Barrett Proposes Increasing Cost of Living in Milwaukee

Speaking of Mayor Barrett:

Barrett will ask the council next week to approve an immediate $8 boost in the snow and ice fee, from $21 to $29 a year for the average homeowner, to help cover the budget-busting costs of last winter’s repeated major snowstorms and to position the city for whatever the coming winter brings, Nicolini said.

[...]

For 2009, the mayor wants to raise the solid-waste fee by 28%, or $37, from $132 to $169; the local sewer fee by $6, from $73 to $79; and the storm water charge by $2, from $32 to $34, all per year for the average homeowner.

If the proposed fee increases are added to the $20 wheel tax, the combined impact on a two-car household would be another $93 a year, plus any property tax increase that is approved in the 2009 budget.

[...]

But even with the fee increases, Barrett said, he will recommend a property tax increase more than this year’s 3.4% boost. The exact amount is still being calculated, along with debt service costs that would allow a tax increase beyond the state’s 2% levy cap, Nicolini said.