TAX NEWS - June 2010

Wisconsin Tax: Kenosha County Tax Talk

Proponents and opponents of a referendum on transit funding gave an earful to a Kenosha County Board committee on Tuesday — so much so that a decision on the issue will have to wait until next month.

The Legislative Committee deferred action on recommending whether to hold the fall referendum, after hearing nearly 1½ hours of public comments.

All of that, plus a 7:30 p.m. full board meeting bearing down on the committee, prevented the panel from even debating the question of whether to place the non-binding question on the ballot and, if so, how to word it.

Skeptics of transit, particularly the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail proposal, raised concerns that creating a dedicated funding source for regional transit would do nothing more than raise their taxes.

"I'm very concerned about how much it's going to cost us to maintain this thing, if it ever gets running," said Bob Babcock, of Pleasant Prairie.

Transit supporters argued the issue is about preserving bus service, and that talking about the rail plan was muddying the debate.

That's why Norm Siler, a local transit advocate, believes now is not the right time for a referendum.

"All this talk about KRM is distracting from the real issue that has yet to be decided," Siler said.


Referendum wording

Supervisor Erin Decker proposed having the referendum Nov. 2, using the same language that Racine County will place on its ballot.

The question would ask: "Should any new tax to support transit or rail services, such as a sales tax or local vehicle registration fee, be permitted in any of Kenosha County?"

Supervisor Terry Rose offered a counter proposal: "Shall the state of Wisconsin grant Kenosha County the authority to provide property tax relief by levying a county sales and use tax to be used to remove transit from the property tax levy?"

Supporters of transit believe a dedicated funding source such as a sales tax is needed to shore up struggling bus systems in Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee and, in turn, to help attract federal funding for KRM rail.

Rose's reference to property tax relief riled several speakers at Tuesday's meeting, residents who doubted any benefit to an existing tax would occur by creating a new tax.

"Tell it like it is," said Patricia Fish, of Paddock Lake. "I am so sick of being lied to by every politician that there is."

Kenosha resident Pamela Mundling said she did not see "the trolley to Milwaukee" as a viable endeavor.


Hung up in Legislature

The 2009-11 state budget allows for a fee of up to $18 on rental car transactions to fund the local costs of KRM rail. But the Legislature was unable to pass separate legislation before the session ended this spring, allowing for new funding sources for other transit.

Former Kenosha Area Transit Director Len Brandrup, a Pleasant Prairie resident, urged the committee to table the measure, noting that that bill required local referendums before any transit taxes could be enacted, perhaps making Decker's resolution redundant.

Plus, Brandrup said he believes a referendum should wait until after a five-year plan for transit in the area, now under way, is completed.

"The public transit issue, in all due respect, needs with it a service plan that the public can see, so they know what they're voting on," Brandrup said.

Decker said she still believed a local referendum is needed, as the language of the state's proposal could change anytime.

With November still months away and the committee discussion cut short, she said she had no problem with Tuesday's deferral.

"It's good to see that the citizens are concerned about the issue," Decker said.