Our Park Department was once regarded as the best urban park system in America and was the envy of other large metropolitan areas. It served as the national model for public investment in open space, recreational facilities and programs. This is no longer true. While the rest of the nation has discovered the wisdom of upgrading park facilities and investing in new parks our park system has experienced a significant decline in funding due its reliance on property taxes as a means of support.
From 1983 to 2007, the county’s overall tax levy grew by 112%, outpacing inflation, yet during that same time, funding for our parks shrunk by 18.3%. By the Park Department’s own admission there is a startling minimum of $150 million in deferred maintenance for park facilities. There are park buildings that are closed and boarded up due to a lack of funds to do necessary repairs. The daily maintenance of our parks suffers due to the shortage of competent employees. Over the last twenty years we have seen the ranks of full time employees drop from 760 to 260. This drop in employee presence in our parks has helped to exacerbate the perception by citizens that our parks are not as safe as they once were. Our Park system is suffering. It doesn’t have to be this way.
We all share in the responsibility to preserve and enhance our parks for future generations.The most effective way to insure that our park system will remain a vibrant public trust is to alter its source of funding.
Recently, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution for an advisory referendum to increase the County sales and use tax by one percent to support parks, transportation and emergency medical services. The referendum would be on this November's ballot. The precise wording of the referendum is:
"Shall the State of Wisconsin grant Milwaukee County the authority to provide property tax relief of at least sixty-seven million dollars ($67 million) by levying a one percent county use and sales tax to be used to remove the following three items from the property tax levy: parks, recreation and culture; transit and emergency medical services (EMS)?"
A one percent increase in the sales tax would generate approximately $130 million dollars which would then fund Parks, Transit, and Emergency Medical Services. Depending on how the potential state enabling legislation is written it is possible that this could nearly double the Park System's budget.The time has come to stop the incessant cuts to our parks that have diminished the quality of life for Milwaukee County residents. We need to take a stand and vote "YES" on the advisory referendum in November.