State Rep. Bill Kramer, R-Waukesha, talks about taxes and the next state budget during an interview with The Freeman.

As the Nov. 4 general election nears, voters in the 97th Assembly District will have a tough decision to make about who to send to Madison to fight for local residents. The 2009-11 biennium budget could be the single most important issue of the next representative’s term. On Monday, The Freeman talked with Republican incumbent Bill Kramer about how he’ll work on the budget if elected to the Assembly.

FREEMAN: The governor already came out and predicted a $3 billion budget shortfall, and that deep cuts are going to be in order. When you go into this, in what areas do we make the big cuts and where do we maintain funding?

KRAMER: The main thing you got to look at are those areas where the state already has commitments. That’s the place that you start. Therefore, any new programs should probably stay on the shelf. The second thing you have to do is prioritize where the money needs to go. K-12 education has been the number one priority of the state of Wisconsin. It was in last budget. Actually, the Assembly budget put more money into education than the governor’s budget did, something that seems to be lost on everyone, including my opponent.

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