Governor-elect David Crowley has pledged that if given the opportunity, he will repeal Act 10, the major 2011 legislation signed in by Governor Scott Walker.
Reversing the 2011 law could add more than $2 billion annually to school and local government expenses. Research puts potential school district costs at $1.6 billion to $1.79 billion, with another roughly $480 million for local governments. For homeowners, a possible $624 annual increase on a $300,000 house, assuming projected additional school expenses are passed through to property taxpayers.
Act 10, signed by former Gov. Scott Walker, limited collective bargaining for most public employees and shifted more pension and health insurance expenses onto workers. The increased employee pension contributions alone reduced government costs by nearly $5.2 billion from 2011 through 2017. (RELATED: Copper Thieves Leave Milwaukee in the Dark, Costing Taxpayers Over $830,000)
However, restoring bargaining rights would not automatically restore pre-2011 benefits. School revenue limits and local property-tax caps would restrict some immediate spending increases. School districts have also experienced substantial savings under Act 10. School districts saved approximately $451.5 million in employee benefit costs during the 2011–2012 school year alone, once the law was enacted.
Restoring pre-Act 10 compensation costs could increase annual school district expenditures by more than $1.6 billion. This includes approximately $649 million in salaries, $422 million in retirement contributions, and $560 million in health insurance expenses.
During Crowley’s time as County Executive, he oversaw and even championed the legislation that increased Country residents taxes. In 2023, Crowley signed legislation increasing the county sales tax from 0.5% to 0.9%. Not only did he “cut the cake” celebrating this in 2023, in his 2027 proposal, he is proposing yet another property tax increase. (RELATED: Wisconsin Secures $218 Million for Milwaukee-Madison Amtrak Expansion)
Also in Crowley’s new budget, there’s a $4.6 million hole in the final report. Not only did Crowley know about the $4.6 million deficit, he delayed informing supervisors to investigate the issue. Crowley waited all the way until November 4th to come forward, not only was it one day after he had won the election, it was less than 24 hours before the budget was supposed to be voted on and approved.
