I Like Paying My Share, But This Is Getting Excessive

I have a job now, which is nice. Because working for four hours on Wednesday allowed me to earn almost enough money to pay the $30 ticket I got for parking “within 15 feet of a crosswalk” during my shift.

Friday I got a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue informing me that my state tax refund has been offset by $100 to cover two debts to City of Milwaukee Parking Enforcement and a ten dollar fee. I called the contact number and waited for three minutes worth of a recording telling me that my call was being transferred. To what, or from what I never learned. Then I hung up.

Saturday I accidentally parked in front of a fire hydrant. Which was a stupid thing to do. And dangerous, because if someone wanted to start a fire the entire block would have gone up.

The fact that the van parked behind me and well within its own ten foot limit didn’t get a ticket makes me feel like I’m being picked on. I expect that next time I’m parked at a networked meter I’ll get a ticket while waiting for the old people ahead of me to figure out how to use the pay station.

(not paying his share)

 I’m sure of this makes me sound like some kind of delinquent driver, but let me assure you that’s not the case. In fact, this same week I got a notice from my insurance company saying that I’ve been such a good customer my rates won’t go up even if I cause a “large accident”. See?

So there must be some reason I’m paying $160 in parking fines this week, right? Well, kinda.

For over ten years, shared revenue payments from the state to Milwaukee have been frozen or reduced and have not kept up with the rate of inflation. These payments to the city aren’t charity. Unlike most other states, Wisconsin collects statewide sales and income taxes to be redistributed to the cities. Milwaukee is not allowed to create its own sales or income tax and depends on state shared revenue for 44% of its budget.

Governor Doyle has proposed budgets that trim shared revenue payments to help solve the state’s own budget problems, but he has prevented Republican legislators from cutting payments further. In 2002 Republican Governor Scott McCallum proposed eliminating the shared revenue payments altogether and then-Mayor John Norquist responded saying, “It's an absolutely mindless, cynical way to shift the blame from the spending increases in Madison… It's a very serious attack on local government, local services and local property-tax payers.” (Journal Sentinel 1/22/02)

Aside from being prohibited from having its own sales or income tax, the state also prevents Milwaukee from charging for services like garbage collection above their cost. So it’s no surprise that the city’s other enterprises, like water and parking are seen as a source of revenue. In 2008, the parking system provided a surplus of $18 million.

Milwaukee’s main independent source of revenue is property taxes. That’s why even though local taxes as a whole in Milwaukee are very low compared to similar cities, property taxes are higher.

A 2008 study by the Public Policy Forum concluded that despite good city management, the “lack of intergovernmental revenue growth will continue to be a primary cause of budget difficulties and represents a significant threat to the city’s financial health.”

A local sales tax would allow Milwaukee to control its own budgetary destiny, reduce property taxes, and stop giving me so many parking tickets. No one likes raising taxes, though, even when voters say please.

But the next governor will most likely be from the Milwaukee area and his understanding of the problem could help.