New Oshkosh leaders group to hold community meeting on state budget impact

New Oshkosh leaders group to hold community meeting on state budget impact

Citizens for a Strong Oshkosh (CSO) will hold a public meeting on June 15 to examine the proposed state budget and how it will affect the Oshkosh community. The meeting will take place Monday at 6:00 pm at the Oshkosh Convention Center, 2 North Main St, Oshkosh.

Diverse community leaders formed CSO to preserve quality services and infrastructure that Oshkosh residents rely on every day. CSO includes business owners and union leaders, elected officials from all branches of local government and interested citizens. Although members have different roles in the community and reflect different political persuasions, all care deeply about Oshkosh. Steering committee members include John Nichols, Frank Tower, Mark Harris, Tom McDermott, Steve Hintz, Jessica King, Paulette Feld, Dennis Schwab, Kathleen Propp, Joan Wade, Ashley Hesse, Sean Fitzgerald, Vue Thao, Tom Willadsen, and Steven Powers.

CSO has been looking at the large role that state revenue decisions play in our community. The budget proposed by the Governor and amended by the Joint Finance Committee is being debated now by the entire legislature in Madison.

According to Mark Harris, Winnebago County Executive, “At this community meeting, we will discuss the growing state budget deficit and how it may affect Oshkosh. We want to inform and involve citizens so state legislators hear their opinions before the budget is finalized. The decisions our state legislators make may raise our property taxes and jeopardize local services for years to come.”

CSO has met at least monthly since November to discuss the role that state revenue and decisions play in local public structures from law enforcement to schools to human services and economic development. They have been studying reforms at the state level that could make Oshkosh stronger.

Interested members of the community are encouraged to attend the meeting on June 15 at the Oshkosh Convention Center. Call 231-4770 for more information.

The Myth of Canadians Flocking to the US for Healthcare:

Phantoms in the Snow...

U.S. ambulatory facilities survey. Almost 40 percent of the facilities we surveyed reported treating no Canadians, while an additional 40 percent had seen fewer than ten patients (Exhibit 1Go). Fifteen percent of respondent sites reported treating 10–25 Canadian patients, and only about 5 percent reported seeing more than 25 during the previous year (generally 25–75 patients; none reported more than 100). These findings were fairly consistent across the service categories. The overall response rate was 67 percent, and it varied across type of clinical facility from 56 percent for ambulatory surgery centers to 80 percent for cancer centers.

If we extrapolate these findings (assuming that nonrespondents show a pattern similar to that of respondents), these facilities in the three large metropolitan areas combined saw approximately 640 Canadian patients for diagnostic radiology services such as computed tomography (CT) scans or MRI and 270 patients for eye procedures such as cataract surgery over a one-year period. By comparison, the annual volume for CT scans and cataract extractions averaged about 80,000 and 25,000 procedures, respectively, in British Columbia alone during the mid-1990s.9 In Quebec the annual volume during the same period for CT scans and MRI averaged 375,000 procedures and 44,000 procedures, respectively

Wisconsinites Want Healthcare Reform

From an AARP survey:

• 49 percent say the state's health care system has major problems, and 13 percent say it is in a state of crisis
• 76 percent consider it important for the state to reduce the number of residents without health care coverage and 84 percent feel it should make health care more affordable for all
• 82 percent agree that all Wisconsinites should have access to the same basic health care coverage, and 76 percent agree that everyone should contribute to the health care system
• 56 percent say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported health care coverage for all Wisconsin residents

Will the Newest Council Members Decide the Main St Parking Lot Issue?

The Oshkosh Common Council will decide on Tuesday whether to support local small business on Main St or to delay/cancel a previously approved parking lot redesign project.

And, in a show of how elections matter, it will be the 2 newest members of the council who will make the decision.

Severl current council members have come out on this issue. Mayor Esslinger is against it, as is Councilor McHugh. Councilor Palmeri has previously proposed to have this project delayed.

I would assume from previous votes in favor of the project that Councilors King and Tower are in support.

That puts the vote at 3 against the lot & 2 in favor of the lot. Either of the 2 newest councilors, Buccholz or Poeschl can kill the lot.

Elections matter.