Editor’s note: The following is a letter to Milwaukee Alderman Robert Puente from Milwaukee business owner Wayne Staats, who shared the letter with BizTimes Milwaukee.
Alderman Puente:
I am still in shock over the receipt of my recent commercial property real estate tax bill. It grew by an average of 38.9 percent over last year! This is outrageous and does nothing more than convince me that doing business in the City of Milwaukee is a crazy venture!
The lowest increase of the various components on this tax bill was 31.0 percent (the State of Wisconsin, believe it or not) to the highest, 49.3 percent, for Milwaukee Public Schools. In addition, my water "fee" increased 50 percent (to over $1,000) this year after in astronomical increase the year before of nearly 200 percent! I don’t even use much water in my building except to flush a few toilets and make coffee! This is insane!
This problem is exacerbated by the fact that my commercial property value (which I maintain diligently, so it is not deteriorating as are many other buildings in the Milwaukee area) has DECREASED in value over the last several years, not increased as has my assessment. This particular round of tax increases has reduced my property’s economic value by $62,000! And furthermore, after paying all these taxes, I’m not even eligible to visit the zoo, museum or play golf on county courses without paying non-resident fees simply because I don’t live directly in the city (or county) proper!
To make matters worse, the services I have received from the city have done nothing but decline over the past years. If you ever drive north on 107th Street, you will find that south of Brown Deer Road you are riding on a beautiful boulevard. If you continue north past County Line Road, where my building is located, you will find another beautifully repaved and nice section of road for two miles to Mequon Road. The one mile segment between Brown Deer Road and County Line Road (where my building is located) is awful: a pothole-laden, patchwork quilt that shakes the inside of your car as if you were driving down an unpaved rural road. The road is narrow and the shoulders treacherous.
And, this section serves many companies that use large semis to pick up and deliver their goods, so the traffic is always busy. The ditch in front of my building NEVER empties and has become a cesspool of garbage which can never be cleaned up because there is always standing water in it and it is deep and treacherous. I’ve been told that it is a "downstream" problem and that some other "authority" is responsible. Only no other "authority" will admit to their responsibility and clean it up. This problem has existed for many years.
Between this and many other unbelievable anti-job decisions being implemented by city "leaders," the asset values of Milwaukee-based businesses and properties are declining precipitously. As mentioned earlier, I have lost significant value in my commercial property and business potential due in large part to this anti-job atmosphere, not just the economy. I was born and grew up in Milwaukee, went to school here, have been a long-time business owner, employer, taxpayer, run the only non-subsidized business incubator in the region, volunteer in various nonprofit organizations and am a strong advocate of entrepreneurism and other activities to encourage business growth and create jobs.
At the rate that this city is declining, I’m not sure how much longer I can "hang in there," dreaming that someday we will find the Holy Grail and everything will be just great. Anything I do to help create jobs, start new businesses or encourage existing businesses to grow and come to Milwaukee seems futile.
Please, provide some guidance about what I can do.
Wayne Staats is the owner of the Granville Business Development Center, 9310 N. 107th St., Milwaukee.
