Abele asks for levy boost, wheel tax in 2017

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele for the first time in his six-year administration is recommending a hike in the county property tax levy, as well as a $60 vehicle registration fee, or wheel tax, to help pay for a $1.18 billion county government spending plan for 2017.

A preliminary proposal to charge parking fees for the first time on the lakefront north of the War Memorial was not included in the executive's recommended budget after the idea was criticized by residents attending public meetings over the summer and County Board supervisors.

The county property tax levy would rise 1.46%, or nearly $4.19 million, to $291.17 million, under the proposed 2017 budget that Abele will present to the County Board on Monday. The tax rate needed to generate the levy falls slightly from around $5.12 for this year to $5.08 per $1,000 of equalized value for 2017.

The levy hike is based on the value of only new construction in the county this year, an estimated $800 million. Since the tax rate is reduced by a few cents, the average residential property owner will not see an increase in the county's share of their local property tax bill for 2017, according to budget officials.

The levy accounts for 24% of total projected county revenues of $1.18 billion in 2017. Another 33% comes from direct charges for services while the county sales tax provides 6%. Other revenue sources include state aids and state shared revenue payments, federal grants, bond proceeds and grants from private sources. State law limits annual increases in the tax levy.

One new revenue source, a direct charge, that is available to the county is a vehicle registration fee, Abele said.

The requested $60 wheel tax, a fee charged for each vehicle registered at a county address, would generate about $27.1 million a year, he said. The new revenue source would pay all of the county's transportation infrastructure each year, including bus replacements and bridge and parkway repairs, as well as offset declining revenues for the Milwaukee County Transit System, County Budget Director Steve Kreklow said.

For 2017, around $15.6 million would be spent on the capital projects while $11.5 million would be set aside for the transit system operating budget. The transit system support will help pay for revenue losses from the GO Pass for people with disabilities or aged 65 and older, as well as a drop in fare-box revenue from declining ridership, Kreklow said.

In a statement Friday, Abele said: "In the face of declining state and federal funding and rising capital and operating costs, my recommended budget heads off a looming crisis in our transportation system by making reforms to the GO Pass, adding a dedicated source of new funding for transportation; and moving forward on a significant modernization to the transit system, Bus Rapid Transit."

The free GO Pass program would be revised with a low fare of $0.25 per ride in 2017 and a one-time fee of $5 charged at the time a card is issued.

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In an interview, Abele said that the state is the largest source of transit funding, "and we are getting less today than we were in 2009 — and I don't expect that to change."

"Essentially, the only legal tool we have is the vehicle registration fee."

Without a hike in the fee, he predicted "dramatic cuts in service and fare increases," and a growing backlog in bus and road maintenance.

He noted while many cities' unfunded pension liabilities are worsening, Milwaukee County's are getting better.

Abele's proposed levy hike and county wheel tax could be met with some resistance.

"County Executive Abele's 180-degree turnaround in favor of tax increases is very curious," said County Board Chairman Theodore Lipscomb Sr. "This is clearly not the Chris Abele I've worked with for the past five years, or the same Chris Abele who campaigned on an anti-tax message earlier this year."

"As always, I remain eager to work with the executive and the County Board to develop a more responsible 2017 budget that is in the best interest of all Milwaukee County residents," Lipscomb said in a statement.

Supervisor Michael Mayo Sr., chairman of the County Board's transportation committee, said Thursday that he is opposed to a county wheel tax that would be paid on top of the state vehicle registration fee of $75. City of Milwaukee vehicle owners already pay a separate wheel tax of $20 a year.

In addition to a projected $1 billion in costs of continuing county services for 2017, some of the capital expenditures in the 2017 budget include:

• $8.3 million for airport improvements.
• $7.7 million for vehicle replacements for the Sheriff's Office, House of Corrections and parks department.
• $8.9 million for improvements at the zoo, including work on a new Adventure Africa exhibit.
• $44 million to continue planning and development of bus rapid transit service between downtown Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center in Wauwatosa.

On spending for rapid transit, Abele said the service has strong support from medical center officials and leaders in Wauwatosa. A significant portion of the $44 million will be refunded to the county by federal authorities, he said.

The 2017 budget also calls for $5 million in employee pay increases, including a midyear 1% pay hike, and spending $161 million for retirement and health care costs, up 7% from this year.

Lee Bergquist and Bill Glauber of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.