Don Behm

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

One proposal to impose a county wheel tax and another to stop the free GO Pass bus fares for persons with disabilities or aged 65 and older have sparked opposition and pushed transportation issues to center stage as officials begin piecing together a 2017 Milwaukee County Budget.

A county vehicle registration fee, or wheel tax, was rejected by the County Board in 2010 and has not resurfaced until now.

A $20 fee would generate $10.8 million to offset declines in federal and state transportation funding, and reduce dependence on the property tax to fill the gap for financing major capital projects, County Budget Director Steve Kreklow said.

Those new dollars would enable the county to reduce borrowing funds for transportation infrastructure projects, including replacement of transit buses and rebuilding segments of highways and parkways, he said.

A $50 registration fee would bring in more than $27.1 million a year, enough to pay cash for nearly all transportation infrastructure spending planned in 2017, he said.

County Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic criticized the proposed elimination of the GO Pass at the same time that the county would impose a wheel tax.

"What a terrible vision for transportation," Dimitrijevic said. "So now the GO Pass won't be available anymore, but if a senior returns to using a vehicle, there will be a new tax on that." She is a member of the County Board's transportation committee.

On the wheel tax, Dimitrijevic said she needs to be persuaded of the need for it since residents of the city of Milwaukee already pay a $20 city wheel tax on top of the $75 state vehicle registration fee.

Adding a $20 county fee "would double the local tax" for vehicle owners in the city, she said. Dimitrijevic represents the Bay View neighborhood in Milwaukee.

Kreklow said he expects vehicle registration fees to become more common as municipalities and counties face ever tighter budgets. At this time, three other Wisconsin counties — Iowa, $20; Chippewa and St. Croix at $10 — impose such a fee, he said.

More than 24,000 GO Pass identification cards have been issued and between 20% and 25% of all bus rides each month are free, county transportation officials said.

In June, the GO Pass accounted for 693,000 free rides, according to Brendan Conway, a spokesman for the Milwaukee County Transit System.

The popularity of the free ride program comes at a price for the transit system, however. Transportation officials estimate use of the pass will reduce fare revenue by $4 million in 2016 and $4.4 million in 2017. This comes at the same time that declining ridership is eroding fare revenues so a 2017 transit budget request recommends elimination of the GO Pass.

"The transportation department proposes a transition back to a half-fare program for seniors and residents with disabilities," Kreklow said. Half-fare passes — at a cost of $1.10 per ride — were available before the April 2015 introduction of the GO Pass.

Barbara Beckert, Milwaukee office director for Disability Rights Wisconsin, said she attended a public meeting Wednesday on the 2017 county budget to defend the GO Pass.

"In the disability community, there is very strong support," she said. "So many don't drive or own a vehicle because of their disability or their low income."

"The GO Pass has helped them get to jobs, and it has helped them get to other services, such as health care, and to grocery shopping," Beckert said.

On the GO Pass, Dimitrijevic said transportation officials should be celebrating the success of the program rather than eliminating it.

"There is a ton of new riders," she said.

"Eliminating the GO Pass on Jan. 1 would be catastrophic" for senior citizens and the disabled who have low, fixed incomes, Dimitrijevic said. "The demand for the GO Pass is a clear sign that people need it."

Even paying half-fare can be burdensome for someone on a fixed income who rides a bus several times a day, she said.

Dimitrijevic said she was expecting to re-evaluate the program for 2017 and would consider income limits as one way to reduce the number of users. There are no income restrictions for participation at this time.

Dimitrijevic said she does not accept the administration's estimate of $4 million in lost revenue this year as a result of heavy use of the GO Pass.

"Budgets are all about priorities," she said. "We have to find a way to fund the GO Pass."