a lot at first glance, but this is a massive shift of tax burden on residential property taxpayers taking place in just one year's time - from 2018 to 2019.
<br><br>
If you understood how the Dark Store loophole works and the adverse effects it had on your tax bill and voted to close it in last year's county-wide advisory referendum, think of this tax shift from the city-wide re-val in the same way - but MUCH MUCH larger - like a dark store tax shift on steroids. Put it this way, when <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2019/01/janesville-alone-paid-27-of-states-dark.html">Janesville paid $850K in dark store refunds</a> during 2017, that payout represented about one-half of one percent tax burden shift from business to residential. And, it drove us to a referendum!! <br><br>
<blockquote>
<b>City of Janesville</b> Facebook post:<br> The City completed a city-wide revaluation this year. Revaluations are revenue neutral, and redistribute each property owner’s share of the total tax to be collected based on fair market values. This redistribution is driven by the average assessment change, which for 2019 is 25%.
Property owners whose assessment change reflects the average change of 25% should expect to pay about the same in property taxes. Property owners whose assessment change is above the average should expect to pay more in property taxes. Properties below the average assessment change should expect to pay less in property taxes.</blockquote>
<br>Notice how the city references only the average assessment increase of 25% and the general term, "property owners." <br><br>Make no mistake, residential properties assessed value increased an average 31% in that 25% field and comprised roughly 69% of assessed value taxable in 2018. For 2019, the burden increases to 72%. That means regardless of all other factors including the tax rate, unless the city gains a $6M windfall and uses it for tax relief or cuts its budget by 10%, residential property owners will pay noticeably more in taxes on the next bill. Commercial, retail and manufacturing properties will pay relatively less.
<br><br>Clearly, the city-wide re-valuation is not revenue neutral or tax burden neutral for homeowners. An increase in our home's assessed value should not equal a sudden increase in our share of the tax burden. If after shoveling millions of tax dollars into commercial developments and business properties results in less value and fewer taxable assets sharing the burden, perhaps it's time to rethink growth strategies and shrink local budgets accordingly. Because whatever it is city leaders are doing - it failed.<br><br>
SOURCE: 2018 municipal assessed values were gleaned from <a href="https://www.revenue.wi.gov/slfreportsassessor/2018strROCk.pdf">Wisconsin Revenue</a>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-66456732652930810032019-05-29T10:16:00.002-05:002019-05-29T10:19:49.415-05:00Shameless: On Taxpayers Dime, Area Officials Jump To Advocate For Politician <br>Sound the trumpets!! Da-dee-da-daaaaa. Da-dee-da-daaaa. Paul Ryan's former driver and hand-picked clone, Bryan Steil, organized a photo opportunity with area officials and ranking law enforcement officers to help him announce his first piece of House legislation. <br><br>His bill, touted as tackling human traffic within his district's communities, doesn't send more federal dollars to help local agencies battle the crisis. Instead, his bill purports to penalize foreign countries that don't do enough to prevent international human trafficking. Or something.
<br><br>
So what's the issue? For starters, there is no issue. At least not in Wisconsin's First Congressional District. Local law officers and city employees appearing with Steil could not name even one case in their jurisdictions related to Steil's legislation. So why were they there if they had no cause or effect for issue advocacy? <br><br>
They were there for Bryan Steil and his first act as congressman. The candidate and incumbent.
