The Wisconsin Legislature's Joint Finance Committee today approved a plan to cut $6.8 million per year from the Milwaukee County Transit System and divert funds collected from Milwaukee County taxpayers to Racine and Kenosha counties.
The funds were collected through the Southeast Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority (SERTA). Today's action by the committee will split the funds evenly between the counties in the SERTA. However, because Milwaukee County is the most populous county in the SERTA, taxpayers in Milwaukee County had contributed more to the fund than others.
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele criticized the decision by the Joint Finance Committee.
"Today's vote on Joint Finance adds insult to injury, cutting our transit system by $6.8 million per year and raiding money that came from the taxpayers of Milwaukee County. Amidst record high gas prices, this budget will force dramatic service reductions, giving workers fewer ways to get to a job and making our region less competitive when it comes to attracting new employers. A letter from business and community leaders across the County earlier this week encouraged the use of unexpected funds present in the transportation fund to restore transit cuts. I am hopeful the full legislature will take action to fix this flawed bill," Abele said.
Earlier this week, Abele, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee Public Schools Superintendent Greg Thornton, Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Tim Sheehy and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chancellor Mike Lovell jointly asked in a letter that additional revenue in the transportation fund be used to restore dramatic cuts to transit.
Abele rips cuts in Milwaukee County transit
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