MADISON, Wis. — This year, property taxes across Wisconsin rose drastically.
Representative Randy Udell (D-47th District) released the following statement:
“After a year of layoffs and rising prices, nobody needed higher property taxes. This increase is due to the State Legislature, but I voted to try to prevent it.
“Public schools are limited by how much they can legally spend, which is called the levy limit. This limit no longer increases with inflation or rising costs, so schools need to use referendum and the 400-year veto to maintain current faculty and student support. This fund draws from two primary sources: state aid and local property taxes. When one goes down, the other goes up.
“This year, I voted with my Democratic colleagues to increase state aid for our schools using our $4.6 billion surplus. Instead, the Republican majority added an unprecedented $0 new dollars to state aid for public schools, and most of our schools received less state funding this year than last year as a result. That difference fell directly onto each district’s property taxes.
“There was no reason for the Republican majority to force Wisconsin property owners to foot this bill when we have a $4.6 billion surplus. In future sessions, we must use resources like general revenue to fund our schools instead of placing the burden squarely on residential families.”
