State Budget Brief: Benefiting All Wisconsin Citizens
Background
Tension is mounting between property taxpayers and our education system.
While Wisconsinites want our children to receive a quality education,
they also want relief from the property tax burden in this state.
The state can deliver property tax relief to its citizens without harming
schools and vital services by meeting its two-thirds commitment to funding
schools and fully funding shared revenue, which provides state aid to
local governments. Freezing taxes without making these critical investments
could spell disaster for education and local services.
Investments to benefit all Wisconsin citizens contained in 2005-2007
budget
The governor’s budget proposal for 2005-2007 will benefit
all Wisconsin citizens by:
- Providing $700 million in increased school equalization aid and
$150 million in levy credits to freeze property taxes.
- Combining state aid, tax credit, levy limit, levy restraint incentives
and new cooperation authority into an overall property tax relief
package that:
- Saves the typical homeowner $366 over the biennium compared
to property taxes in the absence of the governor’s initiatives.
- Limits growth in statewide property taxes to the rate of new
construction.
- Holds the overall statewide total property tax increase lower
than in any of the last eight years (excluding lottery credits).
- Increasing property tax relief in areas of the state with lower
relative property values by distributing the $150 million increase
in the school levy credit on an equalized basis.
- Including a provision to “buy back” the additional
school levy credit if 2005-07 state general fund revenues exceed budget
projections.
- Requiring school districts to provide greater public accountability
for the fund balances they maintain and requiring school boards to
vote on maintaining fund balances in excess of 90% of the state average.
- Allowing school districts to carry over 100% of their unused revenue
limit authority to eliminate the current incentive to increase school
taxes to the maximum allowable.
WEAC position
The Wisconsin Education Association Council supports providing property
tax relief in a way that protects schools and preserves the quality
of local services as proposed in the governor’s 2005-2007 biennial
budget bill.
Talking points
Governor Doyle’s budget proposal will:
- Deliver historic relief to Wisconsin property taxpayers while protecting
education by meeting the state’s commitment to pay two-thirds
of the cost of public education – an investment of $850 million
in education and property tax relief.
- Give communities the resources to protect vital services like police
and firefighters by fully funding shared revenue and allowing communities
to raise their levies to reflect both inflation and growth.
- Reward local governments for how much they are able to keep their
levies even lower so there will not be an incentive to tax to the
maximum of the limit.
- Promote economic development by fostering regional cooperation
and protecting the state’s technical colleges.
Additional information
If you have comments or questions, please contact Deb Sybell, WEAC Legislative
Program Coordinator, at sybelld@weac.org
or by phone at 800-362-8034 ext. 227.
Resource page on the 2005-07 state budget
Posted April 19, 2005