APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Outagamie County Board will vote on a half-percent county sales tax next Tuesday.
Yesterday, the proposal passed the county’s finance committee.
If the county board and County Executive Tom Nelson approve the proposal, it would bring the sales tax in Outagamie County to 5.5% effective Jan. 1, 2020.
While the county sale tax increase could generate $20 million a year, residents are split on the proposal.
Appleton’s Bill Recker tells FOX 11…
“These type of taxes hurt people who can’t afford it the least, larger families, lower-income people, elderly’s, disable, living on a fixed income.
But Helda Nagler looks at it differently…
“I am in favor of the half-percent because in some point you’re not with all of the caps on the county, as far as what they can spend, we’re limited.”
County Board Chair Jeff Nooyen said there’s no more room to cut. He tells FOX 11 the county already reduced $1.2 million in the last couple of budgets.
“We’re up against our levy cap, we’re within $200,000 of our levy cap on a $67 million budget, that’s not a lot of wiggle room.”
Nooyen said about 25 percent of the money from the tax increase would come from visitors.
If sales tax increase, Nooyen said property tax will reduce.
“It doesn’t make sense to raise one tax, to institute one tax to pay for another, there’s no track records for other counties,” said Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.
Nelson said the county just needs to control spending. He added that Outagamie already has a declining tax rate.
“I think if you wanted to make a big change like this you would have to have a compelling reason, you would have to have a clear purpose or offer a new service and that’s not happening.”
Nooyen explains that a substantial amount will go toward net levy and debt reduction. He says $5 million will go toward capital improvement projects and $3 million will be shared among municipalities and schools.
Nelson tells FOX 11 he wishes the board would put a hold to the proposal and hear what the community has to say.
“The Tuesday right after Memorial Day they’re going to vote on this I think it’s too quick. I talked to some folks last night who are just hearing about this.”
Next, for the sales tax proposal, the full county board is set to vote on it next week.
If it passes, County Executive Tom Nelson can still veto it.
