|
This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “InterCHANGE,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
THE TOP TEN FRANKLIN STORIES OF 2008: #2
By Kevin Fischer
Tuesday, Dec 30 2008, 09:00 PM
On a grey, gloomy Saturday morning this past March, a meeting on city of Franklin taxes was held at the now defunct 5-Star Coffee. In attendance were Franklin aldermen Steve Olson and Lyle Sohns, Franklin blogger Fred Keller, Franklin citizen Scott Thinnes, and myself.
Keller, who arranged the meeting, had corresponded with me prior and asked me what I thought about extending an invitation to Franklin mayoral candidates to sign a pledge to hold the city property tax levy increase to the rate of inflation, in this case, 3%. I told Keller it was an excellent idea.
More on the mayoral candidates later; Back to the meeting at 5-Star where we attempted to get Olson and Sohns to sign a similar pledge.
I like Alderman Sohns and respect him. But to be honest, on more than one occasion at this meeting where he said he would not support the pledge because it just couldn’t be done, he condescendingly spoke to me about budgets as if I didn’t know the difference between a dollar bill and an electric shaver, apparently forgetting that state document totaling billions and billions I work on every two years.
Sohns riddled me with one excuse after another about why holding the line on taxes was impossible. He also presented me with a copy of the last city of Franklin budget and a rundown of the property tax records of some of the Franklin bloggers, his point being that in his view, taxes weren’t all that bad in our fair city. Seeing the bloggers’ numbers made me chuckle and react with a big, fat, “So what!” I didn’t give up my time to meet with Sohns and Olson to lobby for my own personal tax break. The issue was the property tax levy for every single property taxpayer in Franklin.
Sohns claimed that holding the line was just too tough. His attitude that day was also troubling, that the only way to budget is to tax and spend, tax and spend, without even seriously considering a 3% ceiling.
My goodness, I thought. What if we had asked Sohns to cut 3%? He would have gone right through 5-Star’s ceiling.
Neither alderman signed the pledge, but each said he'd work to produce a responsible budget. But the pledge did get signed.
Franklin Mayor Tom Taylor signed a pledge to, if re-elected, keep the tax levy increase in his proposed budgets at 3 %. Taylor met with Keller to officially sign the pledge just a few days before the April election.
Keller had proposed that the mayor sign a pledge that he would not propose a budget with a property tax levy that exceeds the rate of inflation and would not support a budget forwarded to him by the Franklin Common Council that contains a property tax levy increase that exceeds the rate of inflation.
Here is the pledge Mayor Taylor ultimately signed:
I pledge if elected to another term as Mayor of the City of Franklin that I will not recommend an annual budget to the City's Finance Committee that exceeds a 3% tax levy. This pledge is related to the years 2008 to 2011.
Thomas M. Taylor
Candidate for Mayor
3/30/08
Here are the tax levy percentage increases for the past three City of Franklin Budgets:
Keller then got Taylor’s opponent, Basil Ryan to sign a similar pledge the next day. There was reason it took until the next day: logistics. I blogged at the time:
"Basil Ryan contacted me that he is having trouble connecting with Fred Keller. Ryan writes:Kevin, Please consider this email my official signing of such a pledge.I hearby official certify to you, Kevin Fischer, that I agree to all of the terms of the Fred Keller pledge. And you can take that to the bank.I will continue trying to reach Fred, but I want it on the record, that I have now officially agreed to/signed onto the pledge.Also, I would note for the record that Mayor Taylor's signing of the pledge is too little, too late. As you noted in your blog, every year Taylor has been in office, the tax levy has risen above the parameters of the pledge. I don't need an election to promise to keep taxes under 3%. I will do so every year I am in office.Thank youBasil RyanI have informed Ryan that this isn't good enough. The pledge must be signed.
I am confident Ryan and Keller will make the necessary arrangements very soon to get the pledge signed."
And they did. Here are the details.
The developments were significant because both candidates were now on record that they would not submit or support a budget that spends beyond the city’s means. The pledges were a direct message to the Franklin Common Council that any budget the aldermen craft that contains a 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9% increase in the property tax levy will be a non-starter with the Mayor, regardless who it is.
Some residents who commented on my blog weren’t satisfied.
Too bad the Mayor didn't sign a pledge last year. The damage is already done. When will the Mayor & Common Council realize that they don't have a blank check on spending. This city is out of control with its spending and taxes!
I agree, Paul. We certainly put pressure on the city during last year's budget talks. Previous tax levy increases were unacceptable, well above the rate of inflation.But hopefully we can do something about future budgets.
I agree with Paul McKenna on this one. Where was this pledge earlier? While I applaud the current efforts, it seems a bit contrived on the eve of the next election.
There's no question the pledge came late in the campaign.However, what's important is that BOTH candidates are now on record that they will not submit or approve a budget that imposes a tax levy greater than the rate of inflation. It was critical to get those pledges cemented before the election, and Fred Keller did.Last year, for months, I put the pressure on the School Board and the city to tow the line on over-taxation and spending. I wrote blog after blog, literally begging people to contact their representatives and tell them to hold the line.Not enough people did, and the city and especially the School Board taxed like crazy.So now we took the action we could at this juncture. This could help Franklin taxpayers down the road for the next few years.
Mayor Taylor submitted his budget, the one that “couldn’t be done,” and met the pledge. To their credit, aldermen Olson and Sohns did make motions to try to reduce the budget even further, but those efforts failed. The Common Council approved the budget, holding the line on the tax levy just as the pledge called for. It wasn’t easy, I know. But it was accomplished. Truly, this was democracy at its finest in action.
THE TOP 10 FRANKLIN STORIES OF 2008
1) ?
2) MAYOR TAYLOR TAKES THE PLEDGE, AND KEEPS IT
3) WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
4) FRANKLIN'S UGLY MESS: FOUNTAINS OR THE FOXES
5) TOM TAYLOR IS RE-ELECTED....AND HOW
6) TWO INCUMBENT ALDERMEN LOSE RECOUNTS
7) BOOMGAARD OR BUST
8) THE FRANKLIN SCHOOL BOARD GETS TWO NEW MEMBERS
9) BUCKHORN LIVES TO SERVE ANOTHER DAY, AND ANOTHER, AND ANOTHER...
10) MAJOR OPENINGS AT THE SHOPPES AT WYNDHAM VILLAGE
|
|
