There's a Garbage Tax?

Yes there is...

...and now it is rather large in our state.

Phil Garthwaite just voted to make Wisconsin the state with the highest garbage tax in the Union.

Garthwaite's garbage tax will cost most small townships a couple thousand bucks a year but this comes on top of an 11.2% average cut in state funding so it really hurts. It will cost large municipalities like Platteville tens of thousands of dollars.

How will municipalities pay for this unexpected garbage tax?

They will do one of three things:

1. Raise property taxes.
2. Increase or create a garbage fee. Often this will be added to a water/sewer bill.
3. Go to referendum.

This is just one of dozens of costs that Rep. Garthwaite voted to shift from state government to Grant County local governments.

Worse yet, this new tax will raise $70.2 million statewide for segregated funds like the recycling and environmental improvement funds. At the same time Rep. Garthwaite voted to raid more than $98 million from these funds to give cash to Gov. Doyle to spend on whatever he wants.

That's right. The entirety of the garbage tax increase plus some existing garbage tax revenues are being raided for Doyle's slush fund.

The vote on an amendment to kill this tax and the raid died 51-47 making Phil Garthwaite one of just two votes to allow the new tax and raid.