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

2. 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

3. National Comparison
Only two states have a higher percentage of roads in poor or mediocre condition.

4. This is what deferred maintenance looks like…

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

6. Girder Holes CTH G over Coon Creek

7. CTH J Over Fish Creek

8. CTH M Over Halfway Creek

9. 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 proposed budget – approximately 1/5 of a mile
Add in the headline from the Tribune about governor’s budget

10. Annual Construction and Maintenance (in miles)

11. 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)

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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. $66/vehicle Wheel Tax as an Option? Locally Rejected 2014, 2016
Amount needed to replace PRAT revenue:
$66/vehicle

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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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 $ Tap Beer $ Ice cream cone $ 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. Questions/Resources
La Crosse County Website:
Just Fix It -
Newsmakers: The Bridges and Roads of La Crosse County
Wall Street Journal - drivers-wallets