Posted on 08/08/2003 5:55:22 AM PDT by ninenot
Kenosha - Promising to start a tax revolution in Wisconsin, hundreds of taxpayers fed up with the governor's veto of strict limits on local property taxes showed their displeasure during a rally Thursday night.
Chanting "Support the freeze," a crowd of more than 400 listened to legislators and rally organizers complain about taxes.
"The taxpayers have woke up and are revolting," said Ralph Lisowski, who helped organize the event at a Kenosha restaurant.
"Our intent is to start a new revolution with a shout heard 'round the state," Lisowski said as the crowd cheered.
Outside the Parkway Chateau Brat Stop as folks walked into the rally, more than 100 people clad in red shirts marched in a circle with signs that said: "More Cuts Will Hurt Kids" and "Let Locally Elected Leaders Make LOCAL decisions."
While legislators and Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle debate the Republican-proposed limits on taxes, residents on both sides of the issue expressed their views Thursday by picketing, chanting, waving signs and wearing red or blue shirts.
Supporters of the tax limits wore blue because it signifies a freeze and represents blue-collar workers, Lisowski said. Those in favor of Doyle's veto wore red for contrast with blue.
Regardless of apparel color, the sentiments were fervent on each side.
David Singer, a Kenosha County Board member, marched with those who backed Doyle's veto because he said he supports local control. Serving his third two-year term, Singer said Kenosha County has managed to control its costs while the state's budget has spiraled into a $3.2 billion deficit.
"The state already controls most of the taxes, and now they want to control property taxes," said Singer as he walked with his Dalmatian, Cleo, who, like Singer, was wearing red.
Neal Skrenes, a Kenosha middle school teacher, said he worries about the effect tax limits might have on school districts. He said enrollment in the Kenosha School District is rising because families are moving to the area.
"That means we'll need more schools and more staffing. How can we do that without raising money?" he asked.
But Bill Peterson of Pleasant Prairie said he's not against teachers, he's against high taxes.
"I'm 100% for education, but I'm getting taxed to death," said Peterson, who said the property tax bill on his home has risen from $84 to $3,300 since he bought it in 1956.
"We bought our home to live in in our retirement and to die there, and they're taxing us out of our home," Peterson said.
Several Republican legislators attended the rally, including Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer (R-West Bend) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), who wore yellow stickers that read "Support the Freeze."
"You're starting the Wisconsin tax revolution tonight," Darling said before leading the crowd in a chant of "Freeze it!"
The rally was one of two scheduled for this week in the Milwaukee area. On Saturday, Citizens for Responsible Government will hold a 2 p.m. rally at Serb Memorial Hall in Milwaukee.
On Thursday, Republican leaders in the Capitol scheduled an override vote for Tuesday. In order to overturn Doyle's veto, it would take a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and Assembly. Republicans control the Senate 18-15 and the Assembly 59-40.
Republicans need 22 votes in the Senate to override, which means four Democrats would have to join the GOP. So far, Democratic Sens. Tim Carpenter of Milwaukee and Jeff Plale of South Milwaukee have said they will vote to override the veto or are leaning that way.
An override vote will be held first in the Senate and then, if needed, in the Assembly. If the Senate fails to override the veto, no Assembly vote would be taken.
The proposed three-year limit on local property taxes was included in the 2003-'05 state budget passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Under those caps, municipalities could increase property taxes only for new construction costs or by referendum. Schools would have been allowed to increase their revenue from property taxes by 2% in the first year of the budget and 1.6% in the second.
Doyle vetoed the measure last month, saying it would strip local leaders of their decision-making ability and devastate services and programs.
And the governor hammered home those points again Thursday when he launched his own effort to rally public opinion behind his veto.
Doyle stood with mayors and uniformed emergency workers outside city halls in La Crosse and Chippewa Falls, saying he was forced to be the "grown-up in charge" in the Capitol by vetoing the Legislature's "arrogant" plan to cripple local services and public schools.
The governor was scheduled to make a similar appearance in Stevens Point today.
Doyle again predicted he would win a Tuesday state Senate vote to override his veto, saying too much is at stake now for legislators to enact the GOP plan over his objections.
