This is an opinion piece.
Fiscal responsibility is one of many reasons Waukesha County is an attractive destination for businesses and families alike to call home and something we pride ourselves on as elected officials who serve on the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors.
Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow has spent the last decade showing how Waukesha County leads the way. Under Farrow’s leadership, Waukesha County boasts the lowest spending per capita of any county in the state and a AAA bond rating. Our per capita tax levy is the third lowest in the state, and our tax rate is the second lowest.
Farrow and courthouse officials have streamlined, privatized, and consolidated services; found new efficiencies every year to balance the budget without raising taxes; and cut 85 full-time staff positions since 2010.
Farrow, a lifelong Waukesha County resident, has tirelessly advocated for the county and its residents. Unfortunately, the Wisconsin State Legislature did not heed Farrow’s call for increased shared revenue when they revisited the allocation process last year. For decades, Waukesha County taxpayers have been ripped off by the state’s formula that redistributes to counties and municipalities the tax dollars we send to Madison.
Little changed with the new formula to determine shared revenue when enacted last year. Waukesha County is still near the bottom of all 72 Wisconsin counties. Despite Waukesha County residents sending billions to the state annually, we only get $4.9 million in shared revenue in return. Meanwhile, the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County receive $246M and $60.6M, respectively.
Milwaukee’s extreme crime problem has caught the attention of leaders in Madison. Still, they fail to recognize that Waukesha County is also a victim of the decades of soft-on-crime policies of Milwaukee’s district attorney, judges, and police leadership. In recent years, there has been an influx of Milwaukee County residents crossing 124th Street and committing crimes in Waukesha County. On a given day, up to 50% of Waukesha County’s jail is filled with non-county residents, mainly, from Milwaukee County. The Waukesha County District Attorney is seeing this surge in crime from people outside Waukesha County, too, with 40% of their cases involving the prosecution of non-county residents.
Waukesha County’s budget is tight even without the Milwaukee problem, and our allocation of shared revenue hardly puts a dent in it. Madison throws additional budgetary hurdles at us every time it passes a new law that mandates a specific operation or program but doesn’t include any funding. 43% of all county tax dollars are used to fund state-mandated operations or programming. When Waukesha County cuts the budget, the cuts come from non-mandated programming, like plowing, mowing, or park services. Madison is making us do more and giving us less, yet we rise to the occasion every budget year.
Thanks to the failed policies of the Biden-Harris Administration, families and businesses are experiencing increased costs and inflated prices, and Waukesha County is also facing those same constraints. County fuel expenditures have risen about 60%, and utility costs for the Public Works Department alone have grown by $230,000.
We recognize all these challenges, but our problems won’t be solved with a new .5% sales tax. Waukesha County taxpayers pay enough already. Waukesha County households, especially those on a fixed income, can’t be squeezed anymore. Passing our burden to families is not the solution.
The Waukesha County Way is finding the right-sized solution to address these challenges and using every tool at our disposal until the job is done. The process also needs to offer more time to engage our constituents properly. While we’ve heard from a high volume of residents concerned with the contents and speed of this tax proposal, we need the time to ensure that all our neighbors are informed and able to weigh in.
The Waukesha County Way has always meant efficient government and not overtaxing the citizens. This present tax proposal does not lead to a more perfect version of government. We will vote ‘no’ on Tuesday and hope our fellow County Board members will join us in stopping this ordinance.
Wayne Euclide (Oconomowoc) – District 2; Jennifer Grant (Menomonee Falls) – District 5; Johnny Koremenos (Elm Grove) – District 8; JD Leisemann (Hartland) – District 13; Tom Schellinger (Brookfield) – District 20; Steve Styza (Oconomowoc) – District 1 serve on the Waukesha County Board of Supervisors; and Darlene Johnson (Mukwonago).
