The evening newspaper in Waukesha, the Waukesha Freeman, had an editorial celebrating 15 years of the tax rate going down in Waukesha County. They chalk it up to "good planning" as well as the growing business and residential base. Apparently we get our cake and get to eat it, too. The editorial noted we have a new "countywide" dispatch center and a new addition to the jail, both fully staffed and equipped.
The editorial does find some flaws suggesting the nirvana we're occupying can have some minor adjustments. After all, we spend $1 million annually on acquiring land to turn into park space and the County still competes with private sector golf courses.
Despite these minor flaws we're in tax heaven, ranking 70th of the 72 counties in property tax rates, and we don't even add a charge to the sales tax. If I could afford the rose-colored glasses, I might buy their editorial line. However, you'll have to forgive me if I'm a little skeptical.
You see, despite the falling rate, the taxes on an average house increased by $55.00 over the last decade, and that's just at the county. Add the City of Waukesha where the mayor dances on the desk when she's allowed to raise taxes (maybe we should buy her a pole as a retirement gift), the Waukesha County Technical College, the Waukesha School Board (where the only ones learning math are the taxpayers), and the State of Wisconsin (where Democrats are Democrats and Republicans act like scared sheep), and you begin to see a taxpayer whose burdens are a little heavy for the bearer.
And I'm not sure what the average house is, anymore. I think the average house in Waukesha County is one that hasn't been reassessed recently. Property values may be going up, up, up, causing property tax revenues to go up, up, up, but those of us without the happy red lenses start to get a little concerned when the $125,000 house we bought five years ago now retails at $170,000. My neighbors look a little poor to be living in a $200,000 home; and the house itself must have bags of cash stuffed in the rafters for insulation. I couldn't have afforded to move to my neighborhood at these prices, and there's no way I would've paid that much money for the privilege.
Meanwhile, the neighboring county where I work is so hostile to me and my neighbors they've successfully lobbied Governor Doyle to block the freeway right at the county line so I have to waste more gas to get to my job and contribute to that county's financial well-being. The high gas prices are augmented by one of the highest gas taxes in the country to pay for the road they won't build where I need it. And that tax goes up every year. Heaven help me if I stop for lunch along the way on the wrong side of 124th Street, because then I'll have to kick in an extra half a percentage point.
So I hope County Executive Dan Finley and the Waukesha Freeman editors had a nice "town hall meeting" Wednesday evening where they got to drink the Kool-Aid of lower taxes and discussed the county's future financial health. I would have liked to have been there and maybe I, too, would be a believer.
However, I suspect the invite was less than sincere. The event started at 6:00pm and my evening newspaper arrived at 5:00pm. I think Elaine Benes would classify this as an "unvitation." But then, maybe I'm just seeing things.