"It's one thing to stick this in the budget, knowing that there's a grown-up as governor who is going to take care of it and veto it," Doyle said in Chippewa Falls. "It's another thing to say, 'OK, we're really going to cut our schools by $400 million over the next two years, we're going to tell local leaders that they're all big spendthrifts.' I think that's a very hard vote for a legislator to take."
In La Crosse, Doyle said: "It's really arrogant that people in one part of the state are telling people in another part of the state what to do."
Mayors at Doyle's side in the two cities echoed that theme.
"Shouldn't all levels of state government be focused on helping local decision-makers, rather than dictating terms and limits to how we spend your tax dollars?" asked Chippewa Falls Mayor Doug Sandvick.
A former Democratic legislator, La Crosse Mayor John Medinger, said he was developing a 2004 budget that would hold property taxes "at the level of 2003" - something Doyle has repeatedly asked all elected local officials to do voluntarily.
Steven Walters of the Journal Sentinel staff, reporting from Madison, and correspondent David Marcou, reporting from La Crosse, contributed to this report.
Maybe that's why the Urinal/Sentinel chose to put a picture of the teachers' union above the fold on the front page which was three times the size of the below-the-fold picture of the pro-override group...
The local government's assessment of my house has been raised to $172,000, from $157,800. By state law, houses must be re-assessed ever 4 (or 3?) years. Last year's property tax on this house is $4,426, but this includes garbage pickup, and some other fees that areas charge separately. This ends up being about a 2.8% tax (per year) on the value of your house.
You think you own your house? Don't pay your property tax, and we'll see who owns it! That's why I call my property tax the "rent" I pay to Government. Sure this is a distortion of the English language, but in effect, it is true!!
On top of this, in Milwaukee County we have a 5.6% sales tax, and Wisconsin state income tax rates of 6.5 and 6.75%. Oh yes, and one of the highest gas taxes in the land. Gasoline was about 1.69/gallon here yesterday.
Wisconsin ranks 48 out of 50 in state and local taxes, (only Maine and NY are worse)
http://taxfoundation.org/press-bestworststates.html
"NOT LUXURIOUS" is an understatement! These have to be tiny starter homes or major fixer-uppers. A modest 1300 sq foot ranch presently sells in my neighborhood for $160,000-$170,000. Our property taxes last year were about $3200, and I expect them to rise to $3600 or higher this year, as we were hit with a $30,000 increase in our assessment for this tax year.
Defense is one of the few things that the Feds are constitutionally allowed to do (Defense, Foreign relations and interstate trade). If you want to cut lets start with welfare, education, interior, endowments for the arts and humanities etc.
We can sell off illegal federal lands (the fedgov has no constitutional authority to hold forests and non-DOD reserves) and have enough to pay at least one years worth of the budget, especially since the costs of maintaining these lands goes away and the lands start producing revenue again.
Defense is not the problem in the fedgov.
We have cold temperatures in winter, and with high taxes, this is not a good incentive to keep our graduates here. We spend a fortune on K-12 education, and have a very good UW system. Wisconsin has one of the highest SAT scores in the country. Despite high SAT scores, we have high taxes! (or is it the other way around?!?)
With our above average "investments" in education, there have been many reports of a "brain drain" to other states. So our education dollars are in effect helping other states.
I hope the other 49 states thank us!
Wisconsin does not have the highest taxes in any one category, but add up all the taxes, then we are in the top 3.
Vanity thought: I have wondered if the North Pole were a tax-free zone, would people move there??
Liberalspeak for "I want everyone elses wages in my pocketbook."
Supporters of the tax limits wore blue because it signifies a freeze and represents blue-collar workers, Lisowski said. Those in favor of Doyle's veto wore red for contrast with blue support of their communist views.
Regardless of apparel color, the sentiments were fervent on each side.
Red to represent coveting their neighbors goods, Satanic doctrine. Blue for rightnousness, or "learn to fish". The war of evil against good.
"That means we'll need more schools and more staffing. How can we do that without raising money?"
Who will increase the teachers union pay and numbers? Where will they get facist money to buy politicians? Who will pay for homosexual lessons? The childrens abortions?
"We bought our home to live in in our retirement and to die there, and they're taxing us out of our home,"
DUH! That's the idea. You're to be herded into housing complexes. How can we live in a dictatorship if you don'y obey?
Bump
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