Carol Owens
State Representative
53rd Assembly District
Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Natural Resources
Madison
March 5, 2007
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Pursuant to section
23.165(6) of the statutes, the Department is required to report on the activities, receipts and disbursements for promotional activities for the preceding fiscal year.
Under section
23.165(3) of the statutes, the Department “may promote, through the sale of merchandise or otherwise, advertise or otherwise publicize department programs, department publications, and all properties, lands, facilities, waterways, projects and other areas subject to the jurisdiction or control of the department."
Enclosed is the FY 06 Department of Natural Resources Promotional Activities Report.
Sincerely,
Scott Hassett
Secretary
Referred to committee on Natural Resources.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
March 7, 2007
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is an errata sheet to replace pages 33‐34 of the 2005 Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Report, which you received from the Department of Health and Family Services in January 2007. New information on 2005 child abuse and neglect cases has recently come to our attention due to incomplete data reporting from counties. The corrections are highlighted on the errata sheet. The updated data will also be posted to the Department of Health and Family Services website.
Sincerely,
Susan J. Reinardy
Deputy Secretary
Referred to committee on Children and Family Law.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
March 13, 2007
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed an evaluation of personnel policies and practices within the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS), as requested by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. In March 2006, the 16 technical college districts employed 7,181 full‐ and part‐time faculty and 5,664 full‐ and part‐time support staff and administrators. Each district is a local unit of government that establishes its own personnel policies. The State's Technical College System Board and its 63 staff oversee certain district operations.
The earnings of WTCS employees reflect compensation rates and workloads specified in each district's policies and collective bargaining agreements. Full‐time faculty earned an average of $74,598 in fiscal year (FY) 2004‐05, in part because most received additional compensation for work exceeding a full‐time workload ranging from 32 to 40 hours per week. By comparison, faculty at the two‐year University of Wisconsin Colleges earned an average of $52,552 in 2005. Faculty in the largest WTCS district‐Milwaukee Area‐earned the most: an average of $89,850.
Every district pays all or part of the cost of health insurance for retirees. By FY 2009‐10, all public employers are required to report the cost of such non‐pension benefits, which are known as other post‐employment benefits (OPEB). Accounting rules do not require employers to fund these costs, but large unfunded liabilities could affect future operations. WTCS districts' OPEB liabilities are largely unfunded, and the Milwaukee Area district's is by far the greatest, at $228.6 million.
The amounts of leave earned by WTCS employees vary widely. Full‐time WTCS employees reported using an average of 6.0 days of sick leave in FY 2004‐05, although 38.1 percent of faculty reported using no sick leave.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the Technical College System Board and each of the districts. A response from the WTCS President follows the appendices.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Mueller
State Auditor
Representative Mursau moved that the Assembly stand adjourned pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.
The question was: Shall the Assembly stand adjourned?
Motion carried.
The Assembly stood adjourned.
10:16 A.M.