Title: Wisconsin. Blue-Ribbon Commission on State-Local Partnerships for the 21st Century: Commission Proceedings and Documentation
Inclusive Dates: 2000-2001

Creator:

• Wisconsin. Blue-Ribbon Commission on State-Local Partnerships for the 21st Century

Call Number: Series 2759

Quantity: 1.0 c.f. (3 archives boxes) and 1 compact disc (146 megabytes: 415 file folders; 12,678 files)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records of a commission created in 2000 by Governor Tommy Thompson, chaired by Donald Kettl, and charged with studying the roles of and relationships between Wisconsin state and local governments and with making recommendations about state-local partnerships that would provide more efficient and cost-effective services to Wisconsin citizens. The documentation includes meeting agendas and minutes; public comments on the Commission's activities; copies of press coverage of the Commission; paper copies of presentations made at Commission meetings; and reports and other materials used by the Commission.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-ser02759

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The Blue-Ribbon Commission on State-Local Partnerships for the 21st Century was created in April 2000 by Governor Tommy Thompson. The Commission's charge was to study the roles of state and local governments and how they could best provide the most efficient and cost-effective service to Wisconsin residents in the 21st century. Thompson explicitly referred to the Commission as “a modern-day constitutional convention” that would “rethink the roles of different levels of government in the changing economy of the new century. The commission needs to challenge the status quo and recommend more efficient government to better serve the people. For example, we need to better determine what unit of government is responsible for providing what services and who is responsible for paying for those services.” Thompson noted that the Commission was to consider creative and bold proposals, not merely debate how to fine-tune existing programs, and that the full extent of state-local relations was to be discussed.

The Commission was made up of 31 members, representing state, local, and education officials; state lawmakers; and Wisconsin residents. It was chaired by Professor Don Kettl of the La Follette Institute for Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Issues affecting the relationship of state government with cities, villages, towns, counties, schools and other local governments, under study by the Commission included funding levels for aid programs, including shared revenue and school aids; state and local taxes, aid formulas, and mandates; local option revenue sources; and accountability issues.

Ultimately, the Commission explicitly called for Wisconsin state and local government to hew to four basic principles in the course of their administration-

1. Economic growth.
2. Citizens at the center.
3. Performance-driven government.
4. Maximum local flexibility in pursuing statewide goals.

These principles, according to the Commission, would be carried out through a three-part strategy--

1. “Badger Basics” - the identification of a set of basic services - education, municipal, transportation, justice services, and human services - that the Commission believed that Wisconsin residents should receive.
2. Economic development.
3. “Renew Wisconsin” - a top-to-bottom performance review of the state-local system, driven by citizens in order to increase civic engagement.

The explicit recommendations of the Commission can be found in the Final Report, produced and released in early January 2001.

Records of the activities and proceedings of the Blue-Ribbon Commission (or, the Kettl Commission) from its inception in April 2000 through its dissolution upon the completion and release of its Final Report in early January 2001. The records were either scanned and placed directly onto a web site established for that purpose, or were transferred to the site by Dr. Don Kettl, the Commission chair, during or after Commission proceedings; as a result, all paper records in the series are printouts from the records on the site. The majority of the records consist of the materials from each Commission meeting: agendas, meeting minutes, PowerPoint presentations made during meetings, submitted statements, sign-in sheets, and documentation on various issues being studied by the Commission. Other records include press coverage of the Commission and its deliberations as well as issue papers. The compact disc included in the series contains a stored version of the Commission web site.

Material that was not printed and retained in paper copy form include: items available or originally produced in a published form; documentation that is tangential or very indirectly related to the activities of the Commission; material only available in audio or streaming video format; and a few documents that for technical reasons were unable to be printed. Researchers will be able to identify these missing documents by the contents pages for each site section.

The meeting materials are arranged in folders chronologically by the date of the meeting. The overall series contents are arranged in the same order as are their electronic versions on the Commission web site: Meetings, Feedback, Issues, Press Coverage. (No materials from the Library section of the site were printed and saved here.)