<br><br>The only thing missing from his support group were Bryan Steil For Congress tee-shirts.<br><br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We cannot turn a blind eye to human trafficking. Joined law enforcement in Janesville to talk about my bill, H.R. 2149, the Exposing the Financing of Human Trafficking Act which currently has 17 bipartisan cosponsors. Read more, here: <a href="https://t.co/huingI9cYm">https://t.co/huingI9cYm</a> <a href="https://t.co/zkDT9aTz04">pic.twitter.com/zkDT9aTz04</a></p>— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepBryanSteil/status/1133494485198020609?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-19263398410882281402019-05-06T00:15:00.000-05:002019-05-06T14:27:11.668-05:00Janesville Residents Cheated Out Of Democracy By City Council Appointment And Gerry-Rigged At-Large System <br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5zH0Urc-pqxAOikWFJ-sg-e7UdaJPfXqVxGNqigXDC3CR38GU-DDt15avOk9Vd7WoEQlKhfWUx6HB2fSRvFXfW-xl-fX0M6p9RlVZsSYDw_InLwb-Lk3TOtVgx4VIsk6kJf5FA/s1600/ward_map.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy5zH0Urc-pqxAOikWFJ-sg-e7UdaJPfXqVxGNqigXDC3CR38GU-DDt15avOk9Vd7WoEQlKhfWUx6HB2fSRvFXfW-xl-fX0M6p9RlVZsSYDw_InLwb-Lk3TOtVgx4VIsk6kJf5FA/s400/ward_map.png" width="323" height="400" data-original-width="488" data-original-height="604" /></a></div><br>
Did you know? IF Janesville had normal democratic alderman style city council representation instead of the gerry-rigged at-large system now in use, three and possibly up to five of the current seven members would likely not be in office. Here's why.<br><br>
Janesville has about 24 populated wards so each of the seven seats (assuming the council is not expanded) would represent 3 or 4 congruent and demographically similar wards, etc.<br><br>
Recently appointed Paul Benson (13th) and incumbent Richard Gruber (22nd) (also previously appointed) would likely be seated on the council according to the current ward map assuming they ran unopposed. But Sue Conley (12th), Doug Marklein (25th) and Tom Wolfe (27th) would have to face each other because their three wards of residence are demographically similar (Palmer Park area and just north). With alderman style elections, only one would serve on the council - not all three. I first thought Conley (12th) would face Benson (13th) in an election, but those two wards are not similar. The 13th is part of downtown, while Conley's 12th is Palmer Park.<br><br>That leaves us with the final two incumbents, Jim Farrell (17th) opposing Paul Williams (18th). Again only one would serve on the council, not both.
<br><br>The added irony to this is the fact that Gruber was originally an appointee just like Benson. In a normal democracy, neither would hold a council seat unless duly elected. Gruber subsequently won election, but not before given the advantage of incumbency through appointment. Take away those two appointments and the entire city of Janesville is run by a few residents from Palmer Park and points near north. <br><br>In retrospect, only two of the current seven would hold office if Janesville had a city council system allowing candidates only through election from its neighborhoods to serve on the council.
<br><br> That leaves us today with Wards 1 through 11, basically the entire west and south sides including the central core (13, 14 and 15th wards) of the city, with zero elected representation in city hall. Besides the obvious taxation without representation - it's a disgrace. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-36554702603455885992019-02-24T14:39:00.000-06:002019-02-24T16:53:26.615-06:00Cartoon: The Dark Store Hostage Crisis<br>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFVCX1ntqAHrvJGq5Il1eLMkrcHuVQVGiecMr4ZOSBxk0ODUTZvbr36wEsyJO0ClCzuFNEhX0Cv3vb-Dh9pXrd1k1hz15LdEFYE7VLtkbuaEtE8PSjoOux2n0xqYHmL4QR2dy4A/s1600/DS_hostage.png" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPFVCX1ntqAHrvJGq5Il1eLMkrcHuVQVGiecMr4ZOSBxk0ODUTZvbr36wEsyJO0ClCzuFNEhX0Cv3vb-Dh9pXrd1k1hz15LdEFYE7VLtkbuaEtE8PSjoOux2n0xqYHmL4QR2dy4A/s400/DS_hostage.png" width="400" height="294" data-original-width="495" data-original-height="364" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-78727770671506974392019-01-07T14:12:00.000-06:002019-01-07T14:52:07.596-06:00Janesville Alone Paid 27% Of The State's Dark Store Refunds In 2017<br><blockquote>
Essentially, a lawyer preys on the city by arguing that a building is unique to a company’s needs and should be compared to a similar building that’s vacant or “dark.” -- Janesville Gazette <a href="http://www.gazettextra.com/20160318/our_views_8216dark_store8217_litigation_putting_janesville_in_tight_squeeze">Editorial</a>, March 18, 2016</blockquote><br>Soon after that editorial, it was discovered the Gazette's parent company, Bliss Communications, was a dark store suitor themselves and won a settlement against Janesville.
<br><br>
In a recent article from Bloomberg, the mouthpiece for the state's largest political business lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), said the dark store property tax shift does not exist. That it's based on a false premise because only $3.1 million was refunded in 2017 — a tiny chunk of the $10 billion in local property taxes paid.
