Majority of municipal referendums to raise property tax levies failed in spring election
A majority of municipal referendums asking residents to increase their property tax levies failed during the spring election April 1.
Research from the Wisconsin Policy Forum found that eight of the 14 municipal referendums on the ballot last week were not passed by voters. That comes as many local governments are still facing budget shortfalls, even after the passage of a state law to increase revenues that flow back to local government.
The city of Brookfield asked residents to increase the property tax levy by $6 million to keep nine firefighter positions and close a projected budget gap. But 53.4 percent of voters said no on April 1.
Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto previously told WPR that if the referendum didn’t pass, the city could be forced to cut staff and services. About 75 percent of Brookfield’s budget is tied to employee salaries and benefits.
https://www.wpr.org/news/majority-municipal-referendums-raise-property-tax-levies-failed-spring-election