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NEWSROOM * CIRCULATION * ADVERTISING
Tuesday
February 2010
9
Community Blogs
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
The most important vote the Franklin Common Council will take all year
It’s the 2010 budget. Aldermen will vote Tuesday night at City Hall following a public hearing.
It’s your budget,
The way I see it, the Franklin Common Council has three options:
1) Adopt Mayor Tom Taylor’s proposed budget.
It’s a fiscally responsible document. State law requires that
Problem.
The mayor is a victim of bad timing. He submitted his budget that doesn’t fill one firefighter and two police officer positions in order to meet levy requirements in a tough budget year long before well-publicized reports of a rash of burglaries in
There has since been pressure to restore those positions. In order to make that happen, something else has to go.
Keep in mind, and this is important, Mayor
Aldermen Steve Olson and Alderman Lyle Sohns, I believe will not support the budget in its current form. Alderman Steve Taylor and Alderman Kristen Wilhelm (My alderman and you better believe I'm paying close attention to how she votes) are the wild cards. Neither has played their hand. Neither has suggested significant, if any changes to the mayor’s budget, and they sit on the Finance Committee.
2) Adopt a budget with a 2.9% property tax levy increase that restores the police and firefighter positions
To do that, at least 3 and possibly 4 aldermen better have ideas on how to do it, and then support it.
3) Adopt a Scott Walker-like budget that prioritizes police and fire protection but also protects the taxpayer by a 0% property tax levy increase.
If anyone doesn’t think that’s a great idea, they haven’t paid attention to the past two rallies that brought out a couple thousand supporters of
I submit this would be extremely popular and doable, if only the Franklin Common Council had the political will to pull it off (Sadly, it doesn’t).
That’s where you come in.
It’s your budget.
How many of you got a 2.9% pay raise this year? How many will get that kind of raise next year?
The private sector has cut and cut and cut and cut to the point that hard working families can’t afford more increases. What do our representatives do? They tell us we will be:
1) Paying more, but….
2) Getting less police and fire protection, our most important services that most taxpayers don’t mind shelling out for.
But, hey, we’ll be getting brand new public works vehicles that we may not necessarily need, or…won’t have the bodies to DRIVE THEM!
This is nuts!
Trying to get people to attend a night meeting is tough, unless it’s a NIMBY deal. You want to do what to the road in front of my house? They’re at City hall so fast they left their underwear behind in the dust.
You want to jack up my taxes?
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
This is
And that’s fine.
Don’t want to leave the warm confines of your house because you might miss your favorite TV show? OK.
Don’t want to phone or e-mail a friendly suggestion to your alderman? OK.
But when the budget is passed, and there are no longer two police positions and one firefighter, and you have to call either department because you need help, and response time isn’t as fast as it once was, remember, you had your chance to do something about it.
Did you?
I urge Franklin taxpayers to turn out en masse Tuesday night to make your voices heard on the biggest NIMBY issue of the year.
PS: If I were a betting man, and I never engage in such activity, depending on the level of public input, I predict of the possibilities described above, #1 will pass.
Suggested related reading:
Franklin alderman Olson asks residents to support 0% property tax levy increase
Hey, Franklin, how about a property tax freeze?
So Kevin, does this mean I'll be seeing you tomorrow night at Franklin City Hall? You're lecturing the public to turn out "en masse", but yet I haven't once seen you at a council meeting.
Greg, I've been to several Council meetings over the years, specifically when we talked about sex predators.
You were a no-show. In fact, you bad-mouthed Citizens For a Safe Wisconsin on your blog and tried to torpedo their fundraiser. Citizens For a Safe Wisconsin is the Franklin-based organization working to make neighborhoods all across the state safe from sex predators. Yet you have engaged in mudslinging against them. There's a proud entry on your resume and campaign literature.
And if you want to play that game about attendance at meetings, I never see you in Madison, so you should never blog about state politics, me, or my boss. And you have no clue (as usual) about meetings I've been at with any number of Franklin officials.
If I can make Tuesday's meeting (I do have other personal commitments) I kindly ask, Greg that you save me a chair. I want to sit right next to you so that I can clearly hear and understand the specific budget cuts you'll be proposing. I'll also be very interested in hearing the cuts that Aldermen Taylor and Wilhelm have been working on that you've been promoting.
What are you afraid of, Greggie? That anti-tax and spenders will show up and speak out against your tax the hell out of Franklin agenda?
Remember, folks, as Greggie likes to think, it's always easier spending someone else's money.
And since when is encouraging turnout at a public meeting a bad thing?
Hmmm...last time I checked, I never once stated that I thought it was "easier spending someone else's money." I also don't have any "agendas".
I look forward and encourage residents to attend meetings. Actually, I had a post up earlier today encouraging them to contact their alderman if they felt concerned about the budget. In my opinion, the more citizen involvement, the better. You must have forgot that I led several initiatives with Franklin residents that have led to positive outreach to the people and successes on different levels.
With that said, I will make sure to have a seat reserved!
Greg, your idea of moving forward in Franklin is having Mommy and Daddy pay higher property taxes.
Your idea of an "initiative" in Franklin is having Target have prettier windows.
You staunchly supported the school referendum that failed miserably in Franklin.
You are completely out of touch with the conservative values of the vast majority of Franklin residents.
Now that you have decided tio run for alderman, you seek publicity by crawling out of your hole and commenting on my blog for the first time in months. God help you in any deabte with any opponent that has a pulse.
The astute conservative Franklin voters aren't going to fall for what you're peddling, Greggie. Unlike you, they pay taxes, work for a living, and don't pass the bill to someone else.
The next time you comment, please tell us specifically what budget cuts you propose to improve the budget proposed by Mayor Taylor.
I'm going to bed. Unlike you, I have to work for a living to pay my property tax bill that's coming next month.
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