<br><br>
<blockquote><b>Bloomberg</b> <a href="https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report-state/2019-outlook-lowes-wal-mart-property-tax-loophole-under-scrutiny-in-wisconsin">Excerpt</a>:<br>
“We successfully opposed it last time and we will continue along those lines, telling legislators the underlying premise of the legislation is false—there has been no tax shift,” said Corydon Fish, director of tax, transportation and legal affairs for Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.
<br><br>
He also disputed the narrative that assessors are refunding vast sums to retailers through property tax litigation. A recent analysis by the Wisconsin Policy Forum, a tax policy think tank, found only $3.1 million was refunded to commercial property owners in dark store challenges in 2017—a tiny chunk of the $10 billion in local property taxes paid.
<br><br>
“The tax shift doesn’t pan out in the actual data,” Fish said.</blockquote><br>
Oh? But it does pan out for several communities in Wisconsin. Especially Janesville.<br><br>
In 2017, <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2017/10/janesvilles-dark-store-community-grows.html">Janesville paid out $849,637 in dark store refunds</a> to a handful of self-described "community stakeholders." As it turns out, Janesville's population of about 65,000 in a state of 5.8 million paid $850K of the $3.1M in Wisconsin dark store refunds for 2017. So digging just a little deeper, we find one community with a little more than one percent of the state's population paid 27% of dark store refunds in 2017.
<br><br>Ouch!
<br><br>Dark Store refunds are not spread or absorbed across state taxpayers as the intellectually dishonest WMC would have us believe. And, even if it was absorbed statewide, it would not change the fact that a significant tax burden is being shifted by the dark store loophole.
<br><br>
The bigger problem is; intellectual dishonesty lobbies are winning.
<br><br>ADDITIONAL:
<br><br>
NYT - <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/06/business/economy/retailers-property-tax-dark-stores.html">As Big Retailers Seek to Cut Their Tax Bills, Towns Bear the Brunt</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-62965637674516128482018-12-30T13:01:00.000-06:002018-12-30T13:01:00.860-06:00Cartoon: Janesville Gazette Still Selling Paul Ryan All The Way To The End <br>
The Janesville Gazette posted one of their more comical yet transparent editorials on local newsmakers for 2018. Their take on Paul Ryan's "retirement" in my view can only be accurately summarized best with this cartoon.
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXe-pwLQ9YeRdy1bhXbZFpMRlGXFKv3T7CkBIZRET5ddCAa49XdKA4ImolPC7LDB-hC91yJ5wBqutQDtSjETPShKjInaSCCjak9ahPSk7nnTURvV8sN_sW-K81dcXkrABo0AlHw/s1600/ryan_shrewd.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAXe-pwLQ9YeRdy1bhXbZFpMRlGXFKv3T7CkBIZRET5ddCAa49XdKA4ImolPC7LDB-hC91yJ5wBqutQDtSjETPShKjInaSCCjak9ahPSk7nnTURvV8sN_sW-K81dcXkrABo0AlHw/s400/ryan_shrewd.png" width="400" height="287" data-original-width="795" data-original-height="571" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-79607048843747170682018-11-11T13:29:00.002-06:002019-07-13T09:21:16.335-05:00Donald Trump's Silver Lining <br><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhllMyR_g35ZB7jouVMY51eQPtNQ6s6NjoEFG8lLFvl9pL_CI41adcThSQ-LNT4Gf_626V6Z0JtQU4ArQo3CbP68vA1zRXDWnBqItxbalbbT2ZPATEuBxjCm4TTNX3NWO8R6p3few/s1600/trump-smirk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhllMyR_g35ZB7jouVMY51eQPtNQ6s6NjoEFG8lLFvl9pL_CI41adcThSQ-LNT4Gf_626V6Z0JtQU4ArQo3CbP68vA1zRXDWnBqItxbalbbT2ZPATEuBxjCm4TTNX3NWO8R6p3few/s320/trump-smirk.jpg" width="320" height="244" data-original-width="600" data-original-height="458" /></a></div>
<br>
After Scott Walker's defeat on Tuesday, more political watchers are taking note of the sudden early demise of Wisconsin's three republican rock stars, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker and Reince Priebus. <br><br>Afterall, few states in the union could boast the deep party bench Wisconsin republicans enjoyed over the past ten years. Each with 20+ years of campaign experience and cruising into middle-age with astounding records of beating the odds, they not only seemed unstoppable but destined to become the holy trinity of the future Grand Old Party. With Ryan becoming House Speaker in 2015, Politico dubbed them, "the Big Three GOP" and few would argue the trio from Wisconsin seemed well on their way to a political dynasty.
