Letter to the Editor: Vote NO on Gibraltar Requested $400,000 Levy

The Town of Gibraltar will soon ask its electors to pass blessing to add
$400,000 to the tax levy for roads, and do away with the current Traffic Utility
Fee. But this will not be a fair and equitable tit-for-tat exchange. By enacting
the addition to the levy and eliminating the Traffic Utility, the town will be
giving a free pass to substantial non-profit and public entities – like the State of
Wisconsin, whose Peninsula State Park attracts visitors from all over; or
theaters, which basically have town-funded entrance roads. With the proposed
levy approach, entities such as these will contribute nothing for the road
deterioration which they generate. On the contrary, under the traffic utility plan
now in place, these entities pay a relatively minor and fair amount for the road
use of their customers.

Instead, the town proposes to transfer road costs exclusively to private property
owners through the property tax levy. Why should public and non-profit entities
of substantial worth not contribute?

Gibraltar residents will soon feel the effects of the recent school board
referendum and substantial property value reassessment. The town now wants
to add an additional tax burden on taxpayers. This levy will only add to the
strain people feel at the grocery store and pump. Now is not the time to shift
expenses from one favored class to another.

With the current traffic utility plan, the town can budget so that necessary
improvements take place as needed, while the town pays off its debt. The
Traffic Utility Fee fairly charges all entities which contribute to road
deterioration, including the State of Wisconsin and theaters.

The plan behind the requested $400,000 is unreasonable, inequitable and unfair.
The town has in place a plan which will solve their financial problems and
allow them to maintain roads for the long-term. Gibraltar electors should reject
the town’s proposal to add $400,000 to the tax levy and allow the town to
maintain the traffic utility plan – which is working and will lead the town out of
debt.

Cal Burnton
Fish Creek, Wisconsin