Taxpayer Alert

 Doyle/DOT Plan Spending Spree

  The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WISDOT) will hold ten public comment sessions beginning this week and running through February.  The hearings are to discuss proposals to raise state and local raise taxes and fees to fund road and transit projects, including new commuter lines in South Eastern Wisconsin and Dane County.
 
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

The priority projects include the KRM commuter rail line connecting Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee and the commuter line from Sun Prairie to Middleton in Dane County. Similar fixed systems should be considered in the corridors connecting Eau Claire and St. Paul, Minn., Oconomowoc and Milwaukee, West Bend and Milwaukee, and Walworth County and Chicago under the plan recommendations.

The draft policy suggests local and regional sales taxes would provide a viable funding mechanism for transit expansions.

The DOT guide backs exploration of a tax based on vehicle miles traveled but rejects the idea of toll booths on the state roads for funding transportation projections and operations through 2030.

This week the Department of Revenue (DOR) predicted state employment would  decrease by 0.6% in 2008 and 2.2% in 2009and that personal income would stall in 2009, yet despite this news and a state budget deficit of $5.4 billion, Governor Doyle and his Administration appear poised to keep spending like there's no tomorrow.

Let your voice be heard!

Meetings will be held from 5-8 pm at the following locations:

Madison
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Alliant Energy Center, Mendota Room
1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison, WI 

La Crosse
Thursday, January 8, 2009
UW-La Crosse
Cartright Center, Valhalla Room
1741 State St., La Crosse, WI

Milwaukee
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Milwaukee County Downtown Transit Center
Harbor Lights Room
909 E. Michigan Ave., Milwaukee, WI

Kenosha
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
UW-Parkside, Student Center Ballroom
900 Wood Road, Kenosha, WI

Superior
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
UW-Superior, Rothwell Student Center Ballroom
1605 Catlin Ave., Superior, WI

Eau Claire
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Sacred Heart Conference Center
900 W. Clairmont, Eau Claire, WI

Rhinelander
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Rhinelander High School Cafeteria
665 Coolidge Ave., Rhinelander, WI

Wausau
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Northcentral Technical College
1000 W. Campus Dr., Wausau, WI

Green Bay
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
St. Norbert’s College
Bemis International Center
Room 114, Suites A,B,C,D
100 Grant St., De Pere, WI

Oshkosh
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Park Plaza Hotel, Ballroom
One North Main, Oshkosh, WI

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