THE CHANGING WORLD OF WISCONSIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT


8% of these were enrolled in college parallel programs; another 55% were
studying for their two-
year associate degrees; and approximately 28% were in one-year occupational
certification pro-
grams. In addition to these three types of postsecondary enrollments, almost
10% (approximate-
ly 6,000 FTE students statewide) attended continuing education programs that
cover
wide-ranging subjects, such as woodworking, financial planning, history and
literature.
     College transfer credit courses are offered at only three of the technical
colleges: Madison,
 Milwaukee and Nicolet. The college transfer enrollments have nearly doubled
from 7,276 in
 1985-86 to 16,937 in 1995-96. Part of this growth may be due to the educational
demands of
 today's job market. Increased tuition and more restrictive admissions standards
at the University
 of Wisconsin campuses may also be responsible.
     District level revenues for the technical colleges totaled $700.4 million
statewide in
 1995-96. The funding sources included: property taxes, $331.3 million (47.3%);
state aid,
 $123.5 million (17.6%); tuition and fees, $86.5 million (12.4%); federal
aid, $58.4 million
 (8.3%); and miscellaneous/self financing, $100.7 million (14.4%).
     Concern about the effectiveness of secondary education in preparing
graduates for the work-
place has led to increased cooperation between the technical colleges and
local school districts
in order to provide better occupational training to high school students.
Beginning in 1993,
WTCS district boards were required to establish technical preparation (tech-prep)
programs in
each public high school to offer students advanced standing in the technical
college's associate
degree program upon their graduation from high school. In addition, 11th
and 12th graders are
offered the option of concurrent enrollment in classes at technical colleges
or at university and
college campuses with the school district obligated to pay the students'
fees and tuition if the
course is taken for secondary credit and if the high school does not offer
a comparable course.
                            6. PROTECTING THE PUBLIC
     Of all local government functions, perhaps the most widely recognized
are police, fire and
emergency rescue services. These professions capture the imagination of children,
whose earli-
est field trips may be to the fire station or who hear police officers speak
to their school or youth
groups. Rarely a week goes by without a citizen seeing a police or sheriff's
vehicle, a fire engine
or an ambulance.
     Community policing and firefighting make up a major portion of local
budgets. Together
they accounted for $1.5 billion (over 16%) of the $9.2 billion spent by local
government in 1995.
In fact, policing was the single largest operating cost in cities and villages
(24.9%), and it is grow-
ing at a faster rate than any other municipal expenditure. Fire protection
was second highest at
14.3%.
    Today, the objective of public safety is - as it has been since territorial
days - the protection
of life and property from loss or harm, but public safety operations have
changed dramatically
in the past 30 years. Some of these transformations are the result of population
changes, includ-
ing increasing urban population, more widespread use of illegal drugs, and
changes in legal and
social structures. Other changes have resulted from technological innovations
in transportation,
communications and computer applications. Today's police officers and firefighters
must pos-
sess sophisticated skills and training as they face more complex challenges.
Policing
    Municipal police departments and county sheriff departments provide a
wide variety of ser-
vices that focus on law enforcement, crime prevention and traffic control.
In a typical day, an
officer must be prepared to give directions and information, intervene in
domestic arguments,
work with social service agencies to protect children, render emergency or
rescue services, deal
with stray animals or animal complaints, control traffic and crowds, manage
the homeless or
street people, and provide crime or safety education programs. The service
that officers give is
key to community support of the department.
    Almost 86% of all sworn officers in Wisconsin serve municipalities or
counties. The others
are employed by the state in positions such as campus police, State Patrol
officers or conservation


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