Posted on 08/08/2003 5:55:22 AM PDT by ninenot
Kenosha - Promising to start a tax revolution in Wisconsin, hundreds of taxpayers fed up with the governor's veto of strict limits on local property taxes showed their displeasure during a rally Thursday night.
Chanting "Support the freeze," a crowd of more than 400 listened to legislators and rally organizers complain about taxes.
"The taxpayers have woke up and are revolting," said Ralph Lisowski, who helped organize the event at a Kenosha restaurant.
"Our intent is to start a new revolution with a shout heard 'round the state," Lisowski said as the crowd cheered.
Outside the Parkway Chateau Brat Stop as folks walked into the rally, more than 100 people clad in red shirts marched in a circle with signs that said: "More Cuts Will Hurt Kids" and "Let Locally Elected Leaders Make LOCAL decisions."
While legislators and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle debate the Republican-proposed limits on taxes, residents on both sides of the issue expressed their views Thursday by picketing, chanting, waving signs and wearing red or blue shirts.
Supporters of the tax limits wore blue because it signifies a freeze and represents blue-collar workers, Lisowski said. Those in favor of Doyle's veto wore red for contrast with blue.
Regardless of apparel color, the sentiments were fervent on each side.
David Singer, a Kenosha County Board member, marched with those who backed Doyle's veto because he said he supports local control. Serving his third two-year term, Singer said Kenosha County has managed to control its costs while the state's budget has spiraled into a $3.2 billion deficit.
"The state already controls most of the taxes, and now they want to control property taxes," said Singer as he walked with his Dalmatian, Cleo, who, like Singer, was wearing red.
Neal Skrenes, a Kenosha middle school teacher, said he worries about the effect tax limits might have on school districts. He said enrollment in the Kenosha School District is rising because families are moving to the area.
"That means we'll need more schools and more staffing. How can we do that without raising money?" he asked.
But Bill Peterson of Pleasant Prairie said he's not against teachers, he's against high taxes.
"I'm 100% for education, but I'm getting taxed to death," said Peterson, who said the property tax bill on his home has risen from $84 to $3,300 since he bought it in 1956.
"We bought our home to live in in our retirement and to die there, and they're taxing us out of our home," Peterson said.
Several Republican legislators attended the rally, including Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer (R-West Bend) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), who wore yellow stickers that read "Support the Freeze."
"You're starting the Wisconsin tax revolution tonight," Darling said before leading the crowd in a chant of "Freeze it!"
The rally was one of two scheduled for this week in the Milwaukee area. On Saturday, Citizens for Responsible Government will hold a 2 p.m. rally at Serb Memorial Hall in Milwaukee.
On Thursday, Republican leaders in the Capitol scheduled an override vote for Tuesday. In order to overturn Doyle's veto, it would take a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and Assembly. Republicans control the Senate 18-15 and the Assembly 59-40.
Republicans need 22 votes in the Senate to override, which means four Democrats would have to join the GOP. So far, Democratic Sens. Tim Carpenter of Milwaukee and Jeff Plale of South Milwaukee have said they will vote to override the veto or are leaning that way.
An override vote will be held first in the Senate and then, if needed, in the Assembly. If the Senate fails to override the veto, no Assembly vote would be taken.
The proposed three-year limit on local property taxes was included in the 2003-'05 state budget passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Under those caps, municipalities could increase property taxes only for new construction costs or by referendum. Schools would have been allowed to increase their revenue from property taxes by 2% in the first year of the budget and 1.6% in the second.
Doyle vetoed the measure last month, saying it would strip local leaders of their decision-making ability and devastate services and programs.
And the governor hammered home those points again Thursday when he launched his own effort to rally public opinion behind his veto.
Doyle stood with mayors and uniformed emergency workers outside city halls in La Crosse and Chippewa Falls, saying he was forced to be the "grown-up in charge" in the Capitol by vetoing the Legislature's "arrogant" plan to cripple local services and public schools.
The governor was scheduled to make a similar appearance in Stevens Point today.
Doyle again predicted he would win a Tuesday state Senate vote to override his veto, saying too much is at stake now for legislators to enact the GOP plan over his objections.
"It's one thing to stick this in the budget, knowing that there's a grown-up as governor who is going to take care of it and veto it," Doyle said in Chippewa Falls. "It's another thing to say, 'OK, we're really going to cut our schools by $400 million over the next two years, we're going to tell local leaders that they're all big spendthrifts.' I think that's a very hard vote for a legislator to take."
In La Crosse, Doyle said: "It's really arrogant that people in one part of the state are telling people in another part of the state what to do."
Mayors at Doyle's side in the two cities echoed that theme.
"Shouldn't all levels of state government be focused on helping local decision-makers, rather than dictating terms and limits to how we spend your tax dollars?" asked Chippewa Falls Mayor Doug Sandvick.
A former Democratic legislator, La Crosse Mayor John Medinger, said he was developing a 2004 budget that would hold property taxes "at the level of 2003" - something Doyle has repeatedly asked all elected local officials to do voluntarily.
Steven Walters of the Journal Sentinel staff, reporting from Madison, and correspondent David Marcou, reporting from La Crosse, contributed to this report.
But it's Ok for a bunch of idiots in Washington, DC, to tell every state what to do???????
In addition, a good chunk of that local spending comes out of the state coffers. For municipalities, it's a complex formula that takes into account property values and population, among other factors. For schools (the biggest whiners), it's simply 2/3 of what the school board authorizes to be spent. Therefore, the state does have some say in this. Morever, the state's say is simply that any increase in the property tax levy must first be approved by the voters via referrendum (much like the current requirement on schools that an increase in the levy beyond roughly 4% must go through a referrendum).
While I'm on the schools, I've got a few things to correct in Jim (Grey Craps) Doyle's claim that schools "lose" $400 million next year. First, they're going to get to levy AT LEAST the same amount of property tax as this year (an increase due to new construction is allowed without a referrendum, and they can go to the voters to get any size increase they want). That means that they're losing NOTHING.
Second, that "loss" is actually $133 million in local property tax increases and $267 million in UNFUNDED state liability (i.e. sales tax/income tax increases). Taxes, mind you, that the school board politicians, the teacher's union (through their exorbitant contracts that drive the "need" for ever-higher taxes), and the few that manage to show up at intentionally-inconvenient budget meetings get to vote on. It's worse at the municipal level; there's no citizen requirement whatsoever to keep the politicos from spending (just as an example that cuts VERY close to home) $21 million on a Taj Mahal police station that can't be used because it was poorly-built.
I have but one more thing to say to the big spenders, "Let us vote!" (President Reagan's "Go ahead, make my day" was taken and isn't quite applicable yet because we the people don't have that veto pen just yet).
If the RATs don't get the message, it'll be a perfect day to start the "Winter of Recall" tour (I hope to have a T-shirt ready if they don't listen Tuesday).
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