Wisconsin

State & Local Government

Legislative Branch: Pass Laws

State Senate 33 Members 3 Assembly districts

per Senate District Elected for 4 year terms State Assembly 99 Members Elected for two year terms

Executive: Carry out the Law

Governor: Scott Walker (R) Lt. Governor: Rebecca Kleefisch

(R) Elected Secretaries: State: Douglass LaFollette (D) Treasurer: Kurt Schuller (R) Attorney General: J.B. Van Hollen (R) Superintendent of Public Schools: Tony Evers (NonPartisan) All are elected for 4 year terms

Some State Agencies

Agency heads are

appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate Some ofWisconsins Departments include:

Corrections Natural Resources Transportation Public Instruction Health and Family Services UW-System

Judicial: Interpret the Law

Municipal courts 252 municipal courts 254 municipal judges Milwaukee has the largest municipal court and three full-time municipal judges. Madison has the only other full-time municipal court Circuit courts Single level trial court since 1978 249 circuit judges in 72 counties. Judges elected countywide to sixyear terms in non-partisan elections Milwaukee County is the largest jurisdiction with 47 judges 30 counties have one judge each; smaller counties share a judge Court of Appeals
Created in 1978 and originally designed

to handle 1,200 cases per year

Mostly mandatory jurisdiction,

meaning that litigants have the right to appeal their cases from the circuit court to the Court of Appeals elected district wide to six-year terms

16 judges in four districts. Judges

Supreme Court
Seven justices elected statewide to 10-

year terms

Court of last resort Court reviews approximately 1,000

petitions per year and accepts between 100 and 120

State Revenue and Expenditure

County Government
Dual Role Agent of the State (administers services on behalf of the state) Local-Self Government

County Services
Welfare Services Nursing Homes Aging

Health & Social Services

(50% of County Budget)

Highways Administer and maintain county highways Public Safety: 911, Sheriff,

District Attorney, Juvenile Justice (Teen Court!) Parks and Recreation

Wisconsin Municipal Government

Wisconsins

Municipal Governments include: Towns Villages Cities

Towns

Americas Direct Democracy Developed to provide services to

rural areas WI. Const. limits town powers and requires: Assessor, Clerk and Treasurer & A Board Town Meeting (WI. Const.) Annual meeting in which residents decide taxes, property sales, salaries, and authorize board to provide services 47% of Town Revenue comes from Property Taxes 56% of town revenue is spent on public works

Cities and Villages

Both legally have HOME

RULEability to manage own affairs unless specifically prohibited by WI Const. Charterlegal contract to operate as a local government Ordinanceslocal laws Annexation and Consolidationlegal ability of cities and villages to add towns to jurisdication and to combine separate governments/services into one.

Public Safety is #1

expenditure for both Cities and Villages (46% and 41%) Property Taxes are the #1 revenue source for both: (38% and 44%)

School Districts
State Superintendent of

Public InstructionConstitutional Supervisor Legal Power: provide free, public education to Wisconsin students School Board: non-partisan positions who make policy for school districts
Most hire District

Superintendent and Administrators to run daily affairs

State Sup. Tony Evers

Cooperative Educational Service Areas (CESA)

12 legal regional districts

for public schools for the purpose of cooperating and providing shared services

School Finance
61% of School finances are

spent on Instructional Serviceslargely salary and benefits of teachers, administrators, and assistants 50% (on average) of school revenues come from the state. 41% from property taxes