Doyle seeks 4 percent limit on local property tax levy hikes
(Published Monday, February 12, 2007 10:42:54 AM CST;
updated Monday, February 12, 2007 11:37:33 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
Gazette Staff and Associated Press
MADISON-More local control would be good news, but it's too soon to tell whether a proposed raise in the property tax levy limit would help Rock County residents, County Administrator Craig Knutson said.
Knutson, like several local officials contacted by The Janesville Gazette this morning, hesitated to comment on the proposal from Gov. Jim Doyle because he hadn't seen anything in writing.
Doyle says he will ask the Wisconsin Legislature to let local governments raise their property tax levies by 4 percent this fall, which is double the limit set for the last two years but still a level the governor said will control local taxes.
"A little more flexibility under the levy limits is a good thing for local governments, but we really have to see the details of the budget … before really making a judgment on it," Knutson said.
The county's reaction to the governor's budget depends on several other factors, including how much funding he provides to counties for state-mandated programs, Knutson said.
He also pointed out that, because of the half-percent county sales tax set to go into effect in April, the county didn't take the full 2-percent increase in the property tax levy allowed under the law this year.
"Just because the levy limits allow a certain increase, doesn't necessarily mean that that's what the county board will pass," he said.
Janesville City Manager Steve Sheiffer declined to comment on the proposal this morning.
"We haven't seen the text of Gov. Doyle's proposal, so we are not in a position to comment,'' Sheiffer said through the city's community information specialist, Rebecca Smith.
Doyle told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that his proposal would result in an estimated $75 increase, or 2.7 percent, in the property tax bill on a median-valued Wisconsin home. The tax bill on such a home was $2,730 last year.
The bill would go up by an additional $26, or less than 1 percent, in December 2008, the governor estimated. But he said that assumes the Legislature approves a new tax credit he wants which would be worth $48 on a typical home.
Allowing local tax levies to rise by 4 percent would make state government a good partner that recognizes the vital services local governments must provide, Doyle said.
The levy controls that expired Jan. 1 limited local governments to increases of 2 percent a year or the growth in new construction in a community, whichever was greater.
To also help control property tax bills, Doyle has said he will recommend that the state continue to pay two-thirds of public school costs.
"We're doing what we did last time: Making sure we're funding schools, giving local governments a little more (taxing) room and holding the levies well below inflation," the Democratic governor said.
But state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said a 4 percent limit will result in a significant property tax increase. He said the 2 percent restriction had worked well and should be continued.
Doyle wants to let local governments raise their property tax levies more because state government can't offer them significant new cash, Fitzgerald said.
State Rep. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, co-chairman of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, said the GOP will work to cut back Doyle's proposal.
"Somebody is going to have to be the defensive line," she said.
Doyle told the Wisconsin State Journal that his budget would expand 4-year-old kindergarten classes.
"I believe really strongly in good early childhood development and I think everybody who is involved in education understands how important it is for kids to get off to a good start," he said in an interview with the Madison newspaper.
Doyle is bringing back a plan, rejected by a previous Legislature, to offer $3 million in grants to schools to help them cope with the initial costs of 4-year-old kindergarten. The program would offer districts $3,000 per pupil in the first year and $1,500 in the second year of a new 4K program, primarily helping small districts.
It was unclear whether the proposal would help the Janesville School District, which is considering starting a 4K program. No one responded to phone calls placed to the governor's office in time to meet the Gazette's deadline this morning.
Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, said the 4K expansion would spark debate among Republicans in the Legislature. Fitzgerald agreed, but said a compromise with Doyle was possible.
