APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The new League of Wisconsin Municipalities president comes from the Fox Valley.
Appleton Mayor Tim Hanna was elected to the post at the League’s recent annual conference.
Hanna will lead a body that serves Wisconsin cities and villages by providing advocacy, training, and legal services.
For the 2017-18 year, the League’s legislative agenda focuses on transportation aid and infrastructure, economic development, and working to ensure property taxes aren’t shifted to residential and small business owners.
He says one of his personal goals is getting more local officials from around the state involved in what’s going on in Madison.
“To prevent us from having to react to things that are being done to us and be more proactive on things that can help not just Appleton but all cities and villages across Wisconsin. We want them to be more informed about what’s happening in the state so when changes are being contemplated for incorporated municipalities that we can count on them to talk to their state legislators.”
The mayor believes that could lead to long-term economic solutions that benefit municipalities.
“No one wants to take the long view of what mix of revenues and what mix of taxes work best for the state, for local governments, and for the people.”
Hanna has served as Appleton’s mayor since 1996. He is also the secretary/treasurer of the Local Government Institute of Wisconsin and serves on the Wisconsin Urban Alliance’s executive committee.
Due to that involvement with other state organizations, Hanna says he’s already been going down to Madison about twice per month in recent years.
Hanna says this new role won’t take him away from his responsibilities in Appleton, noting there is only one way his travel schedule would change.
“If the Legislature gets active in some issues, I may have to go down a little bit more often to either promote or try to delay the action that they would be working on.”
Hanna’s term is set to expire in October 2018.
