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Trash haulers worry about tipping fee hike

May 27, 2009 By

You could soon be paying more to have your trash picked up, under a state budget provision approved by the Joint Finance Committee over the weekend. The measure more than doubles the tipping fee trash companies pay to dump waste in landfills.

Jason Johns with the National Solid Wastes Management Association says that will likely lead to higher prices for service, since haulers will have to pass on the increase to local communities and customers.

Joint Finance voted to raise the fee from just under $6 to about $13. Johns says the changes would also hurt recycling, because there was no increase in money coming back to local government programs. Overall, the fee increases are expected to raise an extra $50 million for the state.

Supporters of the increase say it will help reduce the number of out-of-state companies that bring their trash to Wisconsin landfills. However, Johns says those only account for about 25-percent of the trash dumped each year, meaning Wisconsin customers will end up covering most of the fee hike.

If left in the budget, Johns says the increase would give Wisconsin the highest tipping fee in the nation. 

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 1:11)

Filed Under: Legislature

State gas tax could climb

May 27, 2009 By

Some key issues could be decided today by the Legislature's Budget Committee, including whether to approve Governor Jim Doyle's franchise fee on oil companies.

"Our first priority is to take the anti-pass through language that says the oil companies and jobbers can't pass the cost of business on to consumers at the pump," says Erin Roth of the Wisconsin Petroleum Council. "We think that's unconstitutional"

His group has been lobbying instead for a straight-up three cent increase in the gas tax. "There's a group of 13 of us who've signed on to that proposal, says Roth, noting that there's been opposition from Democrats in the state Senate.

"We've lobbied and lobbied, can't even lobby it anymore because they're not talking. The Assembly I think will go to a straight up gas tax, it's just Russ won't move," says Roth, refering to Wausau-area Democrat Russ Decker, the Majority Leader in the state Senate. Governor Doyle has recently indicated he's willing to abandon his tax on oil companies, in exchange for a three cent hike in the gas tax.

Filed Under: Politics & Government

West Nile dead bird hotline activated

May 26, 2009 By

fight the bight.jpg It's that time of the year, when state health officials want to be notified about dead birds. Stephanie Marquis with the Department of Health Services asks anyone who finds a dead bird to call the hotline at 1-800-433-1610.

“The reason we do this is, when we can identify it (West Nile), we can ask people to take extra precautions against mosquito bites,” Marquis explains. Most people infected with West Nile virus will not have any symptoms, and about twenty percent of infected people will have mild symptoms, but a very few serious cases can develop with severe symptoms sometimes resulting in death – thus the interest in dead birds.

“Dead birds are really our early warning system for when West Nile is in an area,” Marquis says. “Mosquitos will feed upon birds, and if we notice the virus is in a bird, then we know that it's in an area. Then we can ask people to take those extra precautions to protect themselves.” Those precautions include limiting time outdoors, using mosquito repellents and eliminating standing water on your property.

 

AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (:50 MP3)

Filed Under: Health & Medicine, Top Story

Evictions are a tough job for deputy

May 26, 2009 By

With eviction rates up around Wisconsin, it falls on local law enforcement to make sure people leave when they're supposed to. Dane County Deputy Brian Harter says some tenants react badly. "You may have beer cans, liquor bottles strewn about," Harter tells WIBA. "We had one this last winter where the persons being evicted left windows open in sub zero weather and we had water damage throughout the house."

"When I show up, the finality of the situation is right there, it's no longer a piece of paper," says Harter, noting that he and his partner are busy. "We do at least one eviction a day, Monday through Friday. Very, very rarely do we have an open day without an eviction."

Filed Under: Human Interest

Secrets of Dubuque

May 26, 2009 By

Dubuque A state lawmaker says we could learn a lot, from Dubuque. State Senator Dan Kapanke says the Iowa city has rebounded from the eighties, when unemployment hovered above twenty percent, to the point where Dubuque was able to attract expansion by IBM – and 1300 new jobs.

“They started laying that groundwork back in the eighties, when their unemployment rate was so high,” Kapanke says. “They knew they had to retool . . . and they've done that very well. Now there's an uptick in interest by companies in Dubuque, because of IBM.” Kapanke, who met recently with the mayor and city administrator in Dubuque to learn more about how the city attracted IBM, says commitment to public-private partnerships played a big part in reversing the city's fortunes.

Kapanke says Western Wisconsin plenty to offer businesses like IBM, and he believes one way to promote it is as part of a larger region – even one that includes parts of Iowa.  

AUDIO: Bob Hague interview (6:15 MP3)

Filed Under: Business
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