Give taxpayers a better deal
10:21 PM 12/09/03

Let's play politics. Which of these statements is correct: <

The typical Wisconsin homeowner will see an increase of less than $80 on this year's tax bill compared to last year, the smallest increase in four years, thanks to the budgeting restraint of local leaders and the governor. <

Wisconsin's property tax levy will rise at nearly twice the rate of inflation - and the increase is almost three times what it would have been if Gov. Jim Doyle hadn't vetoed a Republican "freeze" in property taxes. <

Answer: Both are plausible. The two statements are the predictable December spins from Democrats and Republicans as homeowners around the state receive their tax bills. Doyle and Republicans who control the Legislature have been poking each other over the property taxes levied by schools and local governments for much of this year - and the bickering will continue into the election season next year. <

Fueled largely by workers' rising salaries, more expensive health insurance and suburban growth, property taxes levied by the state's 220 largest municipalities increased nearly 70 percent from 1992-2002 to $1.4 billion, an average annual increase of 5.4 percent, another Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance study said. And school taxes have gone up at twice the rate of municipal property taxes. That's why Doyle is hailing an expected statewide property tax levy increase of "only" 4.3 percent. <

But these averages, whether calculated by Democrats or Republicans, are mythical numbers because tax impact varies widely by community. For example, property taxes on Madison's average home of $189,484 are expected to go up much more than the average - 7.1 percent, or $284, to $4,286. <

And all this fun with numbers overlooks the more important, and tougher, question: Are taxpayers getting their money's worth? <

Yes and no. Wisconsin residents generally enjoy a high level of local services and their children get a top-quality public education. But at least one survey says Wisconsin property taxpayers fork over more money per student than taxpayers of any other state. And local government spending has been increasing faster than the inflation rate or taxpayers' personal income. <

This all suggests that Wisconsin should explore how schooling and local government can be more efficient to limit cost increases and overall tax burdens. Over the years, several commissions have proposed solid and sweeping recommendations to rein in government spending, but electioneering politicians have ignored the ideas in favor of easier but unproductive fingerpointing over rising taxes. <

Community leaders and state officials will meet in Milwaukee today to launch yet another government reform effort. Combined with a task force that Doyle has created to overhaul the school financing system, the new effort guarantees that there will be plenty of talk in coming months about easing the tax burden on property owners. <

But will there be action? So far, the Legislature has passed a couple of modest bills, including a wise measure by Rep. Bonnie Ladwig, R-Mount Pleasant, that will pave the way for the voluntary consolidation of anachronistic town governments with their neighboring communities. Other pending measures could make a difference. For example: <

To share costs and increase efficiency, Rep. Greg Huber, D-Wausau, has proposed that neighboring cities, villages and towns should be able to combine operations as part of metropolitan service districts. <

To reduce public safety costs, Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer, D-Manitowoc, would allow local governments to combine police departments. And Rep. Terry Musser, R-Black River Falls, would authorize a city or village to abolish its police department and instead contract with its county for law enforcement. <

To restore balance in public-sector payroll and benefits, Rep. Mark Gottlieb, R-Port Washington, wants to level the playing field in negotiations between municipal employers and unions. His measure should be amended to include all municipal employers and unions. <

Other worthy ideas await legislative champions: <

Local governments should be able to levy more special charges for services to spread the burden across more property. <

The state's local spending restraint program should be revamped so it rewards communities that "bank" unused spending authority. As it stands now, communities must spend up to their allowable limit or lose that spending authority in the future - an incentive to spend rather than conserve tax money. <

Property tax exemption law should be tightened to redefine "benevolent" and "charitable" causes to limit the types of property exempted from taxation. <

And many more ambitious ideas, none of them new, also are worthy of reconsideration. Complex and differing forces are jacking up property taxes across the state, and elected leaders must stop spinning and start working on real solutions to this weighty burden on our economy. <