Miller Park Sales Tax Could End In 2019 If Bill Passes: Report

RACINE COUNTY, WI — Back in 1996, a Wisconsin state assemblyman from Racine was the legislator who cast the deciding vote to enact a five-county 0.1 percent sales tax to help support the construction and maintenance of Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The move cost Republican George Petak his job after he lost a recall election to Democratic State Rep. Kim Plache. The election earned Petak a dubious place in state political history after he became the first Wisconsin state legislator to be removed from office in a recall election.

Now, about 23 years later, the end of the Miller Park Stadium tax is one step closer to reality as the State Assembly Committee on Ways and Means unanimously passed the bill authored by Rep. Robert Wittke (R-Racine) and Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) to end the Miller Park sales tax.

“This is a great day for taxpayers in Racine, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha Counties, and the State of Wisconsin” said Wittke in a statement to Patch. “We will close the roof on a sales tax that is long overdue."

The new bill, titled "Ending the Miller Park Tax" calls for retiring the 0.1 percent sales tax that has been collected in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha and Racine counties since 1996.

"After 22 years and over half a billion dollars raised, it is time to end the 0.1 percent Miller Park Tax in Southeastern Wisconsin. This tax was supposed to end five years ago, in 2014. The tax has been in effect since 1996 and is collected in Racine, Milwaukee, Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties," State Sen. Van Wanggaard said in a prepared statement.

Related Reading

Assembly Bill 73 now awaits a vote by the state assembly in June.

The bill, co-sponsored by Wanggaard (R-Racine), Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee) and state Rep. Bob Wittke (R-Caledonia), retires the Miller Park tax on Dec. 31, 2019.

In addition, the bill prevents the stadium district board from taking on any new debt after June 30 that cannot be paid off in full by the end of the year.

Stadium board officials are on record saying that the stadium tax could be retired by either 2019 or 2020, according to a JSOnline report from earlier in 2018:

"Assuming no significant shift from current economic conditions, the district should be able to satisfy all of its current and future obligations, and therefore retire the 0.1% sales tax, sometime between late calendar year 2019 and early calendar year 2020," says the conclusion of the report by consultant Public Financial Management Inc.