While residents are being told we need to cut $160,000 for yard waste pickup, a service nearly every household uses, this same city has committed $600,000 to lease a troll statue from a non-local artist and is likely spending over $700,000 or more on upkeep for the vacant Boston Store, a property residents don’t even use for public benefit.
Under Wis. Stat. §66.0615, cities likely can use 30% of room tax revenue for general purposes, yet Wauwatosa appears to be diverting those flexible funds into art installations and development-related expenses instead of protecting essential neighborhood services.
Under the leadership of the City Administrator and Mayor, we’re watching a pattern where small businesses are regulated out, residents lose direct services, and private development interests get everything they ask for. Whether it's millions in TIF deals that prevent revenue from entering the general fund for decades, tourism dollars funneled into sculpture rentals, or deferred maintenance on city-owned properties, the financial burden is being passed to residents, both in higher taxes and fewer services. The message is clear: basic services are on the chopping block, but developer subsidies and feel-good vanity and virtue-signaling projects are untouchable.
It’s time to reassess our values and realign our budget to prioritize people over projects and neighborhoods over developers.
While residents are being told we need to cut $160,000 for yard waste pickup, a service nearly every household uses, this same city has committed $600,000 to lease a troll statue from a non-local artist and is likely spending over $700,000 or more on upkeep for the vacant Boston Store, a property residents don’t even use for public benefit.
Under Wis. Stat. §66.0615, cities likely can use 30% of room tax revenue for general purposes, yet Wauwatosa appears to be diverting those flexible funds into art installations and development-related expenses instead of protecting essential neighborhood services.
Under the leadership of the City Administrator and Mayor, we’re watching a pattern where small businesses are regulated out, residents lose direct services, and private development interests get everything they ask for. Whether it's millions in TIF deals that prevent revenue from entering the general fund for decades, tourism dollars funneled into sculpture rentals, or deferred maintenance on city-owned properties, the financial burden is being passed to residents, both in higher taxes and fewer services. The message is clear: basic services are on the chopping block, but developer subsidies and feel-good vanity and virtue-signaling projects are untouchable.
It’s time to reassess our values and realign our budget to prioritize people over projects and neighborhoods over developers.