It has always seemed like a contradiction: Why are Democrats in seemingly high-tax urban areas less concerned about property taxes than Republicans in lower-tax suburban areas? The answer now becomes clear, courtesy of a recent study by the Public Policy Forum.
The study listed the average household property tax bill for area municipalities: It peaked at a whopping $26,445 in Oconomowoc Lake and $21,623 in Chenequa and was just $3,454 in Milwaukee and $2,918 in Racine. Citing these statistics, the study called cities like Milwaukee and Racine “tax havens.”
The idea has generated some mockery, given that taxes are considerably higher in the cities than in most surrounding suburbs when looked at per $1,000 of home value. Taxes are lower in Milwaukee or Racine because homes are worth less, not because the cities are a tax haven.
Still, the difference in tax bills tells us something very interesting. If I move from an average house in the city to an average house in a nearby suburb, my tax bill will jump from $3,454 in Milwaukee to $4,430 in New Berlin, $4,812 in Wauwatosa, $5,628 in Brookfield and $6,808 in Mequon.
Yes, my home and the land it sits on will probably be bigger and certainly worth more in all of these suburbs, but the bottom line is I’m not only paying a far bigger monthly mortgage but considerably more in taxes for my house than when I lived in the city. No tax creates more outrage than the property tax, surveys show, and no one faces bigger per-household taxes than suburbanites who tend to vote Republican. Their reaction when getting that hated annual property tax bill is not going to be, “After all, I have a bigger and more valuable home.” More likely, they’ll be outraged.
Cities have the advantage of density, with far more homes per block, and can split the cost of city services between more residents. The suburbs have bigger lots and far fewer residents to pay for municipal services. Inevitably, every well-to-do household must pay more property taxes.
Ironically, a key reason people move to suburbs and exurbs is to gain lower taxes. Statistically, per thousand dollars of property value, they have accomplished this. But people live in homes, not in statistical constructs, and on that basis, suburban Republicans are likely to feel far more taxed than their modest-living city Democratic counterparts. Money doesn’t always buy happiness.
Mike D’Amato’s Plan to Evict UWM Students
Some two years ago, Ald. Mike D’Amato met with an East Side neighborhood association and proposed a minimum required distance of 400 feet between duplexes renting to students. In a neighborhood where lots are 30 to 40 feet wide, this could mean any duplex with a student renter would have to be spaced a block or more apart. That’s a radical change for the neighborhood and would evict thousands of students. D’Amato could single-handedly create the state’s biggest brain drain.
D’Amato says he’s no longer proposing the 400-foot restriction and doesn’t know what number is the right one. He notes that the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s enrollment has grown by 8,000 in the last decade, and the percent of owner-occupied homes has declined by 12% in the neighborhood around the university. His ordinance cites “the frequent occurrence of late-night parties, unruly behavior and other noise- and alcohol-related problems.”
It’s a legitimate cause for concern. But the proposed ordinance he has created doesn’t specify the required distance between student rental units and appears to give the power to decide this to the Department of City Development. That seems a bit undemocratic.
Tom Luljak, vice chancellor for university relations, says the university intends to watch this issue carefully. He concedes, more or less, that some students have created disturbances. As he puts it, “We would not want to see any steps taken that would remove the many good students because of the actions of a few students.”
Translation: Expect a battle on this issue.
Getting Corny With the Spice Boys
Whenever I read Journal Sentinel columnists Spivak and Bice, I feel like I’m dipping into a cheap detective novel. Every PR person is a “flak,” a political fund-raiser is a “bagman,” top party officials are “big shots” or “big wigs,” while other important figures are “heavies” or “wheeler-dealers.” Lobbyists may court a political official’s “minions” or try to get “face time,” wangling for “deals” where they can “scratch each other’s back.” Government officials are always scoring “cushy jobs,” and people with past convictions have a “rap sheet.” And of course, those who refuse to answer the Spice Boys’ tough questions are “taking the Fifth.”
Mickey Spillane is dead, but his cornball style lives on.
The Spicers have also been known to play favorites. Thus, in Sunday’s column, they refer to “Democratic hatchet man Bill Christofferson.” Christofferson, who has run many Democratic campaigns, has often played the role of attacker so that the candidate he represents can stay above the fray. That’s typical for every campaign operative, Republican or Democrat, and I’ve never seen much difference between the two parties when it comes to this technique. Christofferson, moreover, is retired from the campaign business, other than his work as media consultant for the liberal-leaning Greater Wisconsin Committee, a lobbying and issue advocacy group. Christofferson hasn’t been quoted offering any political slaps since he quit the campaign business several years ago.
Meanwhile, Republican Party Chairman Rick Graber has been the biggest attack dog of this campaign season, savaging Gov. Doyle for “lying,” “arrogance” and other alleged sins. But the Spice Boys simply call Graber “party chairman.” No Spillane-style punches at this fine Republican.
The idea that Christofferson is a hatchet man would seem to invalidate him from having any credibility. But the Spice Boys find him so credible that they’ve often run items in both their column and blogs that grab stuff from Christofferson, sometimes without attribution. Most recently, they wrote about the commercial filmed by Rep. John Gard for his campaign for Congress that taped testimonials from workers in a manufacturing plant without telling them it was for a campaign commercial. Christofferson wrote about this two days before the Spice Boys did.
I’m just guessing, but I think Spillane would call the Spice Boys a couple of phonies.
Contact Milwaukee Magazine Editor Bruce Murphy with a tip.
