Let's Talk Sales Tax

The City of West Bend has some financial issues.  I don't fault the current Mayor, or the current Common Council.  They inherited a financial mess, and the darkstore lawsuits filed by retailers like Walgreens, Shop-ko, Menards, and Meijer haven't helped them at all.  They want a new revenue stream to fix their budget, and they are eying the County Sales Tax.



I would love to get rid of the sales tax completely.  I wasn't on the board back in the 90s, when it was put in place, but instead inherited it.  I ran on a platform of fiscal responsibility, and removing a revenue source that composes 17% of our revenue is not fiscally responsible.  The County has worked hard to remain in great financial shape.  Sharing our sales tax would mean that we would have to cut important services that the County currently provides to residents throughout the County, including West Bend.  Losing this essential revenue source would penalize us for our hard work in maintaining a fiscally sustainable budget.



The City of West Bend created their situation, they are going to have to look internally for solutions, it's that simple.