Tuesday, March 29th
Lately, we have been reading about the budget cuts proposed for local government programs. The Wisconsin State Journal and the Capital Times have reported that our city can expect at least $11 million in cuts. On top of this, our community has seen almost 0% growth in the local job market adding almost nothing for future revenue projections. Conservative estimates have been stated and we could experience shortfalls of $20-25 million dollars.
This does not even take into account the impacts on local budgets coming from the federal government. President Obama has proposed cuts to local programs like the Community Development Block Grants, and the House of Representatives leadership has proposed even larger cuts. So beyond what the State of Wisconsin decides, we can also expect less support from the federal government. The amount is unknown at this point.
If I am able to represent you on the Madison Common Council my priorities will be:
Public Safety – all residents and business owners need to feel safe. I will advocate for an increase in human resources to support our police department.
Basic Services – we need to maintain an attractive community for families to raise their kids and businesses to grow and expand their workforce. We need good roads, and great service.
Economic Development – increasing our tax base by growing existing businesses and attracting new ones will lessen the burden on our homeowners that are currently paying more and more property taxes.
Through our budget process I will look for ways to streamline our government to increase efficiencies. We need to look at: refinancing our current debt obligations, consolidating our procurement policies, and removing redundant programs that are already being covered by the county or the state.
My goal is to work and represent District 1 in a non-partisan and independent way. We can work together across the entire city, across party lines and with our mayor’s office to improve the lives of our citizens.
Please feel free to contact me with any comments, concerns or questions. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thank you for your time.
Brian
Brian Driscoll
Candidate for District 1
Madison Common Council
http://www.driscollfordistrict1.com/
http://driscollfordistrict1.blogspot.com/
608-345-0581
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