Mary Spicuzza:

Democratic candidate for governor Tom Barrett wants to get rid of the offices of the secretary of state and the state treasurer as part of a plan he says would cut more than $1 billion from Wisconsin’s budget.
Barrett said some of the savings could be achieved every year, while other cuts — such as eliminating those constitutional offices, an uncertain and arduous process — would represent one-time savings.
At a news conference outside the state Capitol on Monday, Barrett said his plans would include steps like combining workers statewide into pools to purchase lower-cost health insurance, cracking down on Medicaid fraud and other financial crimes, and cutting prisoner health care costs.
He also called for “right-sizing” the state employee work force but did not say if that would involve layoffs or simply not filling vacant jobs.
Barrett called it his plan for “putting Madison on a diet.”

Related:

Wisconsin has seen substantial growth in redirected tax dollars devoted to K-12 public districts over the past 20+ years.
Madison School Board Vice President Beth Moss asked whether the State might further reduce redistributed tax dollars for K-12 spending in the next year, at the June 1, 2010 Budget meeting.