Shared revenue announcement in Wausau. MWC photo by Mike Leischner.
ROTHSCHILD, WI (WSAU) — Republicans in Madison rolled out their proposal for an increase in shared revenue between the state and local governments on Thursday, one item that both Republicans and Democrats have agreed on as the next two-year budget is being written.
The crux of the plan involves reserving 20% of the state’s sales tax revenue for distribution to counties, towns, cities, and villages. That represents the first significant change in shared revenue since the early 2000s, and those who spoke at a Thursday news conference agreed that it’s the fairest way to distribute the revenue because it doesn’t involve creating “winners” and “losers” in the plan.
“This is an exciting day. Devoting 20% of state sales tax revenue to local governments provides about $1.5 billion and more than half a billion in new money for innovation in local government and public safety,” said Republican Pat Snyder of Schofield.
He and two other Republican Assemblymen made the announcement at the Rothschild Pavillion, touting more money for public safety and Emergency Medical Services. Local leaders from Rothschild, Rib Mountain, and Marathon City also spoke about how the proposal would help their communities upgrade equipment and roads, providing better service for residents.
“It’s all indexd to the growth of the sales tax in the state moving forward. I think that is the most important thing; as we see tourism come back sales tax being generated across the state from people coming into [Wisconsin] will go towards the services our municipalities need,” said Nekoosa Republican Scott Krug. “We have finally found a plan that [isn’t] going to penalize the urban areas to help the rural areas. Everybody can win. So with no winners and losers in this plan, everyone says ‘this is a great idea.'”
Marathon City Administrator Andy Kurtz says he agrees that tying future revenue to the success of the state sales tax is a fantastic idea because it allows the local municipality to keep 20% of what is spent within their borders on taxable goods, something that his community has struggled with. “When [our] new Kwik Trip comes to down, that’s going to be a big sales tax increase to the state and county. We’ll see that money come back to us as part of that increase. It is a big thing.
“It is a significant change from what has been done historically, and that’s great for all the communities in the state of Wisconsin,” added Kurtz.
The plan also involves a grant program to allow municipalities or counties to create shared public service departments such as police, fire, or public health offices if doing so would provide better service at a lower cost.
It’s unclear how much support the plan unrolled on Thursday has among Democrats, though the three Assembly Reps present for the announcement did confirm that they talked with those on the other side of the aisle about the plan in the last few weeks.
The announcement came in a series of news conferences across the state including in La Crosse, Madison, and Green Bay. Snyder, Krug, and Tomahawk’s Calvin Callahan held their event in Rothschild.
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