Decisions on property taxes have and should continue to be made at the local level. Our local officials already have the power to limit property taxes, by showing restraint in the budgets they enact. I feel confident in the commitments that local governments, like the Kenosha County Board, have already made to limit their property tax rates.
Contrary to the rhetoric, the state does not levy property taxes. Property tax rates are determined, as they always have been, by the school board members, aldermen, village presidents and others whom you elected to represent you at the local level. We do not want to take away that power from our local communities and send it to Madison.
The freeze proposal could devastate our community. We could lose economic development opportunities, which would mean fewer jobs. We could be forced to layoff firefighters and police officers, which would make our community less safe. We could be forced to cut critical academic programs, which would threaten the quality of our schools and the future of our children.
Throughout my years in elected office, I have fought over and over again for measures that keep property taxes low: more shared revenue for our communities; two-thirds funding of local school costs; expansion of the Property Tax Rent Credit and the Homestead Tax Credit. I even authored legislation that would have allowed the Legislature to provide direct property tax relief to homeowners and seniors by allowing for exceptions to the uniformity clause of our state constitution. This proposal was unfortunately denied a chance to be heard by the Republican Assembly.
I will continue to fight for responsible proposals such as these in the years to come. But I cannot support a bumper sticker proposal cooked up behind closed doors that could seriously harm what makes our community great.
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