Office of the County Executive
Press Release
Released: August 22, 2001
Proposing a .5% county sales tax in Outagamie County was, to say the
least, a very difficult decision but one which I believe will prove
beneficial to the residents of Outagamie County. Over my tenure as County Executive, my primary goal has been
to balance the county services requested by our residents with the growing
cost of providing those services. Taking
a cue from Governor Thompson’s Kettl Commission, I have explored and am
in the process of implementing, with the assistance of the county board,
regional solutions to shared local concerns.
One example is our proposal to regionalize recycling with our
neighboring counties of Winnebago and Brown.
Consolidating resources enjoying the reduced overhead brought by
greater volume and economies of scale, as well as better access to markets
for our recycled goods can and will save our residents hundreds of
thousands of dollars per year. It
is in the spirit of regionalization, as well as fiscal conservatism that I
have proposed the county sales tax. Although
it imposes an additional tax, if approved, the sales tax will reduce
property taxes. The bottom line with any business is whether a venture will
positively impact the bottom line. In
our analysis, overall taxes paid by residents of Outagamie County would be
reduced by implementing a sales tax.
Outagamie County has become a hub for retail sales, entertainment
and leisure activities. As
consumers from outside of our county utilize our stores, restaurants and
entertainment venues, a county sales tax distributes our local tax burden
over a greater number of people, including those who benefit from our
county programs yet live outside of our county borders.
Initiating a county sales tax in Outagamie County is neither a new idea
nor an unfounded solution to a funding situation.
In 1986, the then Outagamie County Executive John Schreiter formed
a task force consisting of the following community individuals:
Ernie Bruns, Dairy Farmer, Hortonville
Roland Choudoir, Retired, Appleton
Ervin Conradt, Chairman, Town of Bovina, Shiocton
Mary Grundman, County Board Supervisor, Appleton
Gary Lichtenberg, Vice President, Valley Bank, Appleton
John McKenzie, Senior Vice President, Associated Appleton Bank, Appleton
Lyle Martens, Superintendent, Seymour Schools, Seymour
Jeff Miller, Associated Professor, UW-Oshkosh, Appleton
Helen Nagler, League of Women Voters, Appleton
John Pender, Vice President, Aid Association for Lutherans, Appleton
George Schroeder, Chairman, Outagamie County Board, Freedom
Joseph St.Marie, Finance Director, City of Appleton, Appleton
Morrie Strand, Chamber of Commerce, Appleton
Ron VanDeHey, Mayor, City of Kaukauna, Kaukauna
Chuck Van Zeeland, President, Van Zeeland Oil & Heating, Little Chute
Jack Wignall, Plant Manager, Dresser Industries, Appleton
Marilyn Yeske, Director, Information & Referral, Appleton
The Task Force was charged with the mission to “develop a vision of the
future in terms of resources and needs and establish priorities including
an examination of the way these needs will be met.”
While many of the recommendations of the task force have been
achieved such as increased intergovernmental cooperation, a change in
budgetary procedures, downsizing of the County Board, and long-range space
needs planning, the one recommendation that has been staved off for
fifteen years is the SALES TAX. The
entire task force approved of looking additional revenues such as a wheel
tax and a sales tax as a means of funding county programs
During these fifteen years, the county has experienced reduced funding of
state required services by the state.
In 1993, the State of Wisconsin also capped our ability to increase
our levy rate, which we are reaching.
In the last two years and in preparation of reaching the cap, the
county has required the county departments to budget at a 0-1% increase on
all things other than salaries and fringes which are controlled by union
negotiations for the most part. We have also reduced and rearranged staff to accommodate
streamlining and cost savings while still providing quality services to
our citizens. So the
situation faced by the property tax payers in Outagamie County is the
cutting of services or the enhancement of revenues from other sources.
Because the federal funds have been parceled out to programs for
which a recipient must write a grant and we in the county are looking at
grant writing to fund specific program enhancement.
The final alternative is the possibility of enacting a sales tax,
the option that the State Legislature points to when we complain to them
about reduced funding.
Sales tax can be considered tax relief for the homeowner and especially
for the those on fixed incomes. The
first year of the sales tax, if implemented, will reduce the property tax
levy rate by one dollar per $1,000 of property value.
So, if you have a $100,000 home, your property taxes will be
reduced by $100. To erase the
$100 savings in property taxes through the sales tax, you would have to
purchase $20,000 of taxable items in Outagamie County in one year.
As we begin the 2002 budget we are cognizant of the constraints on the
budget and of our responsibilities. The
Health and Human Services budgets that we are reviewing do not reduce our
waiting lists. New programs are being deferred because of the up front costs
even if they provide cost savings over the long run, and we are searching
out cooperative efforts with neighboring counties where ever possible.
We are very aware of our fiscal responsibility and are planning
accordingly.
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