THIS WEEK, I AM WRITING A FIVE-PART SERIES ON THE TOP ISSUES FRANKLIN FACES. TODAY, I CONCLUDE MY SERIES WITH ISSUE #1.


TAXES


A few months ago, a successful Greenfield businessman I know (who resides in New Berlin), unaware of my home community, asked me where I live.

When I told him, his immediate reaction, without hesitation, was laughter.

“Oh my goodness,” my friend said. “How do you put up with those high taxes?”

It’s a common reaction outside the 53132 zip code.

“Franklin’s nice, but those taxes are really high.”

“Aren’t your taxes outrageous?”

“How can you afford to live there?”

This is one of those occasions where perception is, indeed, reality. Franklin’s taxes are far too high, and the issue of taxes is undoubtedly the most critical problem the city and its residents face. Everyone knows this, and yet, there doesn’t appear to be the willingness to put the brakes on runaway taxing and spending.

Even though Franklin aldermen have attempted to exercise fiscal restraint, last year the Common Council approved a spending increase of 9% with a tax levy increase of 5%. That’s simply too much. The counter argument of, “Franklin: Our tax increase could have been higher,” just wouldn’t look good on a bumper sticker or a Chamber of Commerce ad and doesn’t fly with beleaguered taxpayers.

The previous Franklin School Board, without making a strong case why or providing concrete details, told the pubic it needed an eye-opening $78-million tax increase. Angry voters rejected the whopping tax increase. What is sure to be the response of school district officials who apparently are wearing ear plugs? Try another sizeable referendum, after it more than likely adopts a large school tax levy increase at its August 27, 2007 meeting.

Franklin’s representative on the Milwaukee County Board is but one voice among supervisors who haven’t met a tax increase they don’t support.

The MATC board, unelected with no accountability, knowing taxpayers have no recourse, repeatedly raises taxes well beyond the rate of inflation. Ditto for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District.

Governor Doyle in his budget proposed an increase in taxes and fees of $1.75 billion. Not to be outdone, state Senate Democrats in their budget proposed universal health care at an annual cost of $15.2 billion, the largest tax increase in the history, not of Wisconsin, but the entire country.

When does the madness end?

If there’s anyone willing to take the tax bull by the horns and say enough is enough, now is certainly a good time. Unfortunately, the tax and spend mentality, like a cancer, has spread throughout the state, at all levels of government. Franklin, bursting at the seams, has decided to handle its growing pains through high taxes.

Taxes matter.

Business owners look at a state’s and a community’s tax structure to determine if they want to locate here, open up shop, and create new jobs. Why is our business climate one of the worst in the nation, 44th according to Forbes.com? Easy. Our taxes are too high.

How many jobs does Franklin create? How many new businesses start here? Do plants open up in Franklin? It depends a great deal on taxes.

And what about the businesses that are already here? The higher the taxes go, the more profits go down. When that happens, companies respond by passing costs onto consumers. Workers suffer when profits plummet because wages are not as high and jobs are cut.


Residents take a hit in their pocketbooks when taxes exceed the ability to pay. They have less money to save, spend, or invest. The local economy then also suffers.

Wisconsin has the highest property taxes in the nation. Increasing the burden only makes it more difficult to live here, necessitating the need to put up the For Sale Signs.

What about those figures showing a big increase in Franklin’s population?

Let’s get real. They’re not coming here because they love our taxes. They’re coming here in spite of the tax burden. We have the open space, we’re safe, we’re clean, and we may not have the amenities we so desire (and it may take awhile to get them because of the factors I cited in Franklin’s Top Issues #2) but by golly we’re close to communities that do.


I renew my challenge to my friends at City Hall to use their talents to tighten the reins even further. Doing so will help retain and recruit more jobs, and prevent more gifted taxpayers from moving out. I would issue the same challenge to members of the Franklin School Board. The people who pay the bills deserve a break.