Box   1 Folder   1	Introductory Material
Box   1 Folder   2	Meeting Agendas
	Meetings
Box   1 Folder   3	April 12, 2000 Meeting - Summary and Initial Presentation
	May 2, 2000 Meeting
Box   1 Folder   4	Content Pages and Summary
Box   1 Folder   5	Handouts
Box   1 Folder   6	Powerpoint Presentations
	May 23, 2000 Meeting
Box   1 Folder   7	Contents Pages
Box   1 Folder   8	Handouts and Responses
Box   1 Folder   9	Powerpoint Presentations
	June 13, 2000 Meeting
Box   1 Folder   10	Contents Pages and Summary
Box   1 Folder   11	Background Material
Box   1 Folder   12	Work Product Material
Box   1 Folder   13	Powerpoint Presentations
	July 6, 2000 Meeting
Box   1 Folder   14	Contents Pages, Sign-in Sheet, and Summary
Box   1 Folder   15	Meeting Minutes
Box   1 Folder   16	Meeting “Homework” for Commissioners
Box   1 Folder   17	Town Hall Documentation
	July 27, 2000 Meeting
Box   1 Folder   18	Contents Page and Documentation
Box   1 Folder   19	Meeting Minutes
	August 15, 2000 Meeting
Box   1 Folder   20	Contents Pages, Sign-in Sheet and Summary
Box   1 Folder   21	Meeting Minutes
Box   1 Folder   22	Tables
Box   1 Folder   23	Commissioners' Presentations
Box   1 Folder   24	Powerpoint Presentations
Box   1 Folder   25	Town Hall Documentation
	September 7, 2000 Meeting
Box   1 Folder   26	Contents Pages, Sign-in Sheet and Summary
Box   1 Folder   27	Meeting Minutes
Box   1 Folder   28	Background Materials
Box   1 Folder   29	Meeting Materials
Box   1 Folder   30	Powerpoint Presentations
Box   1 Folder   31	Town Hall Documentation
	September 21, 2000 Meeting
Box   2 Folder   1	Contents Pages, Sign-in Sheet and Summary
Box   2 Folder   2	Meeting Minutes
Box   2 Folder   3	Meeting Materials
Box   2 Folder   4	Powerpoint Presentations
	October 11, 2000 Meeting
Box   2 Folder   5	Contents Pages, Sign-in Sheet and Summary
Box   2 Folder   6	Meeting Minutes
Box   2 Folder   7	Powerpoint Presentations
Box   2 Folder   8	Commissioners' Recommendations
Box   2 Folder   9	Other Documentation
	November 2, 2000 Meeting
Box   2 Folder   10	Contents Pages, Sign-in Sheet and Summary
Box   2 Folder   11	Meeting Minutes
Box   2 Folder   12	Meeting Materials
Box   2 Folder   13	Powerpoint Presentations
Box   2 Folder   14	Town Hall Documentation
	November 16, 2000 Meeting
Box   2 Folder   15	Contents Pages, Sign-in Sheet and Summary
Box   2 Folder   16	Meeting Minutes
Box   2 Folder   17	Meeting Materials
Box   2 Folder   18	Powerpoint Presentations
Box   2 Folder   19	Town Hall Documentation
	December 5, 2000 Meeting
Box   2 Folder   20	Contents Pages, Sign-in Sheet and Summary
Box   2 Folder   21	Meeting Materials
Box   2 Folder   22	Powerpoint Presentations
Box   2 Folder   23	December 14, 2000 Meeting- Meeting Materials
Box   2 Folder   24	January 4, 2001 Meeting - Contents Page
	Commission Feedback
Box   2 Folder   25	Contents Page
Box   2 Folder   26	“Gotta Beef?” Public Comments
Box   2 Folder   27	“Idea Box” Public Comments
Box   2 Folder   28	“Best Practices” Public Comments
Box   2 Folder   29	Miscellaneous Comments
	Commission Issues
Box   3 Folder   1	Criminal Justice Documentation
Box   3 Folder   2	Education Documentation
Box   3 Folder   3	Transportation Documentation
Box   3 Folder   4	Long-Term Support Documentation
Box   3 Folder   5	Child Welfare/Juvenile Justice Documentation
Box   3 Folder   6	Municipal Aids Documentation
Box   3 Folder   7	WCEAA Recommendations
Box   3 Folder   8	District Attorneys Documentation
Box   3 Folder   9	Tax-Base Sharing Documentation
	Commission Press Coverage
Box   3 Folder   10	April - June 2000
Box   3 Folder   11	July 2000 - January 2001
Compact Disc   1	Commission website