MADISON (WKOW) — Madison alder Michael Tierney is proposing a new ordinance that could provide a way to get rid of the city’s new $40 vehicle registration fee but still fund public transportation.
He’s hoping that if Dane County one day establishes a Regional Transit Authority (RTA), the city would be able to sunset the wheel tax. He said it’s a way to send a signal to Madison residents that they won’t have pay the “regressive” tax indefinitely.
“I want to set the stage to let people know there is a desire to have something more equitable and fair in place as soon as we possibly can,” he said.
But right now, Regional Transit Authorities aren’t even legal in Wisconsin. In 2009, the Democratic-controlled Legislature gave the green light to several of them, including one in Dane County.
Just two years later, the newly Republican-controlled Legislature made them illegal. This effectively ended all discussions and plans that were in the works.
Don’t you love it when a politician proposes something that is completely outside of his authority and illegal? Here’s what city official mean when they support an RTA: “let’s tax the suburbs to fund city stuff. Sure, we might run a bus or two out to the suburbs for show, but the bulk of the money will be spent in the city.”
Outside of State employees, Dane County residents have zero use for the City of Madison.