In summary, I have reviewed an analyzed what I believe are the top issues Franklin needs to address. There is an identity crisis born out of a city that is growing by leaps and bounds. The battle to keep sex offenders restricted must not let up. Before we start sending school taxes to the moon, let’s demand and get greater student achievement from our pupils. Franklin must step up its efforts to retain businesses that residents need and want. Obstructionists to economic development need to unselfishly get out of the way. But more than anything, this community must stop the out of control taxing and spending……now.


FRANKLIN’S TOP 5 ISSUES

1) TAXES
2) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
3) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
4) SEX OFFENDERS
5) FRANKLIN’S IDENTITY CRISIS


DON’T WANT A BIG INCREASE IN YOUR SCHOOL TAXES? CONTACT FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS NOW.

THIS WEEK, I AM WRITING A FIVE-PART SERIES ON THE TOP ISSUES FRANKLIN FACES. TODAY, ISSUE #2.


ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT


Franklin needs to do a lot better when it comes to attracting new businesses that will, in turn, create jobs and expand the tax base.

That’s not to say the city hasn’t had its share of success stories. As the city’s web site likes to boast, Franklin is proud to be "home" to the following businesses:

Northwestern Mutual
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
Wheaton Franciscan Health Care
Central Aquatics/All-Glass Aquarium
Aurora Health Care
Krones
General Automotive Manufacturing
Associated Surgical & Medical Specialists
Baptista's Bakery
Tuckaway Country Club
Wisconsin Energy/WE Energies
Electronic Cable Specialists
General ThermoDynamics/ThermaSys
Vesta
BD Medical
Carma Laboratories
Proteus Packaging
Transpak Corporation
Franklin Corporate Centre
Rocore


That’s an impressive list.

It needs to get bigger.

And the list certainly needs to diversify, especially in the area of high quality shopping and restaurants.

I’ve always been optimistic about Franklin’s potential, and wrote about it in one of my very first blogs in January:

“Fueling my optimism is the recent news that Sendik’s plans to open not one, but two supermarkets in the city. This is a major coup considering Sendik’s currently has several grocery stores in the Milwaukee area, but none are located in the southern portion of metropolitan Milwaukee. One of the new locations will be at the ultra-promising Fountains of Franklin. The other will be at the Shoppes of Wyndham Village at Highway 100 and Drexel Avenue.

Some residents near the Highway 100 site may not be thrilled about an increase in traffic, but I submit it’s not 1957 anymore, and that increased traffic means singing and ringing cash registers welcoming in new revenue, not to mention more jobs.

My friend Doug Wheaton, Economic Development Director for the city of Franklin told the Small Business Times last September that the question has to be asked if the re-zoning of the Highway 100 and Drexel site to accommodate an upscale shopping center that might include Sendik’s, restaurants, retail shops, banks, and a spa is the “highest and best use of the site.” The answer, of course, is yes.

The citizenry of Franklin, one that is growing by leaps and bounds, is crying out for high-quality destination places to dine and shop. I’m not talking Applebee’s and Family Dollar. I’m talking the kinds of places that have people excited about getting in their cars and driving to Mayfair or the new Bayshore Town Center. The point is, wouldn’t it be nice to have those opportunities here so a trip to Brookfield or Wauwatosa wouldn’t be necessary?

I must admit, I am a bit impatient. I want to see these developments sooner rather than later.

The expansion of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.'s corporate campus on S. 27th St. and the construction of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare's outpatient medical center at S. 27th St. and W. Oakwood Road are exactly the types of development Franklin needs to pursue. Maintaining a strong business and fiscal climate is critical to attracting such desirable employers and the jobs they create. That means holding the line on taxes and spending.”

That was in January.

This summer, we finally saw some movement at 51st and Rawson. The Sendik’s building is progressing nicely.

Andy’s on the NE corner of 51st and Rawson is finally open. (Whoopee. It’s a nice enough looking establishment, but it is, after all, a gas station that also operates as a convenience store. More than one city leader told me when I asked if other options were available for that prime spot of real estate that after 10 years of looking, this was”the best we (Franklin) could do.” That is sad.)

