GET ME REWRITE: GOP lawmakers profess that 'the most effective government is government closest to the people' -- except when it comes to transportation utility fees

Meet the latest group of GOP hypocrites.

Wisconsin State Legislature

As described at the Republican Party of Wisconsin's website....

These commonsense conservative beliefs are the glue that bonds Republicans nationwide.

 

Wisconsin Public Radio, 2/8/2022

In 2018, the Neenah City Council passed a resolution creating a transportation assessment replacement fee that charged residential property owners $23 per year. Neenah Mayor and former Republican state Rep. Dean Kaufert said the fee replaced special assessments, wherein homeowners covered a third of the cost of repairs on roads next to their property. 

"That, sometimes, was in excess of $4,000 to $5,000 for a homeowner," Kaufert said. "And I had listened to so many people tell me what a burden that was on them."

  

11/29/2021 update starts here

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/29/2021

County officials point to the stagnant shared revenue coming to the county from the state and state legislators' unwillingness to give the county additional ways to raise revenue, including through a local sales tax.

You can send your thank yous c/o the above 6 white guys.

Wisconsin Public Radio, 3/3/2021

5/1/2021 update starts here

Wisconsin Public Radio, 3/3/2021

So much for "the most effective government is government closest to the people."

Enter GOP hypocrisy.

Capital Times, 4/28/2021

In the years since, other communities have followed suit. In Green Bay, the water utility removed its last lead pipe in fall 2020, ending a years-long push that ramped up in the wake of the crisis in Flint, Michigan. 

But in the Capitol, Republicans have pointed to such local efforts to justify not providing more support for replacing lead lines across the state.

3/12/2021 update. " GOP lawmakers profess that 'the most effective government is government closest to the people' -- except when budgeting for police services", starts here.

Cartoon conservative members 

of the Wisconsin legislature

Wisconsin Public Radio, 3/11/2021

Under the bill, a municipality that decreases its budget for hiring, training and retaining police officers would lose the same amount of money in state support. The plan is a response to a recent push from some activists to cut law enforcement budgets in Wisconsin and across the country. That policy push, sometimes called "defunding the police," has come amid a national conversation about police brutality, criminal justice and systemic racism.

5/15/2020 update starts here

Actually, the glue is something else entirely.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/14/2020

Original 2/12/2020 post, "Circumvent local control and public input?  It's what Republicans do", starts here.

Reported in State Republicans proposed ag legislation circumvents local control and public input.  (SWnews4u.com, 2/11/2020)

When the Wisconsin GOP pays lip service to local control:
2019
Wisconsin Republicans once again decide it's time to trash their sacred principle.  (8/25/2019)
Wisconsin GOP legislators thwarted in effort to shit on their #1 principle.  (7/3/2019)
Scott Walker's toxic legacy: "Power to the people" hypocrisy" (Taking away local control).  (1/12/2019)

2018

In 2014, deep-red Richfield voters chose Walker by an 80-20 margin and this is the thanks they get.  (8/14/2018)
Clusterfuck Caucus UPDATE. The unintended consequences of intertwining GOP principles and hypocrisy.  (3/20/2018)
Wisconsin GOP continues to treat its cherished conservative principle like a pinata.  (2/23/2018)
Wisconsin GOP continues to tarnish its #1, most cherished governing principle.  (1/13/2018)

2017
UPDATE. By now, you know that the GOP's favorite pastime is overruling its pesky principles.  (11/28/2017)
UPDATE: Wondering why Duey Stroebel is a champion of property tax relief? Take a look at where he lives.  (4/15/2017)
Wisconsin GOP: What they say and what they do are 2 different things.  (2/9/2017)
Wisconsin legislature back in session and GOP hypocrisy is already in full flower.  (1/27/2017)

2016
UPDATE: Scott Walker and the abandoned GOP principle.  (12/21/2016)
Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo highlights GOP cartoon conservative principle.  (5/20/2016)
Suburban Milwaukee GOP state legislators freak out over locally issued ID card.  (3/23/2016)
Business as usual: Wisconsin GOP legislators vote for special interests, against local control and tenants' rights.  (3/9/2016)
The Wisconsin GOP Cartoon Conservative Principles Fest continues.  (2/10/2016)
Cartoon conservative principles in nonstop action: Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau memo lists more than 100 state provisions that restrict local control.  (2/10/2016)

2015
The Christmas edition: Rep. Kremer accuses fire officials of 'relieving themselves'.  (12/23/2015)
Cartoon conservative principles on full display this week at the Wisconsin State Capitol.  (12/18/2015)
Once again, Wisconsin Republicans assert their cartoon conservative principle (2015 Assembly Bill 568).  (12/16/2015)
Out of (local) control: When it comes to anything resembling a train, Republicans just can't help themselves.  (12/1/2015) 
Scott Walker pays lip service to local control as he continues to sign bills to limit it.  (10/26/2015)

Cartoon conservative principles in action: Taking away local control from school boards.  (10/25/2015)

UPDATE: Let's follow the Shea money from Wingra Stone to Scott Walker.  (10/20/2015)
UPDATE.  Sorry, Tim Geoghegan, a total of $11,750 in donations is not a "bunch of bull".  (10/20/2015) 
Once again, Wisconsin Republicans violate their most precious principle.  (7/4/2015)
Cartoon conservative principles.  (5/6/2015)
The Usual Hypocrisy: What Scott Walker sez on his campaign website and what he does in the Governor's office are two different things.  (5/2/2015)
The "hits" to local control just keep on coming.  (2/28/2015)

2014
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board calls out Republican hypocrisy.  (2/17/2014)
And the hypocrisy just keeps on coming: Republicans can't even give lip service to their "Principles". (2/14/2014)
Yet another lesson in Republican hypocrisy.  (2/13/2014)

2013
Your Wisconsin Republican Assembly hard at work promoting Governor Walker's jobs agenda (and GOP principles).  (11/15/2013)