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Crawford County to borrow $500,000 for road repairs, wheel tax discussed

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By Ted Pennekamp

 

At its regular meeting Tuesday morning, the Crawford County Board authorized the borrowing of $500,000 for road repairs.

Peoples State Bank will execute a general obligation promissory note for $500,000 for a term of 12 months. The tax exempt-bank qualified interest rate is 1.49 percent.

On a related topic, the county board discussed the possibility of imposing a wheel tax in order to raise funds for road and bridge repairs. The wheel tax idea will be discussed by the finance committee and then will probably come before the full county board at its April meeting.

Counties that already have a wheel tax include: Dane County ($28), Dunn County ($20 beginning for April 2020 registrations), Eau Claire ($30), Green County ($20), Iowa County ($20), Langlade County ($15), Lincoln County ($20), Marathon County ($25), Milwaukee County ($30), Portage County ($25), Richland County ($20), and St. Croix County ($10). 

It was noted that increasing the sales tax from one-half percent to one percent cannot be done due to state statute.

In other action, the board authorized the land conservation committee chair or the county conservationist to submit an application to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to repair a drainage portion of the Blackhawk-Kickapoo Dam. The grant application is expected to be for approximately $10,000.

At the outset of the meeting, a presentation was given by College Effectiveness Manager Mandy Henkel and Executive Director of College Advancement Holly Clendenen  regarding the economic impact of Southwest Technical College of Fennimore.

Henkel said SWTC added $159.3 million in income to Southwest Wisconsin’s economy, a value equal to approximately 3 percent of the region’s gross regional product.

SWTC also supported 2,996 regional jobs. That’s one in every 24 jobs in Southwest Wisconsin.

Henkel said the net impact of the college’s operations spending added $20.1 million in income to the regional economy. The expenditures of relocated and retained SWTC students added $3.5 million in income to the Southwest Wisconsin economy in 2017-2018.

Over a working lifetime, SWTC students will earn approximately $327,600 more than if they only had a high school diploma.

Taxpayers provided SWTC with $18.8 million in funding in 2017-2018. In return, they will benefit from added tax revenue stemming from students’ higher lifetime earnings and increased business output, amounting to $34.3 million. A reduced demand for government-funded services in Wisconsin will add another $2.4 million in benefits to taxpayers.

For every dollar of public money invested in SWTC, taxpayers will receive $2 in return over the course of the students’ working lives. The average annual rate of return for taxpayers is 4.9 percent.

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