“Sorry, but I don’t ever read your stories,” one of my friends once told me. “You start off with a little story about your childhood, and then you talk about poor people.”

“I know,” I laughed, “They can be kind of dry. But I also talk about jobs. And taxes.”

Being that low income residents, jobs, and budgeting are my main concerns, it’s no wonder the new county budget is making my blood boil. The budget itself isn’t bad – as reported by the State Journal, it sets aside $24.2 million for roads, 911 improvements, conservation of land and much more. However, a brazen move by the conservative minority has stopped the budget in its tracks, and their stonewalling could lean unfairly heavily on taxpayers.

Paul Fanlund of the Cap Times says, “county government always plays second fiddle on the local stage.”

While Mayor Paul Soglin’s budget plan review last Wednesday drew enough onlookers to be considered a spectacle, the county government is quietly dealing with a schism that could cost them fines, investment and the trust of lending agencies.

At the last budget vote, a group of 10 conservatives on the county’s Board of Supervisors voted no on capital financing that, in theory, was already approved last November. The budget includes all sorts of great programs, including elder care, job creation and rehab, and also has enough cuts to make conservatives happy.

However, Sup. Bill Clausius, District 19, who proposed the postponement, said that conservatives are concerned about how much money the county plans to borrow, especially in the case of land conservation and county vehicles. In all, 10 conservatives agreed, and were able to halt the proceedings because it takes three-quarters of the total 37 members to authorize borrowing.

Sup. Cynda Solberg, District 36, who originally voted down the budget because she didn’t approve of the land purchases, switched her vote and said, “It bothers me that people want to jeopardize some of those things … It’s stuff we’ve already purchased, and it’s really important things for the Sheriff’s Office and 911 and roads that are in dire need. They are shooting themselves in the foot.”

Not only will not approving the budget rob Dane County citizens of its programs, but we may also face $10,000 a day in fines if we pass the federal deadline for improving emergency radio systems. And that’s not all: If the money isn’t borrowed quickly, the county could incur $5 million in charges, penalties and litigation for pulling contracts previously approved.

Lenders could see the county as untrustworthy, which means its bond rating would fall, interest rates would rise and contractors and banks would be unwilling to make deals. In a county already struggling against its reputation as cold to business, this is a costly mistake.

So, you may be asking, who’s going to pay for this? This time, it’s all of us. The monetary difference, as usual, will fall on the backs of Dane County taxpayers.

Sup. Scott McDonell, District 1, and chairman of the Dane County Board, said, “On human services, we have been getting cut from the state and federal government for a while now. These cuts are even deeper just at a time we are seeing increased demand for services. This hits particularly hard on kids, seniors and people with disabilities.”

Dane County has already lost what McDonell calls the “strong safety net like we had 15 years ago,” and cuts to worthy programs can’t go much further before there won’t be anything left for those that need the most help.

Times are tough for everyone, and taking that into consideration, County Executive Joe Parisi put together a budget that made the best of a bad situation. Targeted program funding strived to maintain social services in a downturned financial climate. Significant program cuts should have appeased conservatives’ concerns of fiscal responsibility and self-reliance.

Unfortunately, the actions of the conservative minority are a political partisanship tantrum. The State Journal reports that Solberg said the “board’s staunchest conservatives have been dominated by … liberals for years,” and the move is, according to Sup. John Hendrick, District 6, “hostage taking.” The 10 conservatives who voted down the county budget are not just voting against the disabled and the poor. They’re also voting against taxpayers, jobs, safety and the environment. Essentially, 10 people voted against all of us. If that’s not a hostage situation, what is?

Taylor Nye ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in archaeology, biological anthropology, and Latin American studies.