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A U.S. Department of Labor Regional Innovation Grant will assist 10 northwest Wisconsin counties in generating interstate economic renewal and job creation strategies in partnership with Minnesota. Read more here. |
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Number of trips Americans took on public transportation in 2007, the highest level in 50 years and a 2.1 percent increase over the number of trips taken in 2006: 10.3 billion.
Source: American Public Transportation Association, 3/10/08 |
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Milwaukee County Treasurer Daniel Diliberti has authored a report on the potential impact on local governments of the subprime collapse. The report addresses this situation with an added focus on the potential impact on Milwaukee County and this metropolitan area. He originally presented the report to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors' Finance Committee.
Mr. Diliberti has served as the Milwaukee County Treasurer since 2005 and prior to that, was a Milwaukee County Board Supervisor from 1992-2005. He has extensive experience in government and received the National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award for Treasury Functions in 2007, as well as a NACo County Courthouse Award in 2007.
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While the Wisconsin State Legislature adjourned their regular session last week, work still needs to be completed to fill the anticipated $652 million budget deficit. Administrative action was taken by the Governor to reduce the deficit to $416 million by requiring state agencies to lapse an additional $111 million, and rolling over short-term general obligation borrowing that would otherwise be paid off in 2007-08 and 2008-09. Full Story... |
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Although the legislature did not ratify the Great Lakes Compact in the now ended 2007-08 legislative session, no one in Madison is giving up, not even the lawmaker most often cited as the reason the pact didn't pass. State Representative Scott Gunderson ( R-Waterford), chair of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources, objected to various points in the compact. He was supported by Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch ( R-Onalaska) who did not force a vote on SB 523 before the session ended.
However, passage of the pact remains a possibility, either as part of budget adjustment action in the upcoming special session on the budget, or perhaps as a separate special session of its own.
Full Story... |
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State officials have signed up more than twice as many new enrollees for BadgerCare Plus in the first month of the program as they had hoped to get in the first 14 months, according to the Department of Health and Family Services. Since the new program began February 1, 2008, more than 64,000 people have signed up. The state was shooting to get 26,000 new enrollees through the middle of next year.
Of those 64,000 new enrollees, about 42,000 were added to the rolls almost immediately when the changes for qualification were implemented; many had already applied in anticipation of the changes. That jump helped push the number of people in Wisconsin on Medicaid to 574,000, accounting for about 1-in-10 state residents. Full Story... |
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 The April Wisconsin Counties magazine focuses on National County Government Week and its theme this year, "Protecting Our Children." The issue takes a comprehensive look at child services in Wisconsin and contributors represent different groups in the state.
Stay tuned to your mailbox or for subscription information, contact Jennifer Bock, managing editor, at 866.404.2700. |
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Don't forget to check your mail in the upcoming weeks for the WCA Annual Conference tentative agenda, which will be mailed soon. Housing for the October 12-14, 2008 event at the Kalahari Resort also opens April 1, 2008. Stay tuned to the WCA website for more information. |
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While the challenges of debt collection for counties are not news, and the opportunity to use a debt collection service to assist in collections has been available to local governments, this article on Portage County's recent decision to use a collector mentions an advantage of such a move: uncollected debt becomes visible on debtors' credit reports.
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 The NACo Prescription Drug Discount Card program was designed for your uninsured and underinsured county residents. Through a partnership with Caremark, this simple discount card can save an average of 20% off the full retail cost of prescription medication. To date, there are over 960 counties participating (1,022 counties is 1/3 of the nation's counties).
Here are the key factors that make it a great program:
*It is easy to participate. There are no enrollment fees, no forms to fill out, no age or income requirements, and no medical condition restrictions. The entire family is covered with just one card and virtually all commonly prescribed medicine is covered;
*There are no costs. There is no cost to the county, county taxpayers, or consumers to participate. Caremark negotiates the discounts directly with participating pharmacies. Neither NACo nor the participating counties receive any revenue from the program;
*Everyone is eligible. The discount cards are provided free to residents living in participating NACo member counties across the country. A national network of more than 57,000 retail pharmacies honor the card; Consumers always receive the lowest retail price. On occasion, pharmacies will price a particular medication lower than the discount rate available with the NACo card. If that occurs, consumers will receive the lower price. Either way, consumers will always receive the best price available.
Your county must be a NACo member to participate! For questions or to enroll in the program, please contact Andrew Goldschmidt, Director, Membership/Marketing at (202) 942-4221 or agoldschmidt@naco.org. Learn more by going to NACo Prescription Drug Program.
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