By james art Madison, Dem., Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said the city is behind on funding as it targets the GOP-controlled Legislature.
Rhodes-Conway said at a WisPolitics luncheon Tuesday that while Dane County’s economy and population are the fastest growing in the state, the Legislature is “trying to punish us for our politics.”
“And they end up penalizing the entire economy of the state of Wisconsin as a result,” Rhodes-Conway said as she encouraged the vote on the city’s $22 million referendum.
And while Gov. Tony Evers announced a statewide revenue-sharing increase last June, the city of Madison received the lowest per-capita increase of any city in Wisconsin. Rhodes-Conway said the city of Madison is grateful for the money, but the real issue is the property tax cap.
“That’s why we’re in this situation, and we’ve been for years,” Rhodes-Conway said. “We’re from Scott Walker’s first budget as governor. Under three different mayoral administrations, the city has done a number of different things to compensate for the lack of ability to raise the fee.
The city has not yet used a referendum to raise the tax.
The referendum would allow voters to decide whether to raise property taxes by $22 million each year. Rhodes-Conway introduced the referendum in July at a Common Council meeting, where it was approved 17-2. That would add about $230 a year to the average Madison homeowner on a $457,000 home.
If the referendum fails, city operations would be cut by $6 million in 2025 and the city would be forced to make major cuts.
Rhodes-Conway said she was “cautiously optimistic” the referendum would pass.
“No one in the city likes the idea of raising property taxes,” Rhodes-Conway said. “No one in the city likes the idea of having to cut services. We are put in this situation by the state legislature and we deal with it because we are forced to. But based on the conversations I’ve had with people, I think people understand the dynamic.”
The levy referendum is in addition to two referendums by the Madison Metropolitan School District that are asking for a total of $607 million. One requires voters to approve $507 million for school renovations, construction of new school buildings and/or upgrades to existing buildings. The second is for $100 million to cover operating and maintenance costs, including educational programs and employee compensation and benefits.
Conway said school referendums neither help nor hurt the current referendum.
“The school district is in a very similar relationship,” Rhodes-Conway said. “They also need a different way for the state to fund education, and I don’t begrudge them a vote.”
Rhodes-Conway said she believes the city of Madison should have local taxation options. She also added that she thinks all municipalities in the state of Wisconsin should be able to implement a local income tax, although she doesn’t expect that to ever happen.
“I think it’s the most progressive way to raise funding,” Rhodes-Conway said. “I don’t think we’ll ever get it. I think we’ll be lucky if Madison and maybe other municipalities have the option to raise the sales tax. I think that’s the most likely thing to increase local opportunities.”
Also at the luncheon, Rhodes-Conway said:
- While she understands the appeal of voting for a third-party candidate, she said this year, “the consequences of a second term for Donald Trump are so dire for the future of our democracy and our country that I don’t understand how anyone doesn’t see that danger.”
- She thinks it’s a “compliment” that former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin lobbied against her, though she said she would never do that to the next mayor. “That’s what women leaders face every day, right? We’re told we’re incompetent and we’re all-powerful, and you really can’t have it both ways,” she said.
- She voted yes in all three referendums.
Watch lunch here.
