Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Ninety-Eighth Regular Session
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries under the above date.
__________________
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries dated Friday, July 18, 2008.
The committee on Small Business, Emergency Preparedness, Workforce Development, Technical Colleges and Consumer Protection reports and recommends:
Relating to child care copayments and affecting small businesses.
No action taken.
Robert Wirch
Chairperson
__________________
The Chief Clerk makes the following entries dated Tuesday, July 22, 2008.
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
July 17, 2008
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Simpson, Luann,
of Racine, as a member of the Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan Authority, to serve for the term ending May 1, 2011.
Respectfully submitted,
JIM DOYLE
Governor
Read and referred to committee on Health, Human Services, Insurance, and Job Creation.
State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
July 18, 2008
The Honorable, The Senate:
I am pleased to nominate and with the advice and consent of the Senate, do appoint Weiden, Mike,
of Madison, as a member of the UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority Board, to serve for the term ending July 1, 2011.
Respectfully submitted,
JIM DOYLE
Governor
Read and referred to committee on Health, Human Services, Insurance, and Job Creation.
__________________
Relating to meat and inedible animal by-products.
Submitted by Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
Report received from Agency, July 21, 2008.
Referred to committee on Agriculture and Higher Education, July 21, 2008
.
Relating to internet and telephone call-in fees.
Submitted by Department of Transportation.
Report received from Agency, July 18, 2008.
Referred to committee on Transportation and Tourism, July 21, 2008
.
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
July 11, 2008
The Honorable, The Legislature:
As required by s.
13.94(1)(dm), Wis. Stats., we have completed our annual financial audit of State Fair Park. We have issued an unqualified opinion on State Fair Park's fiscal year (FY) 2006-07 financial statements. In addition, we have continued to monitor State Fair Park's financial condition and its efforts to improve its financial performance.
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In FY 2006-07, State Fair Park's revenue exceeded expenditures by $1.3 million, the first time since FY 1998-99. As a result, State Fair Park was able to reduce the accumulated cash deficit to $9.9 million. The positive operating results are primarily attributable to reduced operating costs as a result of the licensing of the Milwaukee Mile racetrack to a private promoter. However, the promoter has reported financial difficulty, and in February 2008 the license agreement was renegotiated and the annual license fee paid by the promoter was lowered from approximately $1.8 million to $1.0 million. Further, a portion of the amount due has been deferred. As a result, State Fair Park will receive only $725,000 in license fees in 2008.
As part of our audit, we also reviewed conflict of interest allegations related to the management of State Fair Park's Agriculture Department. State Fair Park has begun to take steps to address concerns raised by members of the agriculture community. We include several recommendations for further improvement, including increased communication among the Board, management staff, various advisory committees, and the agriculture community in Wisconsin. In addition, we recommend State Fair Park seek an opinion from the Government Accountability Board on the perceived conflicts of interest between the Agriculture Director's outside business interests and his responsibilities to State Fair Park.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by the staff of State Fair Park. A response from State Fair Park's executive director follows the appendices.
Sincerely,
