Group Of Mayors Say They’re Left Out Of Job Creation Conversation

A group of mayors at a Wisconsin Municipalities’ Urban Alliance meeting in La Crosse say officials should involve local communities in job creation.

Racine Mayor John Dickert wants the governor and legislators to listen to local leaders. He wants to share ideas on legislation early on, not when bills and the budget have been set in stone. Dickert says because lawmakers have not been receptive to mayors, it’s straining communities and it’s not helping them create jobs.

Other mayors at the meeting say that with each state budget, municipalities are losing local control. They’re critical of the new budget’s limits on property taxes and residency requirements.

Dickert says prospective employers want certain features in an area, like quality of life incentives. He says the state’s not providing him with the tools that businesses want: incentive mechanisms for better transportation, workforce education, and workforce development

“If those three things that are most important to the people that are talking to me are not being taken care of, and we have no way to assist, how are we supposed to provide the jobs?” asks Dickert.

Appleton mayor Tim Hanna says politics is to blame for the lack of communication.

“We don’t bring money to the table to contribute to their campaigns so we don’t have quite as much influence as a lot of other industries and special interest groups have,” says Hanna.

Hanna says if legislators would pick up their phones, together they would create jobs.