UNANIMOUS STATE SUPREME COURT RULING A MAJOR ROADBLOCK
Wauwatosa has canceled its July 11 hearing on the new tax the City calls a Transportation Utility Fee (TUF).
The City now says no hearings are set, and insiders think a June 30 State Supreme Court unanimous decision saying a similar law in a Fox Valley town was illegal sent shock waves through the City Hall.
For now, the best advice is to closely monitor the situation, which is what we will do.
The City of Wauwatosa wants to add another new tax to the income, property, sales, and gas taxes residents already pay. City officials even gave the new tax a slick name designed to confuse people, but make no mistake, it’s just like a new tax. The City calls it a “transportation utility fee” — a TUF — but it’s like a tax. And that’s TUF news for Tosa homeowners, seniors, churches, and businesses, all of whom collectively will have to pay millions more each year with a TUF.
USE YOUR VOICE! SAY NO TO THE TUF!
The money residents, churches, non-profit groups, small businesses, and thousands of others will be forced to surrender to the City via the TUF will be used in some ways that might concern citizens – such as paying for “pedestrian facilities,” and what the City calls “administrative costs.” And there will still be special assessments for street and sidewalk repairs.
It seems like the TUF is another cash grab, and it will hit residents, property owners, religious buildings, apartments, and anyone who has property with any type of building, including hospitals, beauty salons, book stores, restaurants, and thousands of others.
JUST SAY NO TO THE TOSA TUF TAX HIKE!
You can put a lot of lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig, and that’s why a TUF is basically a new tax. Residents won’t even get a chance to vote on the new TUF tax. The TUF will hit those on fixed incomes, small businesses, families, houses of worship, and nonprofit groups. With increasing inflation, the cost of gas and groceries, and high prices for healthcare, slapping what amounts to a new tax onto Wauwatosa residents and businesses makes no sense. And rest assured, businesses will pass on the cost to consumers.
Shockingly, the City says that it will use data from a Washington, D.C. think tank to help set the rates. Apparently, this group, located almost 800 miles from Wauwatosa, will calculate and estimate the number of car trips that Wauwatosa homeowners, churches, schools, and businesses generate. There’s something fishy about a D.C. think tank providing the data to set the TUF tax rate in Wauwatosa.
CALL CITY HALL AND TELL YOUR ALDERPERSONS AND CITY LEADERS YOU WANT LOCAL CONTROL, NOT D.C. THINK TANKS MAKING DECISIONS FOR WAUWATOSA.
The City says the TUF will have a first-year budget of $3 million! That’s bound to grow in the future. Businesses that get hit with the TUF tax will surely pass it along to consumers. For a grocery store, add another $10,000 to the tax bill. For a convenience store with gas pumps, add another $4,500 to the tax bill. For a bank with a drive through, add another $2,200 to the tax bill. Some businesses will be hit for as much as $18,000. Does anyone really think these costs won’t be passed along to residents? And while the City says the average “single-family detached” homeowner will only pay an additional $51 per year, there are enough loopholes in the proposed ordinance to drive a school bus through. Plus, there’s nothing in the plan to prevent the City from jacking up the TUF tax once it gets started.
The City says the TUF will have a first-year budget of $3 million! That’s bound to grow in the future. Businesses that get hit with the TUF tax will surely pass it along to consumers. For a grocery store, add another $10,000 to the tax bill. For a convenience store with gas pumps, add another $4,500 to the tax bill. For a bank with a drive through, add another $2,200 to the tax bill. Some businesses will be hit for as much as $18,000. Does anyone really think these costs won’t be passed along to residents? And while the City says the average “single-family detached” homeowner will only pay an additional $51 per year, there are enough loopholes in the proposed ordinance to drive a school bus through. Plus, there’s nothing in the plan to prevent the City from jacking up the TUF tax once it gets started.
Check out and watch the TUF presentation and ordinance that Wauwatosa officials are trying to pass.
Check out and watch the TUF presentation and ordinance that Wauwatosa officials are trying to pass.
Call and email both of your alderpersons and your city leaders and tell them to put the brakes on the TUF. This needs a lot more discussion, more transparency, and a serious policy analysis. Jamming it through during the busy summer months and not giving residents a chance to vote on it is poor public policy.