Huh. Who knew? Perhaps they should have been this energized at the ballot box.
Scores of Milwaukee residents turned out Thursday evening to voice their opposition to a proposed 2% city sales tax just days before Common Council members are set to take a critical vote on the new revenue source.
“They’re telling us if we don’t pass the 2% sales tax then we’re going to go bankrupt. Well, then we’ll go bankrupt,” Beverly Hamilton-Williams said to applause at a town hall at Clinton Rose Senior Center, 3045 N. King Dr.
[…]
The frustration residents at the senior center expressed over the sales tax — and the bevy of changes to Milwaukee policies included in the new law that allows the city to enact it — stood in stark contrast to a smaller, more conversational town hall held at the same time by council members from the city’s south side.
[…]
Before the Steering and Rules Committee vote on June 26, Ald. Mark Borkowski raised concerns about blowback from constituents if council members were to vote to implement a sales tax that doesn’t enhance city services.
“Current services suck,” he said.
MKE’s problems began under Henry Maier and got geometrically worse as time went on. Norquist is a member of the “New Party” (Socialist) and was a union troublemaker at Milwaukee Electric Tool before his political career. Barrett would give anything to anybody to keep them quiet on the reservation. And Marvin Pratt–a short-termer–is famous only for telling Jos. Schlitz Brewing to STFU and kneel at the feet of the Brewery Workers’ Union. Then Schlitz got sold and totally shut down. Smooth move, Marv!
So yah–they should have voted better 50 years ago.
>“Current services suck,” he said.
Borkowski is correct. The tax increase isn’t intended to remedy any of that, but he also knows that real constituent anger won’t last very long. The longer they can keep folks drinking from lead pipes the less ‘splaining they’ll have to do at all.