Cutting Through the Disinformation on the Budget, plus this Week's Updates

Hi Everyone,

I trust you are managing to stay cool during this late August heat wave. We've had a very pleasant month so far, with cooler and less humid weather, but the next few days will be more typical of what we experience this time of year. Hence, a reminder to hydrate, look out for your neighbors, be mindful of your pets, and generally grin and bear it until cooler weather returns.

Here are this week's updates, but first more about the budget.

I'm sure you saw the news that the Common Council voted last week to place a referendum on the November ballot, allowing voters to decide whether to cut City services or raise their property taxes by an average of $20 per month. 

Despite suggestions to the contrary, this decision was not made lightly. The belief the Council, the Mayor and City staff have been on a wild spending spree, that Madison is run by tax and spend liberals with no common sense and no ability to balance a budget, that the City is going to the voters to subsidize profligate spending, is simply not true. 

I voted with the majority to place the referendum on the ballot, but the simple truth is we would all rather not see our property taxes increase, nor do we relish cutting services. We are between a rock and a hard place, a situation being faced by municipalities throughout the state, including several in Dane County.

The Mayor recently gave a brief overview of where we are, and what we can expect from either decision of the voters in this speech to the Madison Rotary Club. The Mayor’s comments start at 17:18. While I encourage you to watch the entire presentation, some of the most salient points are made between minutes 28-31:14, and in answer to a question from 50:53-53:33. 

I also encourage you to review my blog post from last week, addressing the many misconceptions about the imminent start-up of bus rapid transit (BRT) and its impacts on the budget, as well as my post from the week before, laying out the facts of our structural deficit.

Why is this important? There's a high level of misinformation on Facebook, NextDoor, letters to the editor and even yesterday's editorial cartoon in the WSJ. Recently, a Dudgeon-Monroe resident sent me an email in which she alleged our current dilemma was a result of "the mayor's mismanagement of the Madison budget." I asked what she was referring to, what evidence and facts she could point to supporting this allegation, but she could offer none. 

Emotions are trumping facts, or so it seems.

The editorial cartoon in Sunday's paper by Phil Hands was a cheap shot. It suggested Alders are shaking down residents, blithely and irresponsibly asking for additional revenue. 

Image credit: Phil Hands

Yes, I admit I'm somewhat flattered to be included in a cartoon, but Phil should know better; he's a former board member of Neighborhood House, the oldest community center in the City, a historic fixture in Greenbush, and a recipient of financial assistance from Madison's community development division for decades. If the referendum fails, austerity measures requiring cuts will be more severe with every succeding budget. Yes, a number of changes on the state level could and should happen -- changes that would allow for more shared revenue, a more realistic basis for determining the levy limit, a regional transit authority and local half percent sales tax, as well as increased payments by the state and UW for the municipal services we provide to these entities, all of which would allow for sufficient revenue to cover increases in operating costs principally due to our rapidly growing city.

But there are no guarantees these changes will happen in the near term. In the meantime, as we continue to make cuts in services to balance the budget, austerity as our new shared reality will very likely mean the Monroe Street Library would be shuttered and organizations like Neighborhood House would see reduced funding from the City, the consequences falling particularly hard on our City's most vulnerable residents.

In short, it's important to cut through the cloud of false information. Nobody wants to see their property taxes increase. However, the notion that there's fat that can easily and painlessly be cut is simply not true. There is no way to readily cut our way out of this structural deficit without ever-increasing impacts of a draconian nature that will be felt by each and every resident. 

Perhaps, Phil should create a cartoon wondering why the tree that fell on his house after a fierce windstorm is still there a week later, and then saying to himself: "Maybe I shoudn't have voted against the referendum." 

Now on to the rest of this week's updates: