Politics
Klekamp on County v. City administrator, trading the La Crosse Center, devastating federal funding cuts
Jane Klekamp in studio, as we dissected her role as La Crosse County administrator, particularly in relation to the city of La Crosse potentially creating a similar position. We also discussed the potentially devastating impact of federal funding cuts to the county, and entertained the hypothetical of trading the La Crosse Center.
La Crosse Talk airs weekdays at 6-8 a.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM / 1410 AM / 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska). Find all the podcasts here or subscribe to La Crosse Talk wherever you get your podcasts.
The first half of the conversation focused on Klekamp’s role as county administrator, how the position was established, and what the city of La Crosse might consider if it decides to create its own administrator role.
Next, we delved into a hypothetical of the city trading ownership of the La Crosse Center to the county — a topic that stemmed from a past La Crosse Talk conversation on regionalizing assets to reduce the tax burden on city residents.
We then shifted to the county board’s ongoing work on funding requests from outside organizations. In the last budget cycle, several nonprofits asked for and received funding through last-minute amendments, but the board is now considering changes to that process.
Lastly, we examined the potential consequences of federal funding cuts on the county, with Klekamp highlighting how reductions in Medicaid funding could significantly affect residents in county-run nursing homes.
Since this conversation, Republicans in the US House passed a resolution that included directing the committee that handles Medicaid health care spending to come up with $880 billion in savings over the decade, which would be the bulk of what’s needed to offset the cost of the tax breaks.
Dylan
February 27, 2025 at 9:28 am
Hopefully people don’t have any old relatives that depend on Medicaid/care… O wait, 90% of people do…
I love on the press conferences… ‘Donald Trump campaigned on doing all these horrible and awful things, he is now fulfilling his promise’. That’s their new rational for all these cuts so the billionaires can have extra yachts
walden
February 27, 2025 at 1:38 pm
This is pure propaganda. The House bill does NOT provide for any reduction in Medicare or Medicaid benefits. And Trump has said he will not sign any bill that calls for reduction in those benefits.
The House bill does look to reduce costs across the entire government by way of identifying waste and fraud, and we know both these programs are full of abuse, especially in blue states. Kicking dead-beats off the government payroll is fullfilling a Trump campaign promise and the savings makes these programs more viable in the long run.
Shame on Klekamp for letting herself be used by Solem; a partisan clown.
Bob N.
February 27, 2025 at 9:42 am
I suppose to the host, asking a County Administrator if converting to a City Administrator for La Crosse would be a good place to look for answers.
Never mind that the County lady, relatively new to her job, would be amiss to say anything bad about the idea since administering is her livelihood and her whole life is devoted to the idea of municipalities having professional administrators.
The fact is that, what she thinks is immaterial.
The opinions on the subject need to come from ordinary taxpayers since they are the ones affected by the change and will be stuck paying for it while being unable to remove a poor administrator from office, once hired.
Only a City Council vote to fire can remove a City Administrator and this City Council was hesitant to ban overnight camping by the park squatters, the move that helped greatly decrease the homeless problem much more than any enabling effort the Council put forth.
Looking at a failing sitting administrator in the eye and saying “you’re fired” is not a task any of the current Council members has the backbone for, so, we could be stuck with a poorly-performing employee after greatly increasing the cost of government.
The idea of a City Administrator has to go to referendum where last time not long ago, voters resounding defeated the measure.
R head
February 28, 2025 at 8:59 am
Wake up! Trump is going to cut money that going to to cut money to people that are here illegally. Money from Medicare is being spent on people who are not citizens.