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•
W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M
11am-1pm •
Expo Luncheon
with speaker
at the Pontiac Convention Center
1-7pm •
Expo Exhibit Floo
r opens at the
Janesville Convention Center (Holiday Inn Express);
$5 admission
5-7pm • Area’s largest
Business After Five
on the Expo Floor
($675,800) and Franklin ($697,800) received
the least; however, these are prosperous
Milwaukee suburbs that arguably need less
help from the state.
On a per capita basis, Janesville received
$80.45 in shared revenue per citizen. Beloit
led this category; they received $457.68 per
citizen in state shared revenue, while the
second place finisher (Racine) received
$349.77 per citizen.
Cities like Janesville that receive
comparatively low amounts of shared revenue
have asked the legislature to consider
changing the system, but there has been very
little legislative movement on this issue.
According to city staff, the combination of
property taxes and state shared revenue
provides a more accurate depiction of the
revenues available to pay for municipal
services. These two items are inversely
related, meaning that communities who
receive greater state shared revenue can
afford to have lower property taxes, while
communities who receive little state shared
revenue often need to have higher property
taxes to make up the difference. In spite of
receiving little state shared revenue,
Janesville's ability to keep property taxes
relatively low is a testament to the value
residents receive for quality city services.
Here’s how Janesville stacks up when the two
revenue sources are combined (see charts
on page 9).
Janesville receives the lowest amount of
combined property tax and state shared
revenue per person, and there is little that the
city can do to increase either revenue source.
The average amount received by
municipalities in the comparison is $730
(remember, Janesville received $578). If
Janesville received the average amount, the
city would have an additional $9.7 million per
year. That would go a long way to help pay for
an enhanced street rehabilitation program,
capital projects, the ARISE Plan, and the like.
CONCLUSION
When taken as a whole, these numbers
paint an interesting picture. Janesville’s
reputation as a low-cost, high-service city is
backed by the numbers. City administration
has long been frugal, and one could argue
that the city has the capacity to “do a little
more” to fund long-term priorities. However,
there’s only so much that the city can do in
terms of increasing spending without also
increasing borrowing.
It is clear that Janesville’s shared revenue
situation is an impediment to our city’s future
progress. This issue will almost certainly be
on our 2017 state legislative agenda. We
encourage you to join the discussion on this
issue by participating in Forward Janesville’s
legislative program, including Rock County
Day in Madison, our annual lobbying day at
the state capitol. Stay tuned for more
information on this event and other ways to
get involved.
Janesville By the Numbers
Continued from page 9
WATCH FOR MORE DETAILS SOON!
Booth and luncheon registration information will be
available by July 15, 2016.
Visit
www.forwardjanesville.comfor regularly
updated event information.