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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > November 6, 2008
Transit Authority to consider sales tax hike for trains, buses
Published November 6, 2008 - BizTimes Daily
The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority (RTA) plans to vote Monday on a proposal to increase the sales tax in Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee counties by up to 0.5 percent to pay for bus services and for the proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee (KRM) commuter rail system.
Greater Milwaukee Committee president Julia Taylor, who is Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle's representative on the RTA, told SBT today that the RTA proposal would be a recommendation to Doyle and the state Legislature.
The RTA has seven members, one each appointed by Doyle and the mayors of the cities of Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine and the county executives of Milwaukee, Kenosha and Racine counties.
In addition to Taylor, the other members of the RTA are: Len Brandrup (City of Kenosha), David Eberle (Racine County), Jody Karls (City of Racine), Karl Ostby (Kenosha County), Sharon Robinson (City of Milwaukee) and George Torres (Milwaukee County).
The sales tax would provide a dedicated funding source for commuter rail and county bus systems. Racine and Kenosha counties could opt for a smaller sales tax increase because they have smaller bus systems than Milwaukee County, Taylor said.
On Tuesday, Milwaukee County voters approved an advisory referendum to raise the county sales tax by 1 percent and shift the burden of funding for parks, recreation, culture programs, transit services and public safety from the property tax rolls. The referendum was approved by a 52-to-48 margin by the public and was opposed by Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.
"The advisory referendum vote shows there is support for going forward with a sales tax (to fund transit)," Taylor said. "I don't believe we can sit by and let transit crumble into nothing."
Last year, the RTA proposed an increase in the car rental tax to pay for KRM. However, the Legislature decided not to include the car rental tax increase in the state budget. The RTA has decided to propose a sale tax because a car rental tax would not provide enough funding to pay for bus systems, Taylor said.
Now that Democrats will control the state Assembly, in addition to the state Senate and the governor's office, the transit sales tax proposal may have a better chance of approval, Taylor said.
"I think it helps," she said.
A press conference was held today to announce the creation of Coalition for Advancing Transit. The coalition is a group of community groups, government representatives and some business organizations that are advocating for creation of a dedicated funding source for mass transit, including bus and rail systems, in southeastern Wisconsin.
Mass transit advocates say the Milwaukee County Transit System needs a dedicated funding source to survive, and they say the region needs to add modern rail transportation to attract young professionals and businesses to the region.
"We're trying so very hard to attract people from other parts of the world to build here and have industry move here," said philanthropist Michael Cudahy, who founded Marquette Electronics and later sold the company. "Guess what? We are not going to do it if we don't have more public transportation. There's just no way."
Cudahy is a longtime advocate for passenger rail systems in the region.
"We need to build an economy to move our region forward," state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) said at the press conference by the coalition today. "When you see communities moving forward they have stepped up and funded transportation."
The RTA will meet on Monday, Nov. 10, at 8 a.m. at General Mitchell International Airport in the Mitchell Gallery of Flight Museum.
