Analysis of Municipal Data Shows Decreased Spending Since Act 10
Monday, September 8th, 2014 -- 10:26 AM
-An analysis of municipal data from 2012 shows city and village governments have decreased spending since the passage of Act 10.According to the Marshfield News Herald, the impact of the benefit and bargaining changes for public employees in Act 10 has allowed municipalities to save money, which caused spending to decrease statewide by 3 percent in 2012, according to a report by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance released last week.
The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance is a nonprofit nonpartisan organization based in Madison. Act 10 is Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill that passed in 2011, which limits bargaining for most public union employees and requires public workers to pay a greater share of contributions to retirement and health insurance.
While the report is accurate, it only analyzes the operations side of municipal spending, said central Wisconsin city officials. The study focused on an analysis of municipality operating expenses because it tends to remain constant year after year, said Stephanie Rubin, a Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance analyst. The data did not include spending on debt service and capital expenditures.
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