GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Green Bay city council member wants to see if Brown County will start sharing the revenue from its half percent sales tax.
Under state law, only counties can collect a sales tax. Smaller governments, like the city of Green Bay, cannot.
When Brown County first passed its half percent sales tax in 2017, there was a list of projects it would fund, and then it would end at the end of 2023.
At that time, Green Bay Alderperson Bill Galvin says he spoke with county leaders about eventually sharing the money with the smaller communities once those county projects were paid for.
“At that time Troy (Streckenbach) said, ‘You know, when it’s time, we’ll talk about it.’ So, I’m saying, ‘Can we talk about it?’” said Galvin.
Green Bay’s city council will vote next week on whether to send a Galvin-proposed resolution to the county to discuss the issue.
It will come a little more than a month after the county extended the sales tax until its debt is eliminated, which is projected to happen around 2037.
“Based on the way the resolution was passed, I think it will take a 2/3 vote to change that resolution,” said John Van Dyke, a Brown County supervisor.
Van Dyke says all county residents benefit from the projects the sales tax funds. He says it’s especially important to note that about 40% of the revenue goes toward road work.
“The leftover funds that could be available and to come up with any kind of meaningful amount of money to share, the question would be it would probably put the county back in a position of having to borrow money, which is one of the big things we’re trying to avoid.”
Other counties do share part of their sales tax revenue. In Outagamie County, 15% of the total net proceeds goes to local municipalities and school districts.
“Any little bit would help,” said Galvin. “People don’t want you to take out debt. Well, people want you to fix the roads. People want a fire department. They want a police department. They want good buildings for them to be in. All that stuff costs money.”
Galvin says he would be ok with restrictions on how the money can be used.
Under county ordinance, sales tax revenue can only be used for specific capital projects, expanding broadband access and eliminating debt.
Brown County currently has a $738 million list of projects it would like to complete in the next six years. The sales tax is earmarked to pay for a majority of the projects.
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