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LETTERS TO THE - EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Speak up

To the Editor: My social studies teachers must be smiling up in heaven because what they passionately taught about the U.S. government finally stuck. Here’s a quick refresher: each of the three branches has a unique role, and the system is designed so that each checks and balances the others.

The president enforces laws, commands the military, conducts foreign policy, negotiates treaties and appoints federal officials. Congress—the House and Senate—writes laws, controls the budget and can declare war. The judiciary interprets laws, resolves disputes and protects constitutional rights.

It seems Donald Trump and the Republican party missed those lessons. Despite holding the presidency and a majority in Congress, they have passed only five laws during the early Trump administration—a historic low. Instead, Trump relies on executive orders— 161 as of June 10—usurping legislative power. In addition, he has signed 43 memoranda and 66 proclamations. Many of these will likely be overturned in court. Yet, Congress has allowed this erosion of its authority.

What my teachers didn’t emphasize—but what I now see—is that democracies aren’t permanent. They can slip into dictatorship. The freedoms we hold dear—speech, religion, due process—can vanish if we’re complacent. If you don’t like what’s happening, it’s your duty as a citizen to speak up, or you may lose the right to do so.

Trump admires dictators and is trying to become one. The only thing standing in his way is an engaged public committed to the constitutional vision of shared power. I hope you’re one of those Americans. Speak up. Fight. And protect our democracy.

Candace Hennekens Eau Claire

County needs to take a tougher TIF stance

To the Editor: What makes the wheels of commerce roll in Marathon County? Frequently, it is tax incremental finance (TIF). In 2023, the county had 39 tax incremental districts (TIDs) where business tax subsidies were lavished on $1.4 billion of property. These TIDs have spurred economic activity, true, but taxpayers have been left behind.

The county’s TIF record is atrocious. Over a third of county TIDs have had to be extended because scheduled development didn’t happen. These extensions have bumped the average expected lifetime of current TIDs in Marathon County to 26 years.

Don’t kid yourself. Taxpayers pay for bad TIF planning. The average Marathon County homeowner in 2023 paid $374.22 in extra property taxes because of TIF.

This shouldn’t be. And we can do better. To this end, I presented a resolution in spring to the Extension, Education and Economic Development (EEED) Committee of the Marathon County Board of Supervisors to improve this county’s TIF culture and practice. The resolution calls for two things. The first is to direct the county’s finance director (who represents the county at a fivemember Joint Review Board) to vote no on any TID that fails to meet best practices promoted by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. The second thing is to have the finance director vote no on any new TID that doesn’t fully repay taxpayers within 38 years from the base year of the project.

I thought my resolution would get support from the committee. Instead, it was hijacked.

Randy Fifrick, vice-chairman of the EEED Committee, introduced and passed a substitute resolution that reads a lot like my resolution, but does not do the two major things my resolution would do. His resolution would merely ask the finance director to “consider” the DOR’s best practices, not insist on them. That means they can be ignored. Second, the Fifrick resolution would have the finance director set the termination date of any new TID without regard to taxpayer repayment.

I call on my fellow county residents to contact their supervisors and ask that they either block the Fifrick resolution or amend it to protect the interests of taxpayers. The resolution is on the county board’s June 19 agenda with a possible vote slated for June 24.

We don’t need a county TIF resolution that simply keeps the status quo. We need real TIF reform.

Peter Weinschenk Edgar

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