Fiscal Facts

Wisconsin property taxpayers should see one of the smallest increases in years on their December tax bills, with levies for school districts barely rising, technical college levies declining for only the second time in at least two decades, and a state tax credit rising sharply.

Newly released results of statewide testing last spring appear to confirm that student learning suffered in Wisconsin amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But a surge in students missing the exams — particularly in the largest districts and among less privileged groups — undercut the data’s value.

The number of new housing permits issued this year is on pace to reach its highest level, in Wisconsin and nationally, since before the Great Recession — a welcome development amid fast-rising home prices.

In the span of two decades, there may be no state that has seen a greater drop in its tax burden than Wisconsin, which saw its ranking among states plunge from fourth to the middle-of-the-pack. The drop in Wisconsin’s state and local taxes as a share of personal income was the largest or nearly the largest of any state — depending on how it’s measured — since 1999.

Collections from local vehicle registration fees in Wisconsin rose rapidly in recent years, with revenues tripling between 2017 and 2021. The trend was driven by new fees approved in Madison as well as Milwaukee and Dane counties, but many other communities also added or increased fees.

Growing numbers of fire and emergency medical services agencies in Wisconsin are struggling to maintain appropriate service levels in the face of numerous challenges, including increasing service calls from an aging population and staff recruitment and retention difficulties.

Unprecedented levels of federal pandemic relief aid have positioned the city of Madison to consider a 2022 budget that would avoid large tax increases and service cuts while launching a handful of new initiatives.

Growing constraints on property tax resources continue to pose fiscal challenges for Milwaukee County Parks while also requiring greater reliability on revenues from fees, permits, and food and beverage sales.

Last year’s concerns that the COVID-19 pandemic would ravage Milwaukee County finances have been supplanted this year by a dramatically brightened outlook that, at least for the next two or three years, is the strongest the county has seen in decades.  

An unprecedented infusion of federal pandemic aid should provide substantial but temporary relief for the city of Milwaukee’s budget imbalance for the next three years, starting with its 2022 budget.