There’s been a lot written about the deal to fund a shiny new basketball arena in Milwaukee so the billionaire owners of the Milwaukee Bucks can increase the value of their investment, but as a new report by Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel notes, one of the funding mechanisms included in the deal makes what I’d call a risky bet with state aid to Milwaukee County. Under the deal brokered between Republicans in the legislature, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, and other elected officials, Milwaukee County would stand to lose a portion of its state aid if the state is unable to collect at least $4 million annually from overdue property taxes, government utility debts and unpaid parking tickets (emphasis added).
Coming under particular scrutiny is Abele’s agreement to certify the county’s debt.
Under that proposal, state revenue officials will take over responsibility for recovering Milwaukee County’s overdue property taxes, government utility debts and unpaid parking tickets.
The idea is that the state has collection tools not available to the county, such as levies on bank accounts, interceptions of tax refunds and wage garnishments.
The deal calls for the state to take the first $4 million it recovers from county debtors to pay for the new arena for the next 20 years. The county currently has $120 million in delinquent debt, and any new debt would be certified for state collection.
Abele’s staff maintains that the $4 million annual goal is “very achievable,” though Milwaukee County court officials have raised concerns about the deal. The state would cut aid to the county if it comes up short in any year.
While I appreciate the argument that the State of Wisconsin has tools available to it for collecting debt that Milwaukee County may not have access to, this still seems like a risky proposition. At a time when state aid to local and county governments has been shrinking ever-smaller, I’m not sure that Milwaukee County can afford to lose any portion of its state aid if the state is unsuccessful at collecting at least $4 million in unpaid debt annually.
“Chris Abele buys condo at Moderne for $2.1 million”
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/298311401.html
A new arena will increase the value of Mr. Abele’s condo. My fear is that he (or his family) owns other tranches of investments that will also head north if the new arena gets built.
John, I’m going to go ahead and disagree with your implication that Abele’s efforts here might have been colored by his desire to see his condo increase in value.
I guess I do not have a huge issue with the arena being built, as long as its more than just for the NBA. Governor Dayton in MN helped get a new Vikings Football Stadium built and I have pretty high remarks about how he is as a governor.
I do believe that if the arena is publicly funded their should be a public board for oversight. It this was majority publicly financed, I would say it should be publicly owned. The other issue in Wisconsin is that Governor Walker can find money for this project but he cannot find money for public schools, the UW, or state parks that citizens of the state enjoy. I do like how Abele and Barrett are looking into the poverty issues of Milwaukee because obviously the Republican controlled state government is not.