Event Recap
1/26/19
2019 Annual Meeting
Nearly 200 people attended our 2019 annual meeting on Thursday, January 24. Our program featured a conversation with Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Joel Brennan, who discussed the upcoming state budget and the policy challenges and priorities of the new administration. We provided our own analysis of the state’s fiscal condition and budget issues
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1/3/19
News & Updates | 4th Quarter 2018
President’s message When the merger between the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) and Public Policy Forum (PPF) became official at the stroke of midnight last December 31, I must admit that I felt both a great deal of excitement and a healthy amount of trepidation. Could we continue WISTAX’s prolific analysis
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1/3/19
4th Quarter 2018 President’s Message
When the merger between the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance and Public Policy Forum became official at the stroke of midnight last December 31, I must admit that I felt both a great deal of excitement and a healthy amount of trepidation. Could we continue WISTAX’s prolific analysis of state and local
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12/13/18
Can the Private Sector Help Address Greater Milwaukee’s Infrastructure Woes?
More than 200 people attended our Viewpoint Luncheon in Milwaukee, Can the Private Sector Help Address Greater Milwaukee’s Infrastructure Woes? which explored the role the private sector might play in addressing local government infrastructure challenges. The Wisconsin Policy Forum’s series of reports on local government infrastructure has pointed to vast repair and
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11/20/18
School Referenda in Wisconsin-Fall 2018 Election Update
Voters this month approved school referenda at rates not seen previously, making 2018 the highest year on record with more than $2 billion in additional school spending passed. Our latest Focus looks at the updated trends in school referenda. Our interactive dashboards provide more school referenda figures, including district by district data.
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10/24/18
10 Questions for Candidates: Tony Evers
To inform voters ahead of the November election, we published a report in August looking at key issues in the state along with 10 questions for legislative and gubernatorial candidates. At the same time, WPF sent the 10 questions to the two major candidates for governor. On Sept. 22, we
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10/5/18
Average New Construction by County
Counties rely on property tax collections as a main source of revenue. However, since 2006, the state legislature has limited counties’ property tax increases to the amount of new construction or development. From 2006 through 2011, the state provided a minimum allowable levy increase, or floor, which permitted a county
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10/3/18
School Referenda in Wisconsin
Despite recent increases in state funding, more school districts are turning to referenda to increase spending. In numbers and total dollars, successful school referenda in 2018 may exceed those in 2016, which marked the highest year since 2001. Our latest Taxpayer looks at recent trends in school referenda. Our interactive dashboards provide
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9/28/18
News & Updates | 3rd Quarter 2018
President’s message It’s election season in Wisconsin, and with two tight statewide races and a number of spirited battles for congressional and legislative offices, that means nonstop candidate advertising, mailings, and phone calls. As is par for the course, many of these communications take quotes and votes out of context
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