Manitowoc, Wisc.
Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke is running against Scott Walker as a self-proclaimed "fiscal conservative." Burke says her "goal is to lower taxes" and that she's "particularly concerned about the very high property taxes across the state." But this week, Burke suggested that Wisconsin's property tax caps are "strangling our communities" and signaled she's willing to raise the caps if elected.
"Property taxes in Wisconsin are high. And what we need to do is look for how we're going to, again, grow our economy. That's the best way to bring taxes down. But also strangling our communities isn't actually going to make sure that we're competitive," Burke told THE WEEKLY STANDARD following a speech to the Manitowoc Chamber of Commerce on Monday. "I think each year it's about where you set the cap and how much of an increase that you allow. So I would be looking at what's reasonable in terms of that."
In 2011, the Wisconsin legislature and Governor Scott Walker imposed a firm property tax cap that only allowed counties and muncipalities to increase property taxes if there was revenue from new construction. There's also a property tax cap for school districts that can change every year, according to Dale Knapp of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. The cap increased $50 per student in the latest budget.
During Walker's first term, property taxes went down for the first time in over a decade, and Walker has pledged that if reelected, "property taxes on a typical home will be lower in 2018 than they are this year (which means they will be lower than they were in 2010)."
Burke did not indicate how much she would raise Wisconsin's tax cap on municipalities and counties and would only say she would "work with our communities to understand what is a reasonable level to be able to make sure that have safe, thriving communities."
Burke says she agrees with Scott Walker's decision to require public school teachers to contribute toward their pensions and pay more for health insurance. She opposes Walker's collective bargaining reforms, which were necessary to require teachers to contribute more toward their pensions and health insurance). But she struggled following her Monday speech to identify any schools that were hurt by Wisconsin's collective bargaining law, known as Act 10:
TWS: Act 10 hasn't been a huge focus of the debate so far, but you do disagree with the governor's position on collective bargaining. Are there a few schools that have been particularly hurt by Act 10. Could you talk at all about that? Burke: Well certainly we do differ. I think it's only right to allow for collective bargaining. I also do feel it was only fair to ask for contributions to health care and pensions, and that was needed to put local communities in a stronger position. I also am concerned about whether we are going to be able to attract and retain and keep good people in our schools. And I do see this. A man I talked to not too long ago, Jim from Neenah, was telling me about his daughter who graduated from UW-Eau Claire in education. She had two job offers. One in a school district in Minnesota, one in her hometown of Neenah. Guess which one she's taking? TWS: In terms of school districts, have any of them been hurt? Burke: So you know if a young person coming out of school is looking at the best they can hope to get is a one or two percent pay increase a year, how are they going to be able to pay off even their student loans? So we need to make sure in Wisconsin need to make sure that we are able to attract and keep good people in our public sector, in our schools, keeping our communities safe.
Following that exchange, a Burke press assistant asked who I was, and I told her that I'm a reporter at THE WEEKLY STANDARD. Burke subsequently declined to say how she would have balanced Wisconsin's budget differently than Walker or whether she supports taxpayer-subsidized abortion coverage in Wisconsin.