<br><br>
But then came Donald Trump and in less time you can say "rumplestiltskin," all three have been vanquished. Rejected. Quit. Fired. Kaput.<br><br>
Now, I would like to instead believe Wisconsin voters woke and finally rejected Scott Walker, Paul Ryan and Reince Preibus for their scorched-earth strategies and wrong-headed policies. Honest I would. But I can't stretch it that far knowing Paul Ryan won ten consecutive campaigns and Wisconsin gave Walker a hard fought recall to think we all suddenly woke up about policy and decided to flush it down the toilet. <br><br>Over the years, I've learned politics are more personal and partisan and less policy. To me, that explains why voters repeatedly elect politicians against their own wishes on the issues, and why voters are quick to backlash against a politician's personal ambitions than on their policy. Yet, voters tend to forgive politicians who make mistakes so long as the effort was honest and their intentions meant well.
<br><br>
But Walker, Ryan and Priebus all falling within a two year period? Well, the coincidence with Donald Trump is just too striking to ignore.
<br><br>
Donald Trump is by far the most polarizing hot potato I've ever seen in politics. You hold him a second too long and you'll get burned. But the shortest best way I can elaborate my view on why I think Trump is directly responsible for their demise is best done by considering how different the political landscape would be if Hillary Clinton won.
<br><br>If Clinton had won the presidency, Ryan would still be on his glide path to the presidency in 2020. He would have remained as Speaker doing exactly what he always does - using Democrats and Hillary Clinton as the perfect foil for roiling up the GOP base to support everything his fiscal conservatism stands for. But with GOP majorities and Trump, Ryan had run out of excuses for why his conservatism isn't a fraud and his policies junk.
<br><br>The same with Walker and a Hillary presidency. Walker would probably not have made the bungling decision to take on Foxconn for the same reason Walker refused to take any risk during the Obama years. Like Ryan, Walker lost the foil advantage of blaming everything wrong in Wisconsin on a Democrat and avoided making any big decisions that a Democrat could contrast against or take credit for. <br><br>With a Hillary presidency, Priebus obviously would not have been appointed chief of staff. But like Walker and Ryan, he would have also had the foil advantage and probably run for the US Senate against Baldwin. But after his firing by Trump, Priebus found himself in political limbo much like Leah Vukmir discovered last Tuesday.<br><br>Sure, I'd prefer to give credit to Hillary Clinton for their demise for losing to Trump, but that would be facetious on my part. <br><br>Of course you might not agree with my perspective on this. But I leave that with a question; What do you think Walker, Ryan and Priebus would be doing today if Hillary Clinton won the presidency?
<br><br>
ADDITIONAL:<br><br>
Wisconsin State Journal - <a href="https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/what-sunk-scott-walker-his-ambition-his-record-tony-evers/article_38932b3b-1f7e-5e24-b61f-27f6e011d692.html">What sunk Scott Walker?</a> His ambition, his record, Tony Evers, and the Donald Trump backlashUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-44128713756666018242018-10-26T13:05:00.003-05:002018-10-26T13:40:11.767-05:00Leah Vukmir Supports Local Control? She Wrote The Bills Taking It Away. <br>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shame on you. You sponsored state preemption bill SB23 overturning the sick pay/family leave referendum originally approved by Milwaukee voters by a 70/30 margin. You're a nurse? Double-shame on you. <a href="https://t.co/aMTE9EfKqk">https://t.co/aMTE9EfKqk</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WIunion?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WIunion</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WIsen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WIsen</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WIpolitics?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WIpolitics</a></p>— Citizen Kaye (@CitizenKayeUSA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CitizenKayeUSA/status/1055878265603264513?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 26, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<br><br>
I also recall at the time some state republicans claiming that the people should not have the power to create laws they benefit from. Right. Beneficial laws are reserved only for corporations.
