Pubdate: Thu, 23 Nov 2006 Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (WI) Copyright: 2006 Journal Sentinel Inc. Contact: http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/submit.asp Website: http://www.jsonline.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/265 Authors: Steven Walters and Patrick Marley Note: Stacy Forster of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?228 (Paraphernalia) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?247 (Crime Policy - United States) BUDGET-CUT IDEAS WOULDN'T CLOSE GAP State Agencies' Plans Are Mostly Vague, Unpalatable Madison - If state agencies had to cut their spending by 10%, Department of Transportation officials say they would ask permission to stop printing up to 1.8 million state highway maps, saving $232,500. But because the DOT is required by law to print the maps, that request can be turned down by Gov. Jim Doyle and the state Legislature. A picture of Doyle and his wife, Jessica, is on the maps, after all, and legislators get as many maps as they want, put their names on them and often hand them out to constituents like candy. State transportation officials also say they would save $585,000 more by requiring one license plate on each vehicle, instead of two. But every time the one-plate option has been floated in the past, it has been fought by companies that sell raw materials used to make the plates. Although Doyle ordered state agencies to list how they would cut spending by 10%, a Journal Sentinel review of their responses showed that the potential cuts fell far short of $1.6 billion - the newest estimate of the gap between how much state officials say they need to run their agencies through mid-2009 and how much tax collections and other income will total over that period. "I would hope they would find other (savings), besides a service to our citizens," said state Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Kenosha), referring to the proposed elimination of the maps. "People pay a lot of taxes in this state," said Wirch, who gives out thousands of maps each year. "I think they've got a right to get a map. . . . They'd have to pay for it, otherwise." The spending cuts listed by state agencies were much less than the $1.6 billion potential deficit for several reasons. Parts of the University of Wisconsin System and some other state agencies were exempt from the request; some small agencies said they simply could not comply with the request; some agencies - the Educational Communications Board, for example - submitted cuts that did not total 10% of their budgets; and the request from one major agency, the state Department of Natural Resources, had not yet been submitted. Also the state Department of Revenue took a unique approach, declining to identify budget cuts. Instead, state Revenue Secretary Mike Morgan recommended that he be allowed to hire seven more tax auditors and agents, who each would bring in an average of $1.2 million a year. He also proposed changes he says would boost lottery sales by $29 million. Because it's "pretty early" in the budget process, there is no way to know which - if any - of the possible cuts the governor might recommend, said state Budget Director Dave Schmiedicke. But the potential cuts became more important last week, when state officials disclosed the $1.6 billion possible deficit by mid-2009. Doyle and legislators vowed to close that deficit without raising taxes, however. But the governor also acknowledged this week that doing so will be difficult, as he re-examines state programs and whether they should be continued. Potential cuts identified by state agencies included: Public Service Commission: The agency that regulates utilities said it could save $735,400 by not replacing veteran employees expected to retire by June 2009. Department of Workforce Development: $2.3 million in cuts over the next two years to migrant camp inspection and equal rights and child support enforcement programs. Agency officials did not estimate how many jobs would be lost under the cuts. Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection: Save $1.8 million over the next two years by making local governments do health inspections of supermarkets, grocery stores and delis. The agency also said it would use new technology to inspect dairy products and dairy plants. Department of Administration: Cut $3 million from planning in the first of the two-year budget and $10 million from weatherization programs in the second. Department of Corrections: Save $7.76 million over two years with unspecified cuts in "supplies and services." Department of Commerce: Save $1.2 million in cuts by reducing its contacts with home builders, "streamlining" the building-safety program in unspecified ways, and cuts to economic development gifts and grants. Department of Health and Family Services: Cut its state tax subsidy by $5 million in the year starting July 1, and by $8 million in the following year. But changes would result from either switching funding sources - from the state to federal government - or by new, unspecified administrative changes. "None of these changes would affect benefits or service delivery to our clients," said Fredi Bove, the department's director of the Office of Strategic Finance. Public defender's office: Said it would save $1.2 million over the next two years, if state laws were changed so that first-offense possession of drug paraphernalia and the least-serious drugs were no longer misdemeanor crimes but would instead be violations of local ordinances. The office is not recommending those controversial changes, however, said office spokesman Randy Kraft. Tourism Department: $400,000 in cuts over two years to the $13.9 million program that markets Wisconsin nationally; $10,000 savings by having the department secretary no longer fly on state planes, and $7,300 saving by closing the governor's northern Wisconsin office. Transportation Department: In addition to no longer printing highway maps, and requiring one license plate per vehicle, DOT said it would cut $8.7 million in engineering contracts in the first year of the budget and nearly $20 million the second year. The department typically spends about $120 million a year on those contracts. Kevin Chesnik, the transportation systems development administrator, said the agency would tighten the time on some contracts and turn over other work to state engineers. A 2004 Department of Transportation study found that state workers cost 18% less than consultants. The department's engineering staff of roughly 1,400 employees would be able to handle the increased workload without much difficulty, Chesnik said. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake