Madison approves a property tax increase

Inflation increases always bring consequences to the economies of states and cities, as happened in Madison where it has been drastically perceived that the city’s revenues were not adjusting to inflation parameters, causing its economy to enter into deficit.

Madison was facing a delicate economic situation this year because the revenues received by the administration were lower than the expenses required for the maintenance of the city. As a result, Madison was being forced to reduce important contracts such as those for police, cleaning staff, librarians, and transportation services, among others.

In light of the concerning issues Madison was about to face, its mayor stated that although it is not part of her government program, she is obliged to create an internal measure that could help avoid layoffs of those essential services that the community so desperately needs, especially since Wisconsin does not intend to help them despite the fact that the state currently has a good economic capacity and its revenues are much more excessive than the expenses it incurs.

One of the alternatives suggested by the mayor to avoid layoffs and cuts to basic community services was to propose a means of a referendum that would allow the collection of $22 million through increased property taxes, so that the collected money would help overcome the deficit that the city currently has.

In response to this proposal, the Madison city council received support from its residents who voted in favor of raising the funds and accepted the extra property tax. As a consequence of this approval, property taxes will increase by nearly $230 a year or $19 a month per property.

However, due to the city’s deficit, Madison also presented two more referendums for the Metropolitan School District. Upon receiving approval for all three, residents will see an increase in property tax of approximately $130 a month.

Once they learned the approximate amount they would have to pay in property taxes, all affected homeowners are now worried because they feel they will not be able to bear the new housing costs.

Not only homeowners will be harmed by the approval of these referendums, but also those who have rental properties, as their prices will rise, making it difficult for them to cover this unexpected increase, and rents will be well above what a middle-income family can afford.

Critics of the approved referendums to increase property tax in Madison point out that this is not the solution the city council should have offered; they believe the city should have analyzed more deeply why the city and the state of Wisconsin are facing a housing crisis and focus on solving the root causes.

They also state that thanks to this increase, Madison residents will be poorer, housing prices will be higher, and the housing crisis will be more catastrophic than before.

Available foreclosures:

Madison: 120 homes available.

By Elías DaSilva | 29 de Noviembre de 2024