Behind the actual Franklin of Fountains office, very little is happening. There have been no announcements about future tenants.

The Shoppes at Wyndham Village project is mired in the usual bureaucratic mess that delays the ultimate construction: one too many Planning Commission hearings, too many folks who envision themselves as world-class architects and designers.

It should come as no surprise why even a booming city like Franklin is stuck in slow motion when it comes to the ever critical area of economic development. Wisconsin is a tax hell. The same can be said about how we over-regulate.

Wisconsin’s business climate is one of the worst in the country; 38th according to the 2007 version of the State Business Tax Climate Index was prepared by the Tax Foundation in Washington, D.C., 44th according to Forbes.com.

There are reasons our business climate is horrendous. Our high taxes, for sure. The leftist environmental movement also plays a damaging role.

Wisconsin businesses are being placed at a serious competitive disadvantage nationally and globally because of the radical tactics used by environmental groups who aggressively lobby the Department of Natural Resources. They work around the clock to try to halt growth.

In the previous legislative session in Madison, when Republicans controlled both the Senate and the Assembly, one of the few times there was significant consensus between the GOP and Governor Doyle was on streamlining some of the ridiculously burdensome regulations and permitting processes that often chased potential businesses, and jobs, to other states. The problem was that the Governor and the Legislature didn’t go far enough. We still over-regulate in Wisconsin.

Closer to home, in Franklin, there has been some opposition to one of the promising development projects, the Shoppes at Wyndham Village, because the proposed Target store doesn’t meet the aesthetic standards of some residents. That’s a nice way of saying they hate the way it looks.

A petition drive was mounted to attempt to force the city to agree to building upscale developments. The effort, while arguably commendable, (nobody likes junky looking buildings in a brand new development) was flawed.

The wording of the petition drive was too broad and vague. Terms like “upscale” were not defined and highly subjective. My idea of upscale might be entirely different than my neighbor’s.

Also, the petition drive’s credibility was questionable. I’ve been in politics a long time. Every petition I’ve ever encountered required a name, an address, a signature. Allowing anonymity on the part of petitioners raises red flags.

I consider energy focused on the outside appearance of Target to be using tunnel vision. Is it an important consideration? Again, I say, of course. But I prefer to concentrate on the bigger picture, the larger issue beyond the Target façade, and that is the future of economic development in this city. The opposition to Target only serves to delay a worthwhile project, preventing jobs from being made available sooner rather than later, and depriving Franklin residents of the shopping opportunities they have been demanding for some time.

The naysayers fail to recognize the harm that’s being done. There’s a certain elitist snobby attitude on the part of environmentalists that they know more than you do. They’re a major reason the permitting process in Wisconsin is exponentially longer than procedures used in other states. It might be considered noble to stand up, pose for holy pictures and claim you want the best, but it can also lead to nothing being accomplished, and businesses looking elsewhere, taking their prized jobs with them.

Rest assured, other potential developers who have their eyes on Franklin are keeping tuned in to what’s happening surrounding the Target situation. It’s highly plausible that they don’t appreciate what is transpiring, and may have already made the decision to pitch their business-making tents in another zip code.

Meanwhile, if you want to partake in quality shopping and quality dining, you must get in your car and drive outside of Franklin. We claim that we want new business, but then we throw tacks in the road to progress. We can be our own worst enemy.

Keep your eyes on the prize, Franklin. It’s not whether a development fits into your individual definition of upscale. It’s all about making it more affordable, attractive, and easier for businesses to locate here, not more difficult.

Tomorrow, the #1 issue our city must tackle.


FRANKLIN’S TOP 5 ISSUES

1) ?
2) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
3) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
4) SEX OFFENDERS
5) FRANKLIN’S IDENTITY CRISIS



DON’T WANT A BIG INCREASE IN YOUR SCHOOL TAXES? CONTACT FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS NOW.

