Fast and Furious: Budget Repair Bill Demands Immediate Changes Local Government Leaders Told

Mayors and village presidents from Milwaukee County met in Greendale on Monday to hear a presentation on the practical effects Gov. Scott Walker's "budget repair bill" will have on operations. 

The short of it? Changes will come fast and be profound, according to a copy of the presentation given by Nancy Pirkey of the Waukesha-based Buelow, Vetter, Buikema, Olson & Vliet.

The major impact is public employee unions can only bargain for pay increases, and those increases are limited the increase in the Consumer Price Index over the past 12 months. 

Public employees must also contribute to the Wisconsin Retirement Program starting March 13 and employers are limited in how much they can pay for the Wisconsin Public Employers' Group's Health Insurance Plan. 

Here's highlights of the presentation delivered Monday to the Intergovernmental Cooperation Meeting at the Greendale Safety Center:

• Public employees will start paying into the Wisconsin Retirement System on March 13. Governments have until July 1 to make the change, retroactive to the 13th. 
• Governments can only pay 88 percent of the health insurance premiums for employees in the Wisconsin Public Employers' Group's Health Insurance Plan. 
• Police officers and firefighters covered by collective bargaining agreement are exempt from the law, but dispatchers, civilian employees and command staff and not exempted from the law. Corrections officers are also not exempt.
• Only wages can be negotiated with collective bargaining units. Overtime, premium pay, and merit pay are not considered wages and cannot be bargained. 
• Wages increases are limited to the increase in the Consumer Price Index over the last 12 months. The wage increase can exceed the CPI increase with a public referendum. 
• Other than wages, nothing can be bargained by unions. Employers control all terms and conditions of employment. 
• Collectively bargained contracts can only last one year. 
• Public unions must hold an election in April to determine if it will continue as a collective bargaining unit. At least 51 percent of all employees must vote to continue the union (not 51 percent of those voting). Employees can refrain from paying union dues, but still stay part of the union. 

Download the PDF to the right to read the full presentation.