(The Center Square) – A pair of Republican lawmakers want school districts and other local governments to let voters know the true cost of local referendums going forward.
State Rep Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, and Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara, R-Fox Crossing, introduced a plan that would give voters more information about the monthly cost of local tax increases.
Allen said voters are only given the big-picture price tag and left to guess what it will mean for their taxes.
“When we buy anything, we need to know the true cost,” Allen said. “For example, when we go to buy a home, we don’t just look at the list price. We want to know what the monthly mortgage payment will be. Without knowing the true cost, how can we make good decisions?”
The proposal would require all ballot questions that raise taxes to include a good-faith estimate of the “annual dollar amount increase in property taxes on a median-valued, single-family residence.”
Cabral-Guevara said there’s a need to be more honest with voters about the local referendum questions that are becoming more common.
“Wisconsinites are regularly asked to vote on municipal and school referendums without this information. The result is shock when the tax bill comes due. This is especially difficult for those on fixed incomes, like the elderly,” Cabral-Guevara added. “We owe it to the voters to provide them with the true cost of the request so they can make an informed decision.”
The proposed legislation comes after a wave of local tax increase questions passed this year, leading to the largest property tax increase in Wisconsin in nearly two decades.
The Wisconsin Policy Forum tracked just how much those local tax increases will cost.
“The property tax levies for K-12 schools will rise $327.2 million on bills mailed out this month to taxpayers, according to preliminary data from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. The increase of 5.7% over last December’s gross property tax bills is the highest since 2009, but not far above last year’s 5.4% increase,” the Policy Forum reported. “[This] data reflect the outsized impact of school referenda on property tax levels. Last month, we found that 2024 set records for both the number of school district referenda held (241) and passed (169), and voters in nearly two-thirds of public school districts have approved at least one referendum since the beginning of 2021. Since then, a total of 390 referenda have been approved to increase district property taxes beyond state limits.”
Allen and Cabral-Guevara said they hope to find some co-sponsors for the new legislation when lawmakers return to Madison in the new year.