The way public services are done in Wisconsin is going to change. Appointed by Gov. Tommy Thompson, its purpose is to look at how to organize government. He urged its members to be bold, be visionary, be controversial. Gore as many sacred cows as you possibly can. The first public hearing was last week in Green Bay.
Some states require certain services, such as police, to be provided at a regional level.
It s my instinct that Kettl is moving in that direction, Ed Huck, executive director of the Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, said. For instance, Wisconsin has more police departments than California, he said. Although Wisconsin has about as many K-12 school students as Maryland, it has 18 times more school districts. Services such as firefighting, ambulances, building inspection, property valuation, tax collection, snow plowing and street repair can be regionalized. There are models for districts.