March 22, 2023 – Slinger, WI – Fifteen municipalities will have an advisory referendum question. “Would you support an agreement where the county would annually share 20% of the revenues with the cities, villages, and towns to apply to local road maintenance and construction?” The transfer is estimated to be $3 million.
This is a short- sighted idea that will cost taxpayers. Here’s why.
- The county uses approximately 35% of sales tax as a direct reduction in county taxes. The municipalities will not offer that estimated $1 million reduction in taxes. They will take the full $3 million and spend it. Right off the bat, taxpayers will lose that $1 million tax reduction from the county.
- Sharing sales taxes will force the county to either increase taxes to compensate for the $3 million lost revenue or reduce services. In response to the no vote on the public safety referendum, the county already cut $1 million to add funding for the sheriff’s department. There are limits to how much the county can remove from services.
- Transferring $3 million to local governments will surely stop any possibility of keeping the Samaritan open for our county’s elderly and disabled.
It is not true that the county does not fund local projects. The county pays 50% of local costs for bridges and culverts. The county paid the full cost of voting machines, $16.5 million to upgrade the county radio dispatch system that is used by all local governments, and funded $10 million for affordable housing. I don’t agree the housing project is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars, but it is funded by the county.
Last November, county taxpayers rejected increasing county taxes to fund $3.6 million for our sheriff’s department. This referendum question boils down to “Would you support adding $3 million county taxes for local roads?”
Vote NO.
Lois Krueger-Gundrum, District 15 County Board Supervisor
Slinger
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All letters to the editor for the April 4, 2023, General Election must be submitted by end of business day, March 24, 2023.