Madison Mayor Blames State For Tax Increase

It's property tax time in the city of Madison, and a letter from Mayor Paul Soglin blames the state for a local tax increase.

It all has to do with how much money local governments get from the state each year through what's called "shared revenue," which is a portion of state income taxes shared to help cover government costs.

This year, Madison took a 25 percent cut, and the mayor said that's part of why homeowners' tax bills may have gone up this year.

As resident Charles Quackenboss made his way to city hall to pay his property tax bill, he said it wasn't as bad as he expected.

"It was up about $150 over last year, and I think that is outstanding," said Quackenboss after paying his bill. "I think the mayor and county executive did a good job of keeping the tax levy reasonable. It could have gone up a lot more."

City of Madison taxes went up 3.7 percent this year, and in a letter with tax bills the mayor said that's primarily because of a cut in state aid.

"There is no question that the state's shared revenue decisions have driven up the property tax in Madison," said Soglin.

Soglin argued that the formula to figure out local aids needs to change. Although Madison is the second largest city in the state, it gets the 15th most shared revenue.

"The formula was well-intended to deal with issues of population and poverty, but it was always assumed that the state would be fair in terms of the funding," said Soglin.

Todd Berry, of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, said that's exactly why Madison gets less -- because it is considered a property-wealthy city.

"Either the appropriation has to be made larger so Madison will compete for some money, or they've got to take it away from poorer communities like Milwaukee, Beloit or Racine to give it to Madison," said Berry. "So it is a little unfair to suggest that the state is entirely to blame here."

But as Quackenboss looks at his bill, he said he thinks the city should get more money, too.

"When you're considering Madison, you must consider city services to all state buildings," said Quackenboss. "I don't think we get all the state money that we should for that."

Soglin and Berry said the other problem is that the funding formula hasn't really been used since the early 2000s. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau confirmed that local aids have been flat or cut since the early 2000s under Gov. Jim Doyle and Gov. Scott Walker.

Source: http://madisonnearwest.channel3000.com/news/news/63584-madison-mayor-blames-state-tax-increase

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