THIS WEEK, I AM WRITING A FIVE-PART SERIES ON THE TOP ISSUES FRANKLIN FACES. TODAY, ISSUE #3.


STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN FRANKLIN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

During the debate over the failed $78-million Franklin referenda, I heard from many Franklin parents with children in the Franklin school system, angry that the district could demand millions of dollars from taxpayers for new buildings when far too many students were underperforming.

Not long after the referenda went down in flames, Milwaukee Magazine affirmed what so many parents had already known and feared.

The May 2007 issue had an article entitled, “Best Schools,” by Matthew Hrodey that contained bad news for Franklin.

SchoolMatters, a division of Standard & Poor’s, compiled data for a study done for Milwaukee Magazine. Taking into account family income, the magazine ranked 57 school districts in the five-county area and attempted to answer the following question:

Without spending more than an average district, which district does best with the students it serves?

The magazine excluded Milwaukee Public Schools and Racine because the large percentage of poor children in those districts made it tough to compare them to other districts.

In the category, K-12 Underperformers, these districts were named:

1) Waukesha
2) Menomonee Falls
3) Franklin Public
4) Oconomowoc

Milwaukee Magazine wrote: “These school districts had median to above-average spending per pupil with lower achievement test scores than expected given income level of students."

The Franklin findings defy the general conclusion of the study, that the more affluent the school district, the better the student performance. Not so in Franklin.

For the record, the K-12 Overperformers were Greendale, Shorewood, Greenfield, Pewaukee, Cedarburg and West Allis.

Following the release of that report in Milwaukee magazine, I wrote the following:

The direction the Franklin School District must take is clear. A greater emphasis needs to be placed on student achievement. Success in the classroom must be the #1 goal.

Instead of spending millions and millions of dollars on gymnasiums, swimming pools, and auditoriums, efforts must be focused on student performance in the classroom.

My view hasn’t changed.

Apparently the Franklin School Board, some members who are just itching to get that August 27th meeting underway so they can approve a huge tax increase, subscribe to the philosophy that more money automatically translates into improved schooling and positive results. If only that were true the money pit that is MPS would be churning out more graduates with “A” and “B” grade point averages.

From where I stand, here are what appear to be the priorities for the Franklin Pubic Schools, in no particular order:


• Raise more money through higher taxes and referenda.
• Preserve the status quo (current number of teachers and all the expenses that come with them, and programs) at all cost
• Build new buildings, even if they’re not needed.
• Refuse to even consider any cuts or savings

I believe these priorities are misplaced. The more important goals should be:

• Improving student test scores
• Improving GPA’s
• Improving attendance
• Improving preparedness for college
• Sending more graduates to college
• Greater preparedness for the workforce for graduates not attending college

Call me strange but I consider what happens inside and the quality of the product that comes out of the classroom needs greater attention and focus then what the outside of the building looks like or how new it is.

Franklin is like many other school districts. Rather than aggressively fix a problem, more time and energy is placed on excuses and pointing fingers: We don’t have enough money. It’s the state’s fault. If only the referenda had passed.

Raise expectations inside the classroom.

Demand excellence.

Find a way to vastly improve student achievement.

Then do it.

Perhaps then when you go to the people you work for, the taxpayers, and ask them AGAIN to dig even deeper into their pockets, they’ll be more willing.


FRANKLIN’S TOP 5 ISSUES

1) ?
2) ?
3) STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
4) SEX OFFENDERS
5) FRANKLIN’S IDENTITY CRISIS


DON’T WANT A BIG INCREASE IN YOUR SCHOOL TAXES? CONTACT FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS NOW.

THIS WEEK, I AM WRITING A FIVE-PART SERIES ON THE TOP ISSUES FRANKLIN FACES. TODAY, ISSUE #4.


SEX PREDATORS

Franklin has been Wisconsin’s leader in the fight against sex offenders. It has had to.

