(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty is out with a new report that says rolling back the limitations on collective bargaining included adopted more than a decade ago in Act 10 would cost local governments in Wisconsin nearly $500 million.
“At the time of Act 10’s passage, the legislation saved Wisconsin from pending financial ruin. As the federal government pulled back funding provided in the Great Recession, the state faced a budget deficit of more than $3.6 billion – the equivalent of nearly $5 billion today. Act 10 fixed the fiscal hole, and state and local budgets adjusted to the ‘new normal.’ There is little doubt that going back on the law would be ruinous for all levels of government,” the report states.
WILL’s Will Flanders said the nearly half-billion-dollar price tag for local governments includes:
● $113 million in new health insurance costs
● $360 million in new retirement benefit costs
● $12.7 million in new salary costs
“When faced with a budget shortfall, governments have two main options: raise additional revenue or cut services. It is not clear how this gap would be closed, but it is likely that a significant increase in the tax burden for Wisconsinites would be necessary,” the report adds.
The report looks at the cost projections for health insurance and retirement costs. It also notes that Act 10 never really slowed the pace of pay rises, acknowledging “Pay in 2012 – the last year prior to full Act
10 implementation – was $65,101 compared to $65,468 today. However, it seems the pay growth rate was arrested by the legislation. From 2000 to 2012, annual pay increases averaged about $241. From 2012 to 2022, pay increases averaged $46.”
The WILL report also quotes Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, who said ending Act 10 would be just as impactful as its implementation.
“It’s almost unfathomable how consequential it would be if Act 10 were repealed. I mean, we’ve made so much progress in the 10, 15 years since that was adopted,” Schoemann said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s here in Washington County, one of the most conservative places in Wisconsin or a place like the city of Milwaukee, the city of Madison, there have been huge reforms that have occurred at the local level since then. So to think about taking a step backwards in that way would be extraordinarily detrimental to our organization. And I think municipalities across the state of Wisconsin.”
WILL released a previous report on Act 10’s impact on public schools costs, That report said Act 10 has saved taxpayers more than $1.5 billion over the past decade-plus.
Act 10 is headed for a hearing before the Wisconsin Supreme Court after a Dane County judge questioned why and how lawmakers exempted certain public employees, like policemen and firefighters, from the law.