<br><br>SOURCE:<br><br>
Wisconsin Legislature - <a href="https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/proposals/sb23">SB23</a>
<br><br>
JS - <a href="http://archive.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/121332629.html">Walker signs law pre-empting sick day ordinance</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30422206.post-19668237484793189072018-09-24T10:52:00.000-05:002018-09-24T13:02:45.806-05:00Fire Fighters Question Janesville Officials. City Retaliates With Act 10 Act<br />
First they came for the teachers and though I am not a teacher, I did speak out. Now, they come for the fire fighters and ...
<br><br>
According to a local <a href="https://www.facebook.com/JanesvilleFireFightersLocal580/photos/a.431363510295575/1752732388158674/?type=3&theater">Facebook posting</a> ...<br><br>
<blockquote><b>Janesville Fire Fighters Local 580 Excerpt:</b><br>
Last March, city officials announced that fire fighters would no longer use the fire station garage for private vehicle use, claiming that no other city employee was afforded that same ability. When the JFFA rightly pointed out that several city employees including the City Manager and deputy city manager continued to park at city facilities, the city retaliated with the unprecedented move of proposing to increase only fire fighters health care costs.</blockquote><br>
There it is. Outside of the offensive retaliatory strike orchestrated by the city manager on the fire fighters for daring to question him, it should be noted that prior to Act 10, Local 580 agreed to make changes to their insurance including their rates to create parity among all city employees. After Act 10, that decision has kept all employees on par with the same offerings. But much like what happened to Wisconsin school teachers, Janesville fire fighters within the union are the only ones being targeted now with higher insurance costs.<br><br>
Once beyond those arguments, it should also be noted that when the city was facing a projected $850K budget deficit for 2017, City Manager <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2016/05/major-city-hall-stories-are-swept-under.html">Freitag was quick to point blame at unions</a> for the city's budget shortfall.
<br><br>
In an unrelated incident with an elected city council member, Freitag ordered staffers to ignore the council member's request for information because he didn't believe the council member <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2017/03/fort-janesville_9.html">was being cooperative</a>. So there is a pattern of emotionally leveraged decision making. The city council as a whole however isn't exactly innocent as they continued to prop up the administration with rave reviews and raises. No surprise there.
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Fire fighters shouldn't expect much help on this from the Janesville Gazette either. The newspaper will help them spread the message for readership, afterall, it is news. But you might recall the Gazette is on record saying Scott Walker didn't do enough in his first term and that <a href="https://rocknetroots.blogspot.com/2016/09/janesville-newspaper-explains-what.html">he should finish the job</a> by extending Act 10 to fire fighters and local police departments as well. And, if the city's heavy-handed actions appear divisive to the average observer, the Gazette thought Walker's scorched earth approach on teachers was just about the right touch needed to make them buckle. So we can eventually expect a whitewash from the Gazette on this as well.<br><br>Unfortunately, as history tells me where political loyalties are in the city's scandals over the last ten years, history also tells me this entire episode will be washed away.<br><br>Because, instead of Janesville becoming the epicenter of a reconstituted progressivism fighting for good government, fairness and equality in Wisconsin during the Scott Walker error, the city willingly raced to devolve into a resentment-driven laboratory for right-wing engineered trickle-down economics.
<br><br>In my view, the aggressive response to the fire fighters is a deep problem in leadership that must not be allowed to go away with a statement from the city that someone misspoke or a new council rule that all employees including the city manager can no longer use city facilities for private use.
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Those willing to abuse power by retaliating with an iron fist against their peers over elementary equality and fairness issues don't suddenly self-medicate into Gandhi when verbally corrected. If city staffers are so easily triggered against their peers over petty squabbles, just think what they have planned for the irate taxpayer or opinionated speaker they see as their adversary. <br><br>The city's emotionally charged authoritarian offensive against the fire fighters flows out from a toxic mindset and demoralizing culture that should have no refuge in our local government.
<br><br>Janesville residents must not let the two parties negotiate an internal "settlement" on this matter leaving bad apples on the top to continue rotting the rest of the crate and ...don't let them pretend like this never happened. Like we have repeatedly done in the past.
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