Different views of the property tax relief claimed by the Walker administration last week. Governor Walker announced $100 million dollars from surplus revenue would be funneled back to taxpayers. A Northwoods Republican said about $80,000 was coming to all the schools in his district...
34th Assembly Republican Rob Swearingen...
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"....the money was injected into the state equalization aid in terms of the school funding formula. It does do what it's supposed to do.Crandon in the (34th) does about the best...
Democrat Janet Bewley from Ashland...whose district includes part of Vilas county...says the $100 million in property tax relief includes one dollar of relief to Mercer school district taxpayers...
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"....we count our pennies in the north. We know what our property tax bills are.. and to expect to celebrate something that is not only not going to help us but is a bit of an insult that we are supposed to be grateful for something as minimal as this when our taxes are still going up..."
Bewley says the minimal increase masks another problem...
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"....property taxes went up because state school aids went down..."
Democrats say the state aid cuts have only been restored to about one-third of their prior levels during the state budget process.
Republican Swearingen says the money being returned belonged to the public to begin with.
Swearingen will chair the first meeting Wednesday afternoon at Rhinelander high school on the Rural School Task Force, looking at rural school issues.
