Top Stories February 26th

Contract Agreements Pass Through Committee
2/26/11 - The Dodge County Human Resources and Labor Negotiations Committee approved tentative labor agreements yesterday (Fr) between the county and seven local unions that represent over 650 county employees. The vote was four to one. In a press release issued by Human Resources Director Joe Rains, it states that the terms of the settlement agreement were in line with the county’s previously approved 2011 budget, and consistent with the county’s bargaining objectives. The negotiations began last November for contracts that expired at the end of last year. This tentative one year contract would end on December 31, 2011, with no increase in wages and no step increases for a one year period. The Dodge County Board will consider the agreements at a meeting scheduled for March 8. If the contracts are ratified and the Budget Repair Bill is passed, non-represented county employees would begin paying 5.8% of their earnings toward their retirement account but union workers would wait until after the contract expires at the end of the year. The press release states that committee members felt it would be beneficial to have the agreements in place for the remainder of the year in order to focus on what changes, if any, would be needed to ensure quality services in the county in the months and years to come. The agreement covers the Dodge County Federation of Nurses and the six AFSCME locals, which include the Highway Employees Union, Professional Employees Union, Sheriff’s Department Sworn Employees Union, Sheriff’s Department Non-sworn Employees Union, Technical and Support Employees Union, and the Health Facilities Employees Union.

Assembly Vote May Have Been Illegal Say Democrats

Assembly Democrats suggest an early morning vote approving the budget repair bill may have been illegal. Republicans suddenly ended over 60 hours of debate Friday morning on the bill, which strips most public employees of their collective bargaining rights, while several lawmakers were still waiting to speak. Democrats say Assembly rules should have required a vote to end debate early. Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) says that did not happen, and that could mean the vote was illegal. Barca says Democrats will be reviewing tapes of the final minutes of the session very closely and will explore every option available to them. The vote on the bill and adjournment of the session happened in less than a minute, and came as a surprise to many in the Assembly at the time. However, Republicans had been showing increasing frustrations with Democrats during the last few hours of the debate, offering some indication they could make a procedural move to end the marathon session.

Republican Who Voted Against the Budget Repair Bill Speaks Out

A Neenah lawmaker was one of four Republicans in the assembly to vote against Governor Walker’s plan to strip nearly all public employee unions of most of their collective bargaining rights. Representative Dean Kaufert said he supports requiring workers to pay more toward their pension and health insurance, but he thought the proposal went too far. Kaufert said there are a lot of hardworking people in his district, including public employees and union members. He said they were very vocal, and that part of his job is to listen.

Some Sleepovers at the Capital to End

Protesters will have to end sleepovers in offices and hearing rooms of the Wisconsin Capitol by tonight. That's the decision of the joint committee on legislative organization. Senate president Scott Fitzgerald says law enforcement officers have security concerns about legislative offices being used as dormitories. The teaching Assistants Association has been occupying a committee hearing room for more than a week now. A spokesman for the TAA says the group will move its protest coordination office off site. But protesters will still be allowed to sleep in the rotunda and in the hallways.

BDPD Releases Crime Statistics

2/26/11 - The Beaver Dam Police Department has released crime statistics for the month of January. According to the activity report, there were two burglaries reported last month; both were residential and none involved forced entry. There were 25 general thefts reported. All of that resulted in a total of $18,453 in stolen property, of which around $850 was recovered. Beaver Dam police officers issued eleven tickets for Operating While Intoxicated, and issued two citations for liquor law violations. There were six citations for Disorderly Conduct along with eight domestic incidents, one child abuse offense and two sex offenses reported. There were 76 adults arrested in January along with 33 minors. There were 47 traffic accidents in the city last month resulting in 13 injuries.

PSC Approves Pollution Controls Plan

2/26/11 - Wisconsin’s largest polluter of sulfur dioxide will be cleaned up in the next few years. The state Public Service Commission approved a plan yesterday to install pollution controls at the Columbia Energy Center, a large power plant just south of Portage. The 627-million-dollar project is designed to reduce the plant’s mercury emissions by 90-percent – and it’s got to be done by the start of 2015. Three large utilities co-own the plant, and their customers will pay varying amounts for the controls. The action comes amid lawsuits by the Sierra Club and the federal E-P-A over the pollution at the Columbia facility. The plaintiffs said the owners should have installed the controls a long time ago, when they made modifications to the plant. But Wisconsin Power-and-Light said the changes were routine, and were not enough to trigger required pollution control improvements.

No Refund for We Energies Customers

2/26/11 - Wisconsin utility regulators will not make the state’s largest electric utility give refunds to customers for making too much of a profit. The Public Service Commission voted 2-to-1 today against credits for customers of We Energies. Lauren Azar cast the only vote in favor of the refunds, saying the utility made more in profits than what the commission approved for 2008-and-’09. But panel members Eric Callisto and Mark Meyer said the panel doesn’t let utilities raise their rates when they don’t hit their expected profit levels – and so the reverse shouldn’t happen, either. One of the issues was whether bonuses for utility executives should be considered in a utility’s profit figures. Callisto says they’re not supposed to be considered – and commission staffers will look into recent bonuses to make sure the rules are being followed.

Foreclosed Homes are a Bargain

2/26/11 - A new report says 14-percent of the homes sold in Wisconsin last year were under some stage of foreclosure. And those buyers paid an average of 35-percent less than for homes that were not foreclosed. The firm of Realty-Trac said Wisconsin had 61-hundred foreclosure deals, and they were not nearly as prevalent as the nation as a whole. Just over a quarter of last year’s U-S home sales involved foreclosed properties. And the buyers got average discounts of 28-percent. Bill Malkasian, president of the Wisconsin Realtors Association, said distressed property sales hurt median sale prices for all homes. But he said an increasing number of cash deals for foreclosed homes is a good sign – because the increase in investors shows that the overall sales decline is hitting bottom.

Peek of Flu Season is Getting Close

2/26/11 - Wisconsin’s flu season is about to hit its peak, and state officials say it’s not too late to get immunized. Tom Haupt of the state’s Public Health division says the peak is coming one-to-two weeks later than normal. And it takes about two weeks for the vaccine to take effect – plenty of time to avoid deaths and larger numbers of hospitalizations. For the first time, Wisconsin hospitals are required to report their flu-related admissions. Haupt said the 50-and-older age group has had the most hospitalizations this winter – 146 since December first. Thirty-five of those people needed intensive care. The second-most common flu hospitalizations are for adults age 19-to-49, with 109 admissions. All told, 312 Wisconsinites have landed in a hospital since December first because of the flu – an average of 10-to-15 per day statewide. Haupt says H-1-N-1 is making a comeback, especially among younger people. This winter’s flu vaccine protects against both the seasonal flu and the H-1-N-1 virus.

Good Karma Broadcasting Honored

2/26/11 - The WBEV-WXRO Children’s Radiothon has been recognized by the Wisconsin Child Care Administration Association. The statewide organization supports quality early care and learning for children. At a luncheon in Wisconsin Dells Friday Good Karma Broadcasting CEO Craig Karmazin was presented with an award acknowledging the 13-year history of the Radiothon and welcoming Good Karma to their “Corporate Honor Roll.” The radio station was nominated by Renee Henning of Community Care Incorporated, one of seven organizations that has benefitted from Radiothon dollars. To date, the annual fundraiser has raised over one million dollars for local non-profit agencies that help children in the community.