Byline: Dave Umhoefer and Larry Sandler
Jun. 1--A small, new multicounty sales tax should be considered to support regional cultural attractions, representatives of two leading business and civic organizations said Wednesday. Park systems and arts organizations throughout the seven-county metro area could be included, one of the two said. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, meanwhile, said any discussion of an expanded regional sales tax should include help for City of Milwaukee police and fire services, Milwaukee County parks and various regional transit needs. Main beneficiaries of a regional cultural tax could include the Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee Art Museum, the Mitchell Park Domes and other major institutions that draw many patrons from beyond Milwaukee County, said Jill Pelisek, chairwoman of a Greater Milwaukee Committee study group on the future of Milwaukee County parks. But seven counties in the Milwaukee metro area could control allocation of funds from a regional tax, an important political consideration, said Pelisek, a community volunteer and longtime arts patron. One model under review by the committee is a 0.1% retail sales tax in place in metropolitan Denver. In 1988, voters there created the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District to provide a consistent source of unrestricted funding to scientific and cultural organizations, including a zoo, two museums and a botanical garden. Since then, the district also has funded more than 300 organizations in seven counties via the 0.1% retail sales and use tax, which amounts to one penny on every $10, the district's Web site says. In separate remarks, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Tim Sheehy also urged a limited regional funding approach, starting with regional assets that already receive some Milwaukee County tax levy support. Those include the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, the zoo, the Milwaukee Public Museum and a variety of smaller organizations.
Sheehy and Pelisek spoke Wednesday in a brainstorming meeting with Journal Sentinel editors and writers that also included Barrett, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and seven others. It centered on growing problems with maintaining Milwaukee County's vaunted parks system. About $12 million in Milwaukee County funds supports those institutions now, Sheehy was told by county officials at the session. Sheehy said raising that would amount to 'sticking a toe in the water' on the politically sensitive issue of a new tax. The Milwaukee County Board has called for a September advisory referendum on a proposed 0.25% sales tax -- in Milwaukee County only -- for parks and culture. Walker, who opposes tax increases, has pledged to veto the ballot question. County supervisors also are considering other sales tax increase proposals that would cover parks and transit. Pelisek said the regional approach would eliminate a concern, expressed by Walker and others, that a one-county tax would make the county a tax island. She said the seven counties levying a new tax could include all or part of Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties.
She said the Greater Milwaukee Committee is still studying the pros and cons of the Denver approach. The group is expected to make final recommendations this fall on how to ensure the survival of key 'cultural assets.' Barrett said he envisioned a regional sales tax that could be shared among the county, city and suburbs, with proceeds divided toward Milwaukee County parks; Milwaukee police, fire and public health services; and regional transit, which could include not only the Milwaukee County Transit System but also the Kenosha and Racine bus systems and a proposed extension of Chicago's Metra commuter trains from Kenosha to Racine and downtown Milwaukee. 'Of course, we want great parks, but we also want people to have safe parks and be able to get to the parks,' Barrett said. The mayor said he did not have specific proposals for what rate the regional sales tax should be set at or how much money it should raise. He said he expected part of the money would be used to replace property tax support for those services and part of the proceeds would be new revenue. All of those details would have to be worked out by local and state officials, he said. Still, Barrett said, it's important to move more services off property tax support as costs rise because 'I see no appetite in this community for an increase in the property tax beyond inflation.' Asked whether people would prefer a sales tax increase, he conceded that 'I don't see an appetite in this community for any increased taxes,' but the sales tax would be a better target because it is relatively low compared with other major cities. Also at the brainstorming session, a key County Board supervisor and the leader of an environmental group advanced separate proposals Wednesday to stop the downward spiral in tax-levy funding for the Milwaukee County parks system. Supervisor Lynne De Bruin, chairwoman of the County Board's Parks Committee, called for a two- to three-year moratorium on cuts in the levy for parks while the community evaluates long-term funding and governance ideas for revamping the sprawling parks system. The $18.4 million parks levy has fallen by 64% in real dollars in 20 years. 'First we have to stop the bleeding,' De Bruin said. The president of the Park People of Milwaukee County, Jim Price, called for Walker and supervisors to immediately create an interim commission to run parks and levy separately for parks funding for five years. The commission could increase the levy for parks up to 7.5% its first year -- a maximum of $1.38 million. After that it would be limited to 5% annual increases over the next four years. The executive, the County Board, citizen advocates and the Greater Milwaukee Committee would appoint the board, which would include the county executive and the county parks director.
The county, Price noted, created an outside oversight board last year to save the county-supported Milwaukee Public Museum. He said the crisis in parks was more serious and should be treated as an emergency.
The proposal is similar to an earlier idea endorsed by Walker and the Park People for a state-authorized elected board overseeing a parks district independent of county government. De Bruin said she supported making parks a top budget priority, but she expressed skepticism about Price's proposal, saying her constituents in Milwaukee and Wauwatosa had limited tolerance for any county tax increases. She endorsed a levy freeze for parks, which under 2007 budget instructions given to department heads could face another $5 million cut next year because of county budget problems. Parks should be given top priority over other needs in the county budget, she said. Walker said the focus should be on maintaining open green space instead of parks amenities such as outdated wading pools that have slid in popularity. New taxes won't fly with the public until the high cost of county employee benefits comes down and the state pays more for county-run services it mandates, such as courts, Walker said.
Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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