By Kim McDarison
The fall general election, which will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8, is quickly approaching.
According to information released by Whitewater city officials, city of Whitewater residents will be asked whether they support two separate referendums.
The first is a request from the city to raise the city’s portion of the taxpayer-supported levy above the state-imposed cap by $1.1 million to support EMS staffing and equipment investments. The raise in the levy, would voters approve the referendum question, would be in place for perpetuity, or until a time when the city deemed it unnecessary.
An earlier two-part story about the proposed EMS referendum is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/elementor-89201/.
A second referendum question has been placed on the ballot by the Whitewater Unified School District. The district is asking districtwide taxpayers to continue an operational referendum above the state imposed revenue cap by $17.6 million. Would the referendum receive voter approval, the increase would be collected over the course of a four-year period in the amount of $4.4 million each year.
An earlier story about the school district’s proposed operational referendum is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/whitewater-council-receives-referendum-presentation-from-school-district/.
According to information released by the city: “If both referendums pass, most taxpayers will see a net reduction in tax bills thanks in large part to $75 million of growth in the city’s tax base.”
City of Whitewater Common Council President Lisa Dawsey Smith, as quoted within the release, said: “When the city brings in new development, the marker of that success is additional tax dollars to increase the tax base. Recent increases tied to the closure of tax incremental districts (TIDs) help offset the impact of the proposed EMS referendum.”
The release continued: “Combined with anticipated reduced levies from Whitewater Unified School District, the counties and technical colleges, the vast majority of residents can expect to see a reduction in net property taxes even if both referendums on the November ballot are passed.”
“We want to be transparent and clear that we are asking for a property tax increase to fund EMS services through the referendum question, but, we also want to make clear that the increase is more than offset by other reductions in net property taxes tied to an increase in the city’s tax base,” John Weidl, interim city manager, was quoted as saying in the release.
“The majority of Walworth County property owners can expect to see an estimated $202 reduction in net annual property taxes per $100,000 assessed value and the majority of Jefferson County property owners can expect to see a $242 reduction in net annual property taxes per $100,000 assessed value,” the release stated.
According to the release, more information about the city’s proposed EMS referendum is available by visiting: www.whitewater-wi.gov/582/Referendum.
City of Whitewater Municipal Building, file photo/Kim McDarison.
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This is an extremely disingenuous article! It suggests that somehow increased spending will reduce property taxes and completely fails to mention how much taxes would decline if both referendums are declined. A simple table indicating impact to taxes for selecting yes to one, both, or neither referendum should have been included. Unfortunately, this is the bias that we come to expect from our media.