Testimony of Cathy Atkinson
Statement to Joint Finance Committee (2/1/05)
My name is Cathy Atkinson. I am a resident and taxpayer
in Waukesha. I am here today to speak against this proposed property tax
freeze. As I tried to gather my thoughts for today, I realized there is
probably nothing I can say that you have not already heard as to why many of
us feel that this proposal is unacceptable. So instead, I have decided to
ask you a few questions. I understand that in this type of forum these will
basically be rhetorical questions; nevertheless, I hope they give you something
to think about.
Number One: How can you support a proposal such as this,
knowing the damage it will do to the outstanding public education system in
Wisconsin? The state of Wisconsin ranks at or near the top in numerous measures
of educational excellence. The limits proposed in these bills will devastate public
school programs and services throughout the state. We understand that the legislature
is not cutting its funding for education - instead, you are forcing local school
districts to make the cuts. How can you ignore that?
Number Two: How can you honestly say that you are representing
your youngest constituents - the children - while supporting this proposal? Are you
willing to come to our schools in Waukesha, meet with our children face to face,
look them in their eyes and explain how you are representing them by causing the
Waukesha school district to lose an additional $1.6 million dollars over the next
two years? What kind of message are you sending to your most vulnerable constituents
with legislation such as this? How can we as a society tell children that they should
value education, yet they see legislation like this that clearly does not?
What kind of models are we being for our children?
Number Three: How can you claim that you truly believe government
should spend less money, yet one of the first actions taken by the Assembly this
session was to pass a plan to create numerous committees and bill the taxpayers
$2.6 million for it?
Number Four: How can you ignore the facts that tell us local
government spending is NOT out of control? Over the past 10 years spending on K-12
education has grown more slowly than the rate of state personal income. State and
local tax burdens, as a percent of personal income, have decreased from 12.7% in
1993 to 11.3% in 2003. School property tax levies, as a percentage of personal
income, have gone down from 2.8% in 1994 to 1.9% in 2004. And now you want to
reduce funding even more?
Number Five: How can you disregard research which shows that
taxes are not the most important factor in business location decisions? Rather, a
well-trained labor force and high quality public services are more important factors
to businesses - yet, this proposal undermines both of these.
Number Six: As elected public servants, have you forgotten that
our taxes actually do give us something? They provide the necessary services for a
community to function. I don't understand why you only focus on getting "relief"
from taxes instead of celebrating the services and high quality of life they provide
for us? All we are asking for today is local control over the services we provide in
our own communities.
As a high school social studies teacher I try to teach my students
that in a democracy, we all are responsible for each other. I tell them that in a
democracy, they have a voice that can be heard. Unfortunately, they are not old
enough to vote yet, nor are they able to contribute huge sums of money to political
campaigns, but they are our future - everyone's future. We cannot forget about them.
You must think about the damage that will be done to the children of Wisconsin if this
legislation is passed. You must not pass it. Thank you.
Posted February 3, 2005