Stormwater Utility DEAD
At a time when citizens should be reveling in our new-found economic successes such as the developments at Harbor Town Center, the growth of Manitowoc Cranes and Ice, Burger Boat, Koening-Vits, Tramontina and Orion Energies, the near completion of the Brown County Water pipeline and MPU’s new generation facility, the advent of the elegant new 100 Maritime Place professional office building in our downtown, and the extension of Quay Street through to the Carferry facility, our citizens are worried about yet another mandated task put upon them by the state legislature for which they will have to pay the bill.
This is horribly unfair!
Last year, a Storm Water Utility with its associated fee was included in the Executive Budget Plan for 2006. However, there will be NO Storm Water Utility in next year’s budget, nor in any budgets in the foreseeable future. It is my intent to bring forward an Executive Budget Plan for 2007 that is sustainable, with no looming structural deficits, and that does not include a Storm Water Utility or its associated fee as a funding source. According to the wishes of the vast majority of businesses and individuals in our community, the costs associated with the storm water mandates will remain imbedded in our local property taxes, a method of paying for the mandate that is popular and deemed fair by most people.
This same communication will serve as an urgent request to Senator Joe Leibham and Assemblyman Bob Ziegelbauer to author legislation to provide equity for city-based businesses and property owners in regard to storm water clean up. Right now, virtually the entire burden of reducing the pollution carried by storm water is placed on city dwellers, causing their responsibility and financial burden to be much higher than others living in Wisconsin. Clean water is every one’s responsibility and if the state’s mandates included all businesses and all citizens, not only those existing in cities, costs would be more equitably distributed and much lower on an individual basis.
This is horribly unfair!
Last year, a Storm Water Utility with its associated fee was included in the Executive Budget Plan for 2006. However, there will be NO Storm Water Utility in next year’s budget, nor in any budgets in the foreseeable future. It is my intent to bring forward an Executive Budget Plan for 2007 that is sustainable, with no looming structural deficits, and that does not include a Storm Water Utility or its associated fee as a funding source. According to the wishes of the vast majority of businesses and individuals in our community, the costs associated with the storm water mandates will remain imbedded in our local property taxes, a method of paying for the mandate that is popular and deemed fair by most people.
This same communication will serve as an urgent request to Senator Joe Leibham and Assemblyman Bob Ziegelbauer to author legislation to provide equity for city-based businesses and property owners in regard to storm water clean up. Right now, virtually the entire burden of reducing the pollution carried by storm water is placed on city dwellers, causing their responsibility and financial burden to be much higher than others living in Wisconsin. Clean water is every one’s responsibility and if the state’s mandates included all businesses and all citizens, not only those existing in cities, costs would be more equitably distributed and much lower on an individual basis.
posted by MantyMayorBlog at
2:02 PM
2 Comments:
While it's good to be a questioning citizen, it is not a good idea to fall into an "all or nothing" way of thinking. Is new business or employment a bad thing if it's not industrial? Are you saying the only work people in Manitowoc are capable of doing is factory? Hardly. While certain aspects of retail jobs are none too glamorous, they can serve as stepping stones to other, better paying jobs.
I agree, the Brown County pipeline is not industrial growth. But is success measured in income, or could it be measured in lack of expense? Or more specifically, lack of rate increases? I'd call that a success.
Taking rumor as truth is a dangerous game. Because you heard Lowes is struggling you assume it to be true? Anyone who's tried to go there on a weekend would disagree with that.
The storm water utility is a major issue because once again, it's the potential to save expense rather than increase income.
It's short-sighted to want nothing but LARGE scale industrial growth. While lobbying for industrial growth is it a bad thing to add jobs in other sectors?
By
Q, at 7:38 AM
I'm not saying the pipeline will reduce your utility bills, I'm saying it will simply not increase it. Or at the very least, slow it's increase. Rate and tax increases are a fact of life. Taxes are not the same as they were 4 years ago, and they won't be the same in the next 4. I'm looking for ways to slow those increases, which is what the pipeline should do. Or at least was advertised to do. If the local government had turned it's back on industry, Tramontina wouldn't have come to town. This may not qualify as major industry to you but I'm sure it fits the bill for those who work there. I will agree that there has been a stunning decline in new industrial jobs coming to Manitowoc, but the same can be said about any local community. We lost a major employer when Mirro left but it's not like they can be replaced with another major company simply by asking. As far as "upper management" at Lowes telling you they are struggling, that's just bad practice.
By
Q, at 7:20 AM
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