| Property Tax Levy Freeze! (1/28/2005) |
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As you may have read in press accounts, Senator Kanavas (R-Brookfield) and Representative Honadel (R-South Milwaukee) have formally introduced companion property tax levy freeze bills, Senate Bill 28 and Assembly Bill 58. In the interest of clarity, I will just comment on SB 28 in the remainder of this communication. The bill has been referred to the Joint Finance Committee ( JFC), and JFC will hold a public hearing on the proposal from 12:00 noon to 5:00pm on Tuesday, February 1st in the Richard T. Anderson Education Center, Waukesha County Technical College, 800 Main Street, Pewaukee. However, the bill has already been changed by its supporters and the hearing will actually be on Senate Substitute Amendment 1 to the original bill. The amendment makes significant changes to the bill as it relates to public schools. Needless to say, the SAA opposes the bill. The original bill sets the per pupil adjustment under school district revenue limits at $120 in the 2005-06 school year and at $100 in each subsequent school year. Under current law, the per pupil adjustment is approximately $241 in the 2004-05 school year and is adjusted for inflation in subsequent school years. The amended version, however sets the per pupil adjustment at $210 in 2005-06 and $200 in subsequent years. Although the amended version treats schools much better than the original bill, it would still result in a significant reduction in revenue limit authority for schools throughout Wisconsin. As an elementary illustration, let's take the example of a district with 2,000 students and make the following assumptions:
This 2,000-student district would see a reduction in revenue limit authority of $74,000 in 2005-06 and $180,000 in 2006-07 (the $74,000 reduction must be factored in to the 2006-07 base as well) for a total reduction of $254,000 over the biennium. The SAA has encouraged all school districts to do the budget exercise identifying the budgetary and human impact of the original freeze proposal. Updating the impact for the substitute amendment should take very little effort. Please contact the Joint Finance Committee members in strong opposition to SB 28 Senate Substitute Amendment 1 Please include the following in your communication:
In addition to targeting members of the Joint Finance Committee, please copy your Senator, your State Representative, Governor Doyle (wisgov@gov.state.wi.us) and the SAA on your communications. Please take immediate action on this alert! The JFC is likely to approve the freeze bill on Tuesday, and each house may take it up next week as well. The plan may be to put the freeze bill on the Governor's desk before the Governor introduces his state budget plan on February 8th. This alert is going out to all SAA members. However, it is important that you coordinate your district's response with your administrative team. For your convenience, I have provided links to the Joint Finance Committee, the Senate Directory, the Assembly Directory, and Who Are My Legislators. Once again, please copy the SAA on your communications, and please forward the responses you receive as well. As always, thank you for all your efforts on behalf of Wisconsin school children. If you should have any questions or require additional information, please don't hesitate to contact me. John D. Forester |