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A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 55% of Democrats say both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama should continue campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination, while 35% say Clinton should drop out. Read the full Gallup.com story here. |
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Number of years a single light bulb has been burning continuously in a fire station in Livermore, California, earning recognition by both Guinness World Records and Ripley's Believe It Or Not as the planet's longest continuously burning bulb: 107
Source: Los Angeles Times via Governing.com |
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 A compromise package has been unveiled on the state's budget adjustment bill, which is necessary to deal with a $650 million shortfall in the current state budget. Legislative leaders announced on Monday that a conference committee version of the bill had been agreed to and would receive action in the Legislature this week.
The conference committee approved the package on Monday, May 12 on a vote of 5-1. The State Senate passed the plan yesterday and the Assembly is expected to take the plan up today, Wednesday, May 14. Procedural rules prevent the conference committee package from being amended.
There has been a lot of speculation on what might be vetoed by Governor Doyle, but at this point, nothing has been announced.
A memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau describing the package is found here. |
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The Legislature is expected to approve the Great Lakes Compact in a special session this week. This development was announced at the same time as the news on the budget adjustment bill, but the compact is not part of the budget bill.
The State Senate has scheduled action on April 2008 Special Session Senate Bill 1 (the Great Lakes Compact) for this Wednesday, May 14. A vote in the Assembly is expected on either Wednesday or Thursday. |
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WCA District Meetings, which are held biennially following the spring elections, concluded last week after seven meetings around the state.
In addition to updates from the Association, elections were held for the WCA Board of Directors, the Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation (County Mutual) Board of Directors and the Wisconsin County Capital Projects Commission. Nominations were also accepted for the Wisconsin Representative to the National Association of Counties (NACo) Board of Directors. Full Story... |
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The National Association of Counties (NACo) has requested that the Wisconsin Counties Association (WCA) submit nominations for the NACo Steering Committees. Members of the Steering Committees are expected to attend the NACo Annual Conference, NACo Legislative Conference and at least one other NACo Steering Committee meeting during the year. Travel expenses for these meetings are the responsibility of the county.
Appointments are made in July after the NACo Annual Conference. You may serve on only ONE steering committee and must be from a NACo member county. Only eight individuals from any state (including up to two from any one county) can serve on a particular committee. Please indicate your first choice with #1 and second with #2. NACo will notify you of your appointment in September.
Read on for a full list of NACo Committees, as well as for application forms, click here. |
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 Once again this May, UW-Extension Local Government Center and the Wisconsin Counties Association will host their popular "County Officials Workshops" in seven locations throughout the state. Sessions began last week and go through May 22, 2008.
The comprehensive workshops cover everything from open meetings laws to budgeting to media relations.
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The Wisconsin Land Information Association 2008 Spring Regional Meeting will be held June 5-6, 2008 at the Jefferson Street Inn in Wausau, Wisconsin. The meeting will focus on "Democratizing the Multi-Purpose Land Information System: Impediments and Opportunities"
At this year's annual conference, "Leaping into Enterprise GIS: Building on 20-Years of Land Records Integration" was the theme. 'Enterprise GIS' captures infrastructural benefits that include reducing redundancy, improving accuracy, enhancing application interoperability, and minimizing costs. Democratization is also firmly embedded into Enterprise GIS - it is the timely sharing of information that enables enterprise-wide knowledge management and sound decision-making.
Data sharing, privacy, and cost recovery issues are timely for Wisconsin GIS professionals and local officials. The WLIA Spring Regional Meeting will address the impediments and opportunities for democratizing information to help attendees build and communicate the business case for Enterprise GIS and the Multi-Purpose Land Information System.
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 You're a county commissioner in Montana. The phone rings; it's for you. It's Madeleine Albright, the former secretary of state. Yeah, right. No really.
"At first you think your friends are messing with you," said Ed Tinsley, a Lewis and Clark County commissioner, who also happens to be a Democratic "superdelegate."
But Albright did call him -- twice, as did Chelsea Clinton, seeking his commitment to support Sen. Hillary Clinton. He also heard from former Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota on behalf of Sen. Barack Obama before deciding in February to back Obama.
Read the full article by NACo Senior Staff Writer Charles Taylor here. |
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 Has your company signed up for the online Wisconsin County Purchasing Directory yet? This interactive tool is searchable, available 24/7 and allows vendors to include multiple contact names, e-mail addresses and cross references all for one low rate. To be a vendor, fill out the form found here.
If you are a county purchasing agent or make purchasing decisions for your county, take a closer look at the Wisconsin County Purchasing Directory. It provides comprehensive information on businesses that deal with counties all over the state and even includes references so you can speak with other counties first hand about their experiences with a particular vendor.
For more information on the directory, click here. |
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