Update: The Miller Park Sales Tax---Fitzgerald & the Senate Have Ended It

When I was campaigning in the spring of 2016 and 2018, I heard time and time again how frustrated people were that we still had the Miller Park sales tax.  When is it going to end?  Will it really end?

This is an issue that is controlled by the state Legislature, so I had no real answer that I could give, other then "I hope the legislature does the right thing."

Hope on the Horizon
And then, in July of 2019, I came to our Monthly County Board meeting to find something unexpected.  I found a brochure laying on my desk, titled "Ending the Miller Park Sales Tax."  This brochure had a schedule for ending the tax, one that culminates on March 10, 2020 with an official end to the tax.  This sounds like great news!

A quick google search turned up a news release that the Assembly had voted, unanimously (by voice vote), to end the Miller Park sales tax.  Thank you to Representatives Rick Gundrum, Janel Brandtjen, Dan Knodl, Robert Brooks, and all of the other 95 representatives for getting this through the Assembly.  This is another example of bipartisanship at work.  Read more about what the Assembly did here: https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2019/06/21/wisconsin-assembly-sets-same-miller-park-tax.html

Stalled Due to Fitzgerald

Before the Governor can sign the bill ending the sales tax, it has to pass the Senate.  With the Assembly passing the bill unanimously in June, this seemed like an easy issue for the Senate to approve.  Unfortunately, for some inexplicable reason, Scott Fitzgerald had delayed the bill, by refusing to put it on the Senate calendar.

It Has Now Passed the Senate
The stall has ended.  Today the Senate voted 33-0 to end the Miller Park sales tax.  We are now one step closer to getting this done.  It now falls to Governor Evers to show that bipartisanship can work by signing this into law and ending this tax.  Thank you Scott Fitzgerald and Duey Stroebel for getting this done!

I Opposed County Executive Pay at $140,000

I opposed paying the incoming County Executive, whoever that will be, $140,000 per year.  At this week's County Board meeting, I made a motion to reduce that rate to $125,000 per year, and that motion fell just a few votes short of passing.


I look at what has happened, along with what will happen, and see 3 main issues:

1. Should we have a County Executive?
2. What should we pay that County Executive?
3. Who should be that County Executive?

1. Should we have a County Executive?
I have been on record numerous times, and voted twice in favor of having a County Executive.  I think this is the right thing to do.  As Americans, I think we are always best served by electing our leaders, rather than having a small group entrusted to choose our leaders for us.  That's a fundamental concept that our country's government was built on, and it is the bedrock principle of our democracy.


2. What should we pay that County Executive?
As I mentioned above, I made a motion to reduce the pay rate to $125,000.  Compared to the pay range for department heads (starting at about $112,000, midpoint around $127,000), that seemed more appropriate to me.

I have been involved in a lot of salary decisions, and in those decisions you have to start with a focus on the position, and not the individual you are seeking to hire or promote.  In this case, that means starting with the position, and not the individual who is most likely to win the election or who we might want to win the election (and I think we all understand that Josh is likely to be the front-runner in this upcomign election).  While I support Josh as County Administrator, I felt that I had to stick to my principles.  It is easy to stick to your principles when it involves saying no to someone you don't have a strong respect for, but it is much tougher when you are sating no to someone you have a strong respect for.  I have a strong respect for Josh.


3. Who should be that County Executive?
That's a decision for all of us voters to decide, and I am just one voter in the Upcoming April election.  So far, Josh Schoemann is the only declared candidate that I know of, and he has done a good job for our county.  I know that Washington County, with Josh as our County Executive, would be a well-run county.

While I don't know yet who the other candidates are, I am very favorable towards endorsing him.  I have worked with him over the last 3 1/2 years, gotten to know him well, and have seen how his approach has been effective in managing the County's resources.  Once I know who else is running, I'll finalize my decision on an endorsement.  The filing deadline is around January 3.


Closing thoughts---It is not by any means a foregone conclusion that Josh will win.  While he is most likely the front-runner, there may be other candidates out there who will bring forward a strong vision for our county.  One of the great things about a democracy is that candidates have to prove themselves to the electorates.