News

Joint committee wraps up final public hearing

Executive meetings to be held to finish budget by May 25

The Wisconsin Legislative Joint Committee on Finance held their final public hearing on Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget proposal in Cambridge Friday.

Since March 23, the committee has held six public hearings in Appleton, Cambridge, Racine, Sparta West Allis and Eau Claire on the governor’s budget, giving citizens the opportunity to voice their concerns.

Originally, individuals were to be given two minutes each to speak about any concerns they had with the budget, due to the large number of participates at the meetings.

According to committee co-chairs Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, the hearings were very successful.

“There was widespread recognition that the state is facing significant fiscal challenges … the state is not going to be in the position to do everything that people want us to do,” Miller said. “On these public hearings, there are issues that are identified that otherwise might not come to your attention. That’s one of the reasons we have public hearings.”

Pocan added the various locations helped identify regional specific issues that would otherwise not be incorporated into the budget.

Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine and the ranking Republican on the committee, argued lobbyists instead of individual citizens mainly dominated the hearings.

“Average tax payers can’t get to us to tell us their story since they’re working during the day … we heard from lots of lobbyists and government workers,” Vos said.

According to Vos, the only people who turned out were paid to be there by third party groups.

Now that the hearings are over, the committee will begin holding executive hearings starting April 16 with the goal of completing their final version of the budget by Memorial Day.

After the committee finishes the hearings, it will be sent to the entire Legislature to be voted on.

According to the committee members, the governor’s office has already sent them a letter to help clarify and modify various items in Doyle’s original proposal.

Once approved, the budget will be in effect for two years from July 2009 until July 2011.