City wants bigger share of county sales tax revenue

By Randy Hanson

Hudson Mayor Jack Breault doesn't think the city is getting a fair share of county sales tax receipts.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue reported earlier this month that St. Croix County collected $2.9 million from its 0.5 percent sales and use tax in 1998.

Although the Revenue Department doesn't provide a breakdown of the revenue each municipality in the county generates, city officials estimate that between $1.2 million and $1.4 million of the 1998 total was raised in Hudson.

It irritates the mayor to hear County Board supervisors say they don't want to subsidize Hudson when he believes just the opposite is happening.

"County officials like to say they don't want to pay for Hudson. Well, Hudson doesn't want to pay for the rest of the county," Breault said.

The latest burr under the city's saddle is the county's refusal to pay more than a pittance of the cost of rebuilding Vine Street/County UU from Wisconsin Street to Grand View Park.

The county says its policy is to pay for resurfacing only the two traffic lanes of a county highway within the corporate limits of a city or village. Turn lanes, bicycle lanes, walkways, curbing and traffic lights are the city's responsibility, according to the county.

The county reportedly is willing to contribute only $75,000 or so to the UU/Vine Street project. The total bill could top $1 million if the city does everything it would like to do.

The county stopped at the east side of Grand View Park (about two-tenths of a mile east of Carmichael Road) when it rebuilt County UU between there and Hwy. 12 last summer.

Grand View Park is within the city limits while the property south of the highway, and east to the Stonepine residential development at Grand View Drive, is in the town of Hudson.

The county owns the 40 acres on the northwest corner of UU and Carmichael Road (immediately south of the county Government Center). The land west of there on the north side of UU is within the city limits.

Breault said it didn't make sense for the county to end the reconstruction of UU at Grand View Park last summer, if for no other reason than that the residences on the south side of the highway aren't within the city limits.

He said that besides the sales tax revenue that Hudson generates, the city also pours a lot of property tax dollars into the county coffers.

Breault also said the city doesn't get as much in the way of county services as other areas. Drive east and you'll find a lot of new county highway, he said.

It also can be argued that Hudson, because it has its own police department, doesn't get as much service from the sheriff's department as rural areas of the county.

Supervisor Richard King of the town of Star Prairie, chairman of the county board's Transportation Committee, isn't sympathetic to Hudson's complaints.

"This is the way it's done. When you're in the city limits, we're just responsible for the center 22 feet," King said of the county's share of the County UU/Vine Street project.

He said that's the policy that was followed when county highways in Hammond and New Richmond were reconstructed recently. The state, too, will only pay for the center two lanes when Hwy. 64 in New Richmond is rebuilt, he added.

Asked about Hudson City Council members' complaints that Hudson isn't getting a fair share of county services for the sales tax revenue it generates, King said, "I can't see where that's got anything to do with it. I mean we're talking highway dollars. We're not talking sales tax. Where the sales tax goes has nothing to do with the St. Croix County Highway Department as far as I'm concerned. I mean, those are completely different funds."

King said city of Hudson officials and county board supervisors representing the city have been invited to attend the next Transportation Committee meeting to discuss the Vine Street/County UU project.

"We're willing to negotiate with them, and we've tried to negotiate with them, on what's to be done, but they can't seem to make up their minds on what they're going to do," he said.

What isn't open for negotiation, as far as King is concerned, is the share of the project the county will fund.

"If they're expecting more funds, they're in big trouble," he said.

The city and county hope to finalize construction plans this fall so the project can be completed next summer. The City Council is still debating what to include in the project. In the past, members have said that will depend, in part, on how much money the county will contribute.

Nancy Bieraugel, one of four city of Hudson representatives on the County Board, said she believes a compromise can be reached on the County UU funding issue.

"I don't think Hudson gets a fair share of revenues, but I do think we can work this out with the County Board," Bieraugel said. "I think that in general the County Board is a reasonable group. I think that we can work something out that is equitable to everyone."

The County UU project also could be funded in part by the state. The county, the city of Hudson and the town of Hudson have all applied for state grants designated for the highway reconstruction.

Sales figures

According to the state Revenue Department, St. Croix County businesses generated $592.9 million in sales subject to the optional 0.5 percent tax in 1998.

Retail sales accounted for $399.3 million, or 67.4 percent, of the total. The rest came from the tax on services, manufacturing, transportation, public utilities and wholesale trade.

A publication entitled Demographics USA, published by Market Statistics, estimates that Hudson generated $243.3 million in retail sales in 1997.

In 1996, Hudson produced 45.8 percent of St. Croix County's retail sales total according to another publication entitled Sales and Marketing Management.

Mayor Breault said Hudson is likely to maintain or increase its share of county retail sales with businesses like the new Target store coming to town.