Assemblywoman Katrina Shankland addresses the County Board Tuesday night. (City-Times photo)

By Brandi Makuski

The Portage County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved sending questions about a minimum wage increase and BadgerCare expansion to the November ballot.

The resolutions will put two referendum questions up for voters to consider, but those items will be advisory, meaning they are non-binding and will not directly become law but could have an effect on future state legislation. If the minimum wage referendum passes, Portage County will be the 7th of the state’s 72 counties to pass such a referendum.

The proposal to increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour was formally spearheaded in this county by Assemblywoman Katrina Shankland, who called it a “grassroots campaign” by her constituents. Shankland began circulating a petition at various festivals and other public gatherings in July and submitted about 600 signatures to the county on August 4.

Portage Co. Board Supervisor Don Butkowski (second from left).

But some questioned whether it was appropriate for the County Board to consider such a referendum question given the procedure used to bring it forward. Currently a referendum can only be forced if 15 percent of the total number of registered voters in the last gubernatorial election sign such a petition- a number far higher than the 600 signatures collected by Shankland.

“I’d like to remind the board- when we signed our papers to become a board member, we didn’t sign our papers to be a democrat or a republican; we are a nonpartisan body of government,” said Board Supervisor Jeff Presley. “And there’s a method behind that madness, so to speak, of why we’re not partisan. We’re the last line between the state and our constituents in Portage County. By accepting this referendum (question), we really have opened the flood gates to what we do as a body for the simple fact that now we’re picking partisan politics of what should come through and move on to a referendum. Where does it stop? Legalization of marijuana, whether you’re for abortion- all these could now start coming through our committees.”

Presley said Shankland took a “shortcut” by not registering the item with the county clerk and by not collecting the necessary number of signatures for a referendum.

“They’ve taken the cheapest route, a shortcut, and this is the end result- the supervisors here are the last line. So I would encourage you to vote no and stop this; we’re not in a political game here,” Presley added.

Board Supervisor Don Butkowski also said he believed the referendum question was partisan.

“We are a nonpartisan elected Board of Supervisors and should not be pulled into the partisan political arena,” Butkowski said. “This could collar our decision- making in the future; we do not want the gridlock we have in Madison or Washington, D.C..”

Butkowski said the resolution was a near carbon copy of one from Kenosha County and was penned by a partisan organization which bills itself as one that works to further progressive values. He declined to name the organization.

“This particular group, and this particular political party, have been working within our county to move this resolution forward,” he added. “We could be going down a very slippery slope.”

Butkowski also said he was concerned with one portion of the resolution, saying he felt many on the board didn’t agree with the following statement:

Whereas, powerful corporations actively use their influence to hold down wages and benefits, creating economy-busting jobs rather than economy-boosting jobs

Supervisor Jim Gifford said after reflection, the board could remove the questionable language without changing the nature of the resolution.

“Now that I read it more carefully, it’s blatantly attacking one group, and I think the referendum would be fine without it,” Gifford said. The Board unanimously voted to strike that language from the resolution.

Supervisor Tom Mallison said regardless of the procedure used to forward the referendum question, it was clear to him what his constituents wanted.

“If you vote ‘no’ on this tonight, you’re silencing your constituents,” he said.

The Board voted 13-11, one of the most divided votes to ever come from this Board, to including the question: “Should the state of Wisconsin increase the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour?” on the November ballot.

The Board also approved another advisory referendum question asking residents if the state should accept federal funding to expand BadgerCare, the state’s medical assistance program. That resolution passed 16-8 with almost no discussion.