Over 300 people filled the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay to voice their concerns and support about Gov. Jim Doyle's 2007-09 budget proposal to the Joint Finance Committee yesterday.
Members were pleased with the high turnout.
"I find it to be rewarding," said Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee. "It shows that we are more alike around the state than we are different ... and it gives me the opportunity to learn what's working in one region of the state that we could use in other regions."
Presenters, each given three minutes to present their agenda, spoke on a wide variety of issues including education, health care, transportation, tourism. About 200 people registered to speak over the course of the hearing, which lasted more than seven hours.
"The benefit here is that the representatives and senators that are in attendance are members on the committee that oversees the state's purse strings, so to speak," said Alvin
Geurts, the highway commissioner of
Outagamie County. "There's certainly a lot of influence they have in allocating funds down to our local county level."
Geurts added that he was pleased to have an opportunity to speak, but was disappointed that it took most of the day before he got the chance. Many individuals were waiting for more than four hours before they were given a chance to speak because of the high turnout.
Many of the speeches were in support of government spending, and the governor's proposed budget allocations, but there were also those with different ideas. A representative from
BayCare Medical Center spoke out against the proposed hospital tax, saying, 'We're having more and more problems recruiting physicians to the state.'
Other issues that were addressed included the proposed statewide smoking ban and cigarette tax, funding for sexual assault and domestic abuse centers, and the state of highways and road systems.
Members of the committee were given a chance to respond to the presenters, and many had questions. Those who were presenting especially liked this portion of the session.
"I think it's very important (to get feedback)," said Colleen
Homb, the family development director for the
Lakeshore Family Resource Center. "You definitely know you're being heard."
Overall, it seemed both committee members and presenters alike were pleased with the opportunity to have an open forum discussion session to talk about the various financial issues the state faces.
"I think this was extremely important," Sen. Taylor said. "The people are the ones out there, they're the ones on the front line ... and this allows us to hear them."
--By Tim Maylander, WisPolitics.com Green Bay correspondent
Labels: Green_Bay_Meeting, Taylor
