MILWAUKEE — The fight over a sales tax hike in Milwaukee. Council members passed a 2% increase Tuesday to avoid potentially catastrophic cuts to services.
But now Common Council members are exploring litigation related to the law that led to the sales tax increase. The potential legal action has to do with Milwaukee-specific restrictions in Act 12, the shared revenue law that Governor Evers signed last month.
Downtown Alderman Bob Bauman voted in favor of the sales tax increase, but like others in city government, was highly critical of the other provisions in the law.
"There were some policy mandates that the state legislature imposed on the city which were frankly outrageous," Bauman said during the Common Council meeting Tuesday morning. "These policy mandates had an air of racism to them. Milwaukee being the most diverse city in the state of Wisconsin."
The policies that have received the most criticism from council members prevent Milwaukee from using tax money to fund diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts or to expand the Hop. Other provisions make changes to the Fire and Police Commission and require Milwaukee Public Schools to reinstate school resource officers.
"We're going to review the legality to some of these provisions, and if there are questions to their legality, we are going to pursue litigation," Bauman said. "A lot of these policy provisions are very well set up for challenges under Home Rule."
Home Rule was an amendment added to the Wisconsin State Constitution in 1924.
"The state delegated authority to certain municipalities to run their own business, to not micro-manage. And that's where the issue is coming up," Municipal Attorney Michael Maistelman explained.
Milwaukee was one of the municipalities that were granted Home Rule.
Maistelman said he believes under the Home Rule argument, the city probably has a pretty solid case.
"I think there's some really valid arguments on behalf of the municipality that the state is interfering with the powers that the state has actually delegated to the city of Milwaukee," Maistelman said.
But he explained that any legal action will likely take time and have to work its way up through the courts. He believes if legal action is taken it will likely end up at the State Supreme Court. But, it all starts with the Common Council asking the city attorney to take action.
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