Not too long ago, busloads of Franklin residents stormed a public hearing at State Fair Park to protest a special state committee’s thought of building a facility in Franklin to house numerous sexually violent persons. Franklin was considered an ideal location, having the most open space in Milwaukee County.

The loud and strong stand by Franklin residents couldn’t be ignored. The special panel wrapped up its business without recommending any site in Milwaukee County for a sex predator house.

A flurry of activity ensued at the state Capitol. A key piece of legislation was approved and signed into law that killed funding for the facility for sexually violent persons and also disbanded the special committee assigned to find a location for the facility. Another bill signed into law makes first degree sexual assault of a child punishable by life in prison. Both bills were authored by Senator Lazich.

After sailing through the state Senate, a bill requiring that the worst sex offenders in the state be monitored by Global Positioning System or GPS was finally approved after much wrangling in the Assembly and signed into law.

Still, Franklin officials worried that released sex offenders would be dumped in Franklin. Sparking that fear was the state allowing notorious offender Billy Lee Morford to travel back and forth between his northwest side Milwaukee home and Franklin for 18 months without properly notifying Franklin.

After several public hearings and a thorough legal review, the Franklin Common Council late last year approved an ordinance with tight restrictions on where sex offenders could go and live within the city limits of Franklin.

Other communities quickly took notice, with several surrounding municipalities and some out-state either approving or considering Franklin-like ordinances of their own.

The Franklin-based group, Citizens for a Safe Wisconsin has been crusading since day one for laws that will make not just Franklin, but all Wisconsin neighborhoods safer.

I get the sense that most of the hundreds and hundreds of people who put up yard signs or who hopped on busses to attend the State Fair hearing have since developed complacency, a feeling that the fight is done, been there and done that, the threat is over. While there is no imminent danger on the immediate horizon, Franklin, because of its open spaces, seems to have a bull’s eye on its back. One local judge has commented that in lieu of constructing a new facility, Huber facilities could be used to house offenders, intimating that the House of Corrections be considered. Franklin cannot and should not be the dumping ground for released offenders from other communities. They should go back to the area they lived in at the time of their offense. Each city, town or village should be responsible for its own problem individuals.

The good news is that while many city residents have either forgotten or dismissed this issue, others have remained ever vigilant, including Citizens for a Safe Wisconsin, the mayor, aldermen and officials who represent Franklin in the state Legislature. The Franklin Police Department has already used the new city ordinance on restrictions to force offenders out of areas they’re not welcome. Several local web sites now feature links to the sex offender registry and the family Watchdog offender map.

So far, no one has challenged the constitutionality of Franklin’s ordinance, or any other Franklin-like ordinance around the state. If they do, they’re in for a battle.

Jim McCarthy, a member of the City Council in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania wrote the following in a letter to the editor in the current issue of American City and County Magazine. McCarthy was responding to an article that predator protection laws around the country are coming under fire. McCarthy writes:

“As one who has been trying for eight months to pass a law restricting where convicted sexual predators may reside or work in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., my research shows the majority of such laws have already passed court muster. Currently, 30 plus states, and hundreds of local communities, have passed such laws, most of them based on the “original” proposal passed by Iowa, which was upheld by the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court (see Doe vs. Miller), and Ohio's “Distance Marker” legislation, which was similarly upheld as constitutional by federal courts.

In challenges to the Iowa and Ohio laws, the courts have ruled that these laws do not infringe upon a person's rights in that they are a form of civil regulation and not a form of punishment, they are intended to protect children and are rationally related to that end, and they represent a rational argument that prohibiting sex offenders from places children congregate will advance a community's interest in protecting children. Two federal courts have upheld city actions to ban individual sex offenders from parks and recreation areas where children congregate.

There have been some isolated cases where a poorly written law was struck down by courts, but that was because the authors failed to do the research required to make their law iron-clad. It is up to us, the legislators, to make sure “they” do not have access to our little children, whose rights far outweigh the rights of someone who preys on the weakest of our society.”

