Supervisors Holding Town Halls on Sales Tax

Milwaukee County Courthouse. Photo by Graham Kilmer.

The Milwaukee County Board is preparing for a vote at the end of the month on whether to raise the county sales tax by 0.4%.

The board is holding a meeting Tuesday, July 10 to hear financial reports on the implications of a sales tax increase and will immediately afterward hold a public hearing to listen to residents’ opinions on the matter. But eight supervisors have, so far, announced neighborhood town halls over the coming weeks to give their constituents the opportunity to weigh in on this important decision for the county.

Supervisors Sheldon Wasserman, Peter Burgelis, Felesia Martin, Shawn Rolland, Juan Miguel Martinez, Caroline Gómez-Tom, Kathleen Vincent and Patti Logsdon have scheduled a handful of town halls running between July 11 and July 25

Gov. Tony Evers signed legislation in late June giving the county the authority to increase the countywide sales tax from 0.5% to 0.9%. The increase, if enacted, is estimated to bring in an additional $82.1 million in revenue in 2024. But it will require a supermajority vote by the board to pass, and so far only a minority of supervisors have vocalized their position on the policy.

County leaders have been pursuing a sales tax increase for years as the county has struggled against more than a decade of budget deficits. New projections show this fiscal pressure greatly increasing in the coming years until the county faces a projected budget deficit in 2028 greater than $100 million. Deficits of this magnitude would lead to draconian cuts to government services.

But the policy long discussed was to have the sales tax question go to a referendum. Without getting public opinion via a ballot referendum, supervisors are trying to gauge residents’ feelings with town halls and a public hearing.

Shortly after the new sales tax authority was legally granted to the county, Sup. Burgelis told Urban Milwaukee that he “can’t think of a fiscal reason not to” vote for the sales tax increase, but that he needed to seek the opinion of his constituents before deciding how to vote. In a statement announcing the slate of town halls this month, Burgelis said, “My constituents have expressed concerns about the upcoming sales tax proposal that the County Board will consider later this month. I want to ensure that residents have an opportunity to share their thoughts and get their questions answered.”

Sup. Martin also told Urban Milwaukee she was holding off on a final decision until she had an opportunity to gather more information about the sales tax increase and its fiscal implications. “I hope that all residents will attend one of the town halls to express their concerns,” she said in the statement. “Our constituents’ voices are of the utmost importance for our deliberations.”

Here are the scheduled public hearings;

Mitchell Park Domes — 524 S. Layton Blvd.

• Thursday, July 13 at 5:30 PM 
• Hosted by Supervisor Sup. Martinez (District 12) 
• Co-hosted by Supervisor Sup. Gómez-Tom (District 14) 
• Co-hosted by SupervisorSup. Burgelis (District 15) 
• Special Guests: Milwaukee County Comptroller Scott Manske; Milwaukee County Strategy, Budget and Performance Office Director Joe Lamers
   

Zablocki Library — 3501 W. Oklahoma Ave.

• Saturday, July 15 at 11:30 a.m.
• Hosted by Supervisor Sup. Burgelis (District 15) 
• Hosted by Supervisor Sup. Martinez (District 12) 
• Special Guests: Milwaukee County Strategy, Budget and Performance Office Manager Dan Laurila; Milwaukee County Board Finance Committee Chairperson Supervisor Liz Sumner (District 1)

Washington Park Senior Center — 4420 W Vliet St. 

• Tuesday, July 18th at 5:30 p.m.
• Hosted by Supervisor Peter Burgelis (District 15) 
• Co-hosted by Supervisor Sup. Martin (District 7) 
• Co-hosted by Supervisor Sup. Rolland (District 6) 
• Special Guest: Milwaukee County Strategy, Budget and Performance Office Director Joe Lamers

Milwaukee Public Library East Branch — 2320 N. Cramer St.

• Tuesday, July 25 at 5:30 p.m.
• Hosted by Sup. Wasserman
• County officials from the county administration will attend to help answer any questions about the sales tax and state legislation.

Greendale Safety Center — 5911 W. Grange Ave.

• Tuesday, July 18 at 7:00 p.m.
• Hosted by Sup. Vincent
• County staff attend to answer questions

Greenfield Public Library — 5310 W. Layton Ave.

• Saturday, July 22 at 10 a.m.
• Hosted by Supervisors Vincent and Logsdon
• County staff attend to answer questions

Update: This story has been updated to include two town halls being held by Supervisors Kathleen Vincent and Patti Logsdon.