Malfeasance in office at the very least

"Collusion" is what observers are calling the hasty negotiations between Madison mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the chummy unions.

E-mails obtained by Citizens for Responsible Government between staff for Cieslewicz and Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona) indicate an effort to slow the timing of the publication of the bill had it passed.

In one e-mail, Janet Piraino, Cieslewicz's chief of staff, wrote: "As you may have heard, Madison will convene a special council meeting on Thursday to extend collective bargaining agreements so that all our unions are on the same footing, with a contract through 2012. We are racing against the clock so that our extensions will go into effect before the bill becomes law. To make matters worse, if the state law goes into effect first, the amendments to the agreements will make them null and void under the provisions of the new law. If that happens, all our employees will be subject to the benefit cuts immediately, instead of at the end of the current contract."

The gift? The contract calls for an average annual pay boost of 1% over the three-year period dating back to 2010.

Yet another reason why the Flee Bagger Democrat senators want to hide out in Illinois. As one poster at the site noted: "I think this supports the spirit of Governor Walker's budget repair bill. The cost burden is now on the City of Madison and the Madison School District rather than the State of Wisconsin. If Madison taxpayers want to pay their labor well, it should be up to them to fully pay for their labor.

Governor Walker's budget repair bill resolves problems at the state level and leaves the decisions and resulting responsibilities for municipalities/school districts with the local electorate."