The combat against sex offenders is an ongoing struggle. Franklin’s fight has been the most daunting, and so far, the results have been good. This particular war rages on. Working in Franklin’s favor, its soldiers have been, and will continue to be, battle-ready.


FRANKLIN’S TOP 5 ISSUES

1) ?
2) ?
3) ?
4) SEX OFFENDERS
5) FRANKLIN’S IDENTITY CRISIS



DON’T WANT A BIG INCREASE IN YOUR SCHOOL TAXES? CONTACT FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS NOW.

TODAY I BEGIN A FIVE-PART SERIES ON THE TOP ISSUES FRANKLIN FACES. I’LL DO AN ISSUE A DAY OVER THE NEXT FIVE DAYS, WORKING UP TO #1, THE MOST IMPORTANT CITY ISSUE. WE START WITH ISSUE #5.


Franklin is suffering from an identity crisis.

What is Franklin? Who is Franklin?

I was only half-joking when I wrote recently about possible slogans for Franklin.

Think about it. If you had to come up with a short, snappy, bumper-sticker like phrase or slogan for your home city, what would it be? What would you focus on? How would you in one concise snapshot capsulize Franklin?

The city that was once dominated by farm land is now undergoing phenomenal growth. Rural areas are being bulldozed for new high-priced subdivisions. There remains a country flavor and charm to some parts of Franklin, but that landscape is disappearing, even though some longtime residents are reluctant to let go.

That determination to hold on to the past is part of Franklin’s history. The city’s website says, “Not all Franklin residents wanted to see the Town become a City. In fact, during the early consideration of the Oak Creek bill, (In 1956 Milwaukee wanted to annex Oak Creek and Franklin) Town Officials opposed the bill because they said it would not ease their problem since then they would be open to annexation by the City of Oak Creek.”

The same holds true today. Where some Franklinites see progress and growth, others see a quaintness being wiped away.

Exploding growth here is unstoppable. The horse and buggy days are long gone. Large office buildings and new developments bring more jobs, new neighborhoods, more families and children, an increase in traffic, and a demand for more services, recreation, and shopping opportunities. With the rising tide of growth come growing pains. A faction of the community would prefer the growth never occurs, but time stands still for no one.

Franklin, it appears, wants to be the Jetsons, but in the tug-of-war-like atmosphere, there are those who still want to be Fred and Wilma.

Franklin sells itself this way: “Building Great Families and Great Businesses in southeast Wisconsin.”

That’s fine. A bit bland, but ok.

Franklin has tremendous potential. However, the city’s mission and its identity need to be more clearly defined.

Like it or not, the perception most have of our city, the immediate reaction when you mention the word, “Franklin,” is high taxes. Yes, people are moving here in droves, but for many other reasons: good (not great) schools, peaceful neighborhoods, open space to build new homes, and our proximity to the freeway, the city and all our surrounding neighbors have to offer. But unfortunately, that’s not top-of-mind for most folks when it comes to Franklin.

We need to figure out what and who were are, what makes us great, and then go out and sell it.

Are we rural or urban?

Or a combination?

Are we small or big?

How small?

How big?

Do we want an influx of new businesses or not?

If so, what kind?

And what do we want them to look like?

If not, why not?

Right now, the message is mixed at best.

Try this exercise yourself. Pretend you are Doug Wheaton, the Economic Development Director for the city of Franklin. You have decided that “Building Great Families and Great Businesses in southeast Wisconsin,” needs some punching up, maybe even some shortening, too. The new slogan must fit ideally on a bumper sticker.

Seriously, how do you best describe the city you call home?

It’s not that easy.

Therein lies the problem, at #5……..FRANKLIN’S IDENTITY.



DON’T WANT A BIG INCREASE IN YOUR SCHOOL TAXES? CONTACT FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS NOW.