Blog
6/28/18
2nd Quarter 2018 New Faces at the Forum
We’re excited to introduce our newest team members: research director, researcher, research analyst, and two summer interns. Welcome to the Forum! Jason Stein is the Forum’s research director and focuses on state and local government out of our Madison office. Before joining the Forum, he worked as a Capitol reporter for the Milwaukee...
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6/20/18
2018 Salute to Local Government
Over 400 people attended our 26th Annual Salute to Local Government on June 19, which featured WUWM’s Mitch Teich as our keynote speaker. The 2018 Salute marked the first time the awards were presented to local governments and school districts throughout Wisconsin to recognize our new status as a statewide...
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5/29/18
2018 Salute Winners
Our judges reviewed many outstanding entries, and we are pleased to announce this year’s Salute award winners! The 2018 Salute marks the first time the awards are being presented to local governments and school districts throughout Wisconsin to recognize our new status as a statewide organization. The 2018 recipients are:...
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5/8/18
City Governments in Wisconsin: At a Breaking Point?
Recent Wisconsin Policy Forum research has revealed disturbing city budget trends in Milwaukee and Racine, including high levels of long-term debt, growing infrastructure and public safety challenges, and staff reductions in areas like libraries and public works. What is driving these trends, and are they growing worse? Are other Wisconsin...
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5/8/18
The story behind our Milwaukee County justice center report
This morning, the Forum released a report on one of the most critical issues facing Milwaukee County government: how to come up with more than $300 million to replace the aging Safety Building. That building was built in 1929 and no longer meets the County’s functionality requirements for the critical...
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4/16/18
Are Driverless Trucks Coming to Wisconsin?
In the most recent issue of our Focus newsletter, we briefly mentioned a proposal to create dedicated autonomous vehicle lanes to accommodate Foxconn trucks from Mitchell Field in Milwaukee to Mount Pleasant in neighboring Racine County. Space limitations prevented more discussion of autonomous vehicles and their possible impact in Wisconsin....
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4/4/18
Racine Fiscal Report Embodies WPF’s New Statewide Focus
Since 2008, the Public Policy Forum (PPF) has published six detailed local government financial analyses using a methodology we adapted from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). We’re proud of this work, which has been recognized with a national award by the Governmental Research Association. Today, we release a seventh...
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4/3/18
1st Quarter 2018 President’s Message
After such a busy year of planning and deliberation, it’s hard to believe the Wisconsin Policy Forum is now three months old. Of course, three months is far too soon to declare “mission accomplished,” but a brief progress report certainly is in order. In my last message in early January...
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3/13/18
Deferred parking lots maintenance reveal major parks challenges
Over the past two years, the Forum has been conducting a long-term research project analyzing the condition of local government infrastructure in metro Milwaukee and the capacity of local governments to finance their infrastructure needs. So far, our five-part series of reports has included installments on City of Milwaukee and...
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