Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills)
Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah)
Sen. Robert Welch (R-Redgranite)
Sen. David Zien (R-Eau Claire)
Rep. Luther Olsen (R-Berlin)
Rep. Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford)

Above Members of the Wisconsin Legislature:

There is real danger that Wisconsin is about to make public policy based on faulty assumptions and dubious projections, and that the working families we represent will be the victims of this ill-thought-out idea.

The idea is to impose a levy freeze on local governments and schools based on assumptions by the Legislative Fiscal Bureau that lack any basis in reality. Four of you issued a press release today claiming that "Governor Doyle’s budget proposal would increase property taxes by 9.5 percent in 2003 and 7.7 percent in 2004."

The reality in city halls across Wisconsin is that raising property taxes is the last thing local officials plan to do. The mayors in the Alliance of Cities with whom I have spoken unanimously vow to hold the line on property taxes in their communities. At this time, no one is talking about property tax increases except you.

A freeze on the absolute dollars that local governments can collect from property owners would throttle economic growth in Wisconsin. Local government would no longer be able to seek new businesses or provide the tax subsidies necessary to redevelop central cities and reclaim polluted land. We could not add any new infrastructure — streets, street lights or anything that carries a cost to maintain — or provide services to new homes or businesses.

A property tax freeze would threaten the bond ratings of Wisconsin communities, and cost taxpayers millions of dollars in increased interest costs. Wisconsin communities can’t afford the sagging bond ratings at the local level that past policies have produced at the state level.

Forgotten in the discussion that you have sparked is the fact that Wisconsin has a very successful program that holds down municipal property taxes. It is the Expenditure Restraint Program, which limits spending increases to inflation plus growth.

With no further state shared revenue cuts, we can manage the mess that state government has created for us. We desperately need fiscal responsibility in this state, but the message that I have heard this week brings us no closer to achieving that goal.

Sincerely,

Michael R. Miller