Recently, I attended a Wauwatosa Senior Forum. As the lone conservative-
minded person at the table, I was profoundly struck by the progressive left's
response to two seemingly unrelated items.
In the first item, Wauwatosa School District Superintendent Dr. Means
briefly discussed the School District’s two referendums: a $60M Capitol
Budget referendum and a $64M Operating Budget referendum. The
operating referendum would increase the School district’s operating budget
by 64% over four years.
I wasn't given the opportunity to talk about the two referendums. Still, after
listening to Dr. Means, I couldn't help but notice that the School District
intentionally used most of its $40 million in reserves on operating budget
items, such as increasing salaries by 30% over three years. This happened
while losing control of their budget and overspending somewhere between 4
and 8 million dollars. My initial thought was, why would anyone approve of
giving an additional $124 million to an organization that clearly lacks proper
monetary control? My second thought was that the referendum(s) vote
would be on November 5th, while the actual amount of overspending would
be known only after the audit is completed in December. It would be best to
wait until you’ve received that audit, allowing you to make an informed
decision. The school District can revisit the referendum during the spring
elections.
The second item that caught my attention was a discussion about what to do
with the State's Budget surplus. I was surprised when Senator LaTonya
Johnson immediately responded, "Spend it, spend it, spend it." At the same
time, my opponent had a long list of ongoing programs for which she
wanted to spend the surplus money; increasing their budgets.
Here's the situation: Whether you refer to it as "reserves" or "surplus," it's a
limited amount of money. Once you spend it, it's gone. If you spend the
surplus on increasing the operating budget or expanding ongoing programs,
you'll find yourself in a position where you only have two options: Either
reduce the programs or raise taxes. Reducing an established program is
nearly impossible, and numerous studies have consistently shown that high
taxes harm economic activity within a community, ultimately leading to a
decline in overall prosperity. Both options are painful, and I do not want to
lead the State of Wisconsin into the same dire financial situation as
Wauwatosa Schools. We must consider the long-term implications of our
fiscal decisions.
Yes, spend it. Because once the rainy-day fund is full, hoarding money does
no one any good. But we must be strategic in how we spend your money. I
suggest using a portion of the funds for capital projects to lower the
government's operating costs and investments in workforce development to
grow the economy. Then, return the rest to the taxpayers by reducing the
tax rate on the middle class. As your representative, I am always mindful
that the money belongs to the people I represent. Strategic spending is the
key to a prosperous future for Wisconsin.
Wauwatosa residents: Your vote matters. By voting "YES" on the School
referendums, especially the operating budget referendum, before you’ve
received and digested the audit, you essentially indicate that fiscal
responsibility is unnecessary. Yes, your vote does matter; a vote for Tom
Michalski is a vote to make the State Government more efficient, grow the
economy, and put more money back into your hands by decreasing
taxes. I've already voted three times to reduce your taxes; my opponent
voted against these decreases. I have many years of experience balancing
budgets at home and in local and County government. A vote for Tom
Michalski is a vote for a commonsense fiscal approach over reckless
spending.
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