Budget Committee Voting on BCPL Budget May 4!

The Joint Finance Committee, the Legislature's budget-writing committee, is voting on the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands budget on Thursday, May 4 at 11 a.m. The Joint Finance Committee has the option to approve the BCPL funding increases proposed by the Governor, provide lower increases than what was proposed by the Governor, or remove the increases from the budget entirely. 

 

WEMTA members can contact their state senators and state representatives before May 4 and ask them to support Alternatives A1 and B1 in LFB Paper #205, which will provide a total increase of $268,800 over the biennium to BCPL to help hire vacant positions and keep up with the costs of managing the Common School Fund.

 

The funding increases proposed by the Governor would provide $69,400 per year to hire a Deputy Commissioner of Public Lands and a senior accountant, and $65,000 per year to keep up with trust fund management costs. 

 

Here are Some Talking Points You can Use:

 

• The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) is incredibly important to school libraries. BCPL manages the Common School Fund, the only dedicated source of K-12 school library funding in Wisconsin. 

• BCPL needs increased funding to offer the compensation necessary to attract candidates for vacant agency positions, including a Deputy Commissioner of Public Lands and senior accountant.  It is incredibly important to fill these key positions, which help administer and oversee the investment of the $1.4 billion school trust fund. 

• BCPL indicates that without increased funding for positions, existing agency employees will likely need to take on additional work and to postpone certain job tasks such as developing due diligence reports on new investments and managing certain fund investments. 

• BCPL gained expanded investment authority in 2016, which has allowed them to diversify and expand their investments, directly benefiting the Common School Fund, which has produced record disbursements to school libraries over the past several years. Increased supplies and services funding is needed to accompany the expanded investment activities.  

• A strong BCPL means a strong Common School Fund. Investing in the agency is an investment in school libraries. 

How to Contact Your Legislators:

 

The first step in contacting your legislator is knowing who your legislator is. The easiest way to do this is the tool found on the Legislature’s home page, at http://legis.wisconsin.gov. In the right-hand side of that page is a link that says Find My Legislators!  Type your address in the box below that link to get the names of your state representative and senator.