Premier Resort Area Tax An Option to Consider… Public Information sessions March 2017

April 4 Question: How do voters want to pay for roads? Yes Vote =  tourists, visitor and county residents share road expenses No Vote = continue to rely only on county taxpayers and borrowing

National Comparison Only two states have a higher percentage of roads in poor or mediocre condition. https://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/grow-america/road-and-bridge-data-state

This is what deferred maintenance looks like…

Bridge Abutment Deterioration Jostad Coulee Road/CTH M Ron could talk about the cost to fix this issue

Girder Holes CTH G over Coon Creek

CTH J Over Fish Creek

CTH M Over Halfway Creek

The Growing Shortfall $87 million deferred maintenance for County transportation infrastructure (roads and bridges) 2017 Highway Department Revenue $2.7 million borrowing $3.4 million local levy $1.9 million General Transportation Aids and other Highway Funding $5.7 million contracted State and Federal projects $.6 million municipality work The governor added $127,000 to his 2017-2019 proposed budget – approximately 1/5 of a mile Add in the headline from the Tribune about governor’s budget

Annual Construction and Maintenance (in miles)

Shrinking State Road Funding to La Crosse County The State made a commitment to fund 30% but have never actually funded to that level The current proposed budget is what percentage and add in to the slide (2018 and 2019) ( use a different color for the 2018 and 2019)

Rising Road Materials Cost – Hotmix Asphalt, Fuel and Base Rock Base Rock and Fuel have similar trend lines

We are paying for roads on our credit card La Crosse County currently borrows $2.7 million annually Costly approach Not a sustainable/long term solution Not enough to keep up with road needs $2.7 million of borrowing versus $14 million of total highway expenses = 20% People complain about the State paying .23 cents toward debt service Every year we borrow we pay less for roads and more for debt This is all paid by property taxpayers

Bottom line needs $87 m in unmet road needs Will take 58 years to fix at current levels Covers 285 miles of roads and 69 bridges Each color represents the year the county plans to repair the road/infrastructure. The dashed lines indicate design versus construction

What is a Premier Resort Area Tax (PRAT) Local half cent retail tax Revenue used only for infrastructure expenses Businesses identified by NAICS Code If tourism related businesses are 40% of assessed property value then PRAT can be enacted at local level. Since it’s less than 40% in La Crosse County, a waiver must be granted by the State A county or municipality within the county, but not both, may impose a PRAT North American Industry Classification System

Applying the Premier Resort Area Tax (PRAT) would: Generate estimated $6.6 million in new revenue annually Eliminate borrowing for roads Decrease property taxes Share road expenses with visitors and county residents Create private sector jobs Requires Maintenance of Effort at the county level The wheel tax of $10/vehicle was going to generate approximately $1 million in revenue. Revenue and shared revenue is one slide Decrease borrowing and property taxes is one slide Increase sales tax and visitors share tax is one slide

$66/vehicle Wheel Tax as an Option? Locally Rejected 2014, 2016 Amount needed to replace PRAT revenue: $66/vehicle

Next Steps/Timeline Rejection Possible Local Decision Local Decision 1.19.17 County Board Approves Advisory Referendum 2.22.17 Chamber DMI CVB 2.23.17 Towns Association 3.2.17 Downtown Rotary 3.16 – 3.20 Public Informa-tion Sessions 4.4.17 Advisory Referendum Present to State Leg. and Governor for approval County Board Vote Binding Referendum Local Decision Local Decision Local Decision

Sharing the Revenue Locally County receives $6.6 m*/yr PRAT revenue (-3% state admin fee) County shares up to 25% with interested municipalities ($1.6 m) County and municipalities use CIPs (Capital Improvement Plans) to guide project selection for use of PRAT revenue * Dept. of Revenue annual estimate

Estimated Vehicle Repairs Impact on residents COST to residents Will vary based on household spending SAVINGS Auto repairs - $500/year (WSJ link) Safer roads Property tax relief Estimated Vehicle Repairs Front-end alignment: $69 Four-wheel alignment: $89 Balance four tires: $36 Front shocks/struts: $485 Rear shocks/struts-heavy duty: $950 Tie rod ends: $485 (plus realignment) Power steering rack: $900-$1,000 (plus realignment) New tire(s): $50-$100/tire Karl is working on the projection for out of county versus in county Wall Street Journal

How will this affect me? Current Rate Current Tax with PRAT Increase Appliance $1,000 $55 $60 $5.00 Bicycle $500 $27.50 $30 $2.50 Jewelry $250 $13.75 $15 $1.25 Hotel room $100 $5.50 $6 .50 Restaurant $50 $2.75 $3 .25 T-shirt $30 $1.65 $1.80 .15 Tap Beer $2.50 .14 .15 .01 Ice cream cone $2 .11 .12 .01 Non-Taxable Groceries variable $0 $0 The PRAT spreads the cost around versus being dependent on county residents alone. This is where the $500 cost of roads on vehicles would be helpful here somehow

April 4 - ADVISORY Referendum The County has identified $87 million in unmet road needs. To pay for transportation infrastructure while eliminating borrowing for county road improvements, should La Crosse county seek authority to levy a 0.5 percent (one half cent on the dollar) sales tax on tourist related items sold, leased or rented through tourist related retailers, (approximately 50% OF LOCAL RETAIL SALES)? A. yes or B. no

April 4 Question: How do voters want to pay for roads? Yes Vote =  tourists, visitor and county residents share road expenses No Vote = continue to rely only on county taxpayers and borrowing

Questions/Resources La Crosse County Website: http://www.co.la-crosse.wi.us/resortTax.asp Just Fix It - http://www.tdawisconsin.org/just-fix-it-wisconsin/ Newsmakers: The Bridges and Roads of La Crosse County https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBboXN0JcpY Wall Street Journal - https://www.wsj.com/articles/nations-crumbling-roads-put-a-dent-in- drivers-wallets-1438365456