GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach pitched county supervisors Monday evening on his plan for how to pay for work on the area’s major needs.
Streckenbach wants to bring back a half-percent sales tax, similar to what 64 of the state’s 72 counties already have.
It would start January 1st.
At Monday’s county executive committee, Streckenbach provided two options for funding nine capital projects that he believes will be completed one way or the other.
“In essence, you can agree to increase taxes and debt for Brown County or you can follow my plan and decrease debt and decrease the taxes”
Streckenbach’s plan calls for a six-year, half-percent sales tax that would produce $147 million.
$60 million would go towards fixing roads and bridges. An addition to the jail and library branch upgrades would each receive $20 million. A new expo hall to replace the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena would receive $15 million. $10 million would go toward maintenance of that facility and the Resch Center. Another $10 million would build a new medical examiner building. The fairgrounds and parks would get $6 million. The Stem Innovation Center would receive $5 million and $1 million would go to the Neville Public Museum.
Brown County Supervisor Patrick Buckley tells WLUK..
“The way I see it in the next five years we’re going to have to be addressing these needs”
Another Supervisor, Aaron Linssen, agrees…
“A big portion of them are also things we would have bonded for anyways. These aren’t new expenditures that are unexpected for the board.”
The plan has already received support from tourism officials.
A group of more than 50 area business leaders is also supporting the plan through the formation of a social welfare corporation called Forward Brown County.
Kramer Rock is the group President.
“Admittedly on a $200,000 home, that’s a thousand dollars. That’s not chump change, so there are going to be those that say this is not right, but there are so many pluses because the property tax is going to drop.”
Streckenbach also said the sales tax collection projections are conservative, so the tax could end sooner than six years.
“The county board has a couple different ways of handling that,” said Streckenbach.
“They could provide for more tax relief or they could end it sooner and they could put that towards more debt reduction.”
While some supervisors asked questions at the meeting, no one voiced opposition to the plan.
The full county board is expected to vote on the plan next Wednesday, May 17th.
No formal opposition to the plan has stepped forward yet.
