BY TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR
In addition to voting for candidates vying for positions as Lincoln County Supervisors to serve their districts on the Lincoln County Board, those running to become a City of Merrill Alderperson to represent their districts on the Merrill City Council, and those running for the Merrill Area Public Schools (MAPS) Board of Education, there will be three referendum questions on ballots in our area this Tuesday, April 2, 2024.
State of Wisconsin Use of Private Funds in Election Administration Referendum question
The question on your ballot will read:
“Use of private funds in election administration. Shall section 7 (1) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that private donations and grants may not be applied for, accepted, expended, or used in connection with the conduct of any primary, election, or referendum?”
Vote Yes or No.
Essentially, the question is weighing the effects of how private funds may or may not influence Wisconsin elections.
A “Yes” vote means you approve the creation of a section of the Wisconsin State constitution that bans private donations or grants to be used in the conduct of future Wisconsin elections.
A “No” vote means you do not want to create this section of the Wisconsin State constitution and private donations and grants can continue to be used in Wisconsin elections.
State of Wisconsin Election Officials Referendum question
The question on your ballot will read:
“Election officials. Shall section 7 (2) of article III of the constitution be created to provide that only election officials designated by law may perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums?”
Vote Yes or No.
A “Yes” vote means you approve the creation of a section of the Wisconsin State constitution that bans anyone except election officials from performing election-related tasks and duties.
A “No” vote means you do not want to create this section of the Wisconsin State constitution.
MAPS referendum question
The question on your ballot will read:
BE IT RESOLVED by the School Board of the Merrill Area Common Public School District, Lincoln and Langlade Counties, Wisconsin that there shall be issued pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $16,000,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a school facility improvement project consisting of: renovations, site, and playground improvements at the Jefferson School building to accommodate the relocation of certain district programming; renovations at the High School and construction of a maintenance and operations building at the High School site; demolition of the current Northern Achievement Center, storage building, district office, and maintenance building; district-wide capital maintenance, infrastructure, and site improvements; and acquisition of furnishings, fixtures, and equipment.
Vote Yes or No.
A “Yes” vote means you approve MAPS borrowing the money for the purpose of reorganizing and relocating operations as described, along with the corresponding increase in taxes to pay for it, which according to MAPS will be approximately $32 annually on a home valued at $100,000 (use that rate and your home’s value to calculate the cost to your household) for the next 21 years.
A “No” vote means you do not approve the described borrowing for this purpose and the corresponding increase in taxes and, if MAPS wants to move forward with such relocations, they would need to find alternate funding or options to do so.