Nov. 11, 2005

The last bus that pulls away from West Towne Mall each night may look almost empty, acknowledges Cynthia Travis, but for the employees who depend on it, it's crucial.

"Without that bus, you're paying $21 for a cab ride home," Travis, who leads the Tenant Advocacy Group, said Thursday. "That's three hours of work. Without buses, you aren't even breaking even."

Travis is among those urging the city not to reduce bus service in next year's budget. Currently, the allocation for Metro, despite being an increase, is expected to be roughly $500,000 short of what would be needed to keep all routes at their current schedules.

With 10 City Council members pledging to raise the tax levy by no more than 4.1 percent - the mark that city officials initially believed a state cap would impose - the local political party Progressive Dane is proposing three primary ways of offsetting the services that they'd like to add or maintain.

Ald. Brenda Konkel said Thursday that they would seek to pull $400,000 from the parking utility, which is self-financing and currently does not share its revenue from parking ramps with the city. Secondly, Konkel said that Progressive Dane is proposing a half-percent increase to the city's hotel room tax and, lastly, would like to increase the costs of building permits by 1 cent per square foot.

Under the budget amendment, the room tax increase would be allocated directly to the Overture Center, which would free up about $438,000 of the approximately $1.6 million that the city pays the arts district from its general fund. Additionally, Konkel said, the building permits would be expected to raise another $400,000.

"Metro is my biggest concern," Konkel said, but her party is also seeking to increase affordable housing funds and childcare services.

"The people who are getting hit hardest by the budget cuts are those who are least able to afford them," said Lisa Subeck, a Progessive Dane member who also represents the Affordable Housing Action Alliance.

"I do think it's important to keep taxes low," Konkel said, "but we can't afford to leave people behind by cutting back on core services."

Konkel said that with the proposed revenue increases, maintaining Metro service and furthering affordable housing and childcare issues would increase the 2006 budget by about $500,000, leaving the levy increase at about 4.3 percent.

That's below the 15-year-historical average, and below the state cap that actually poses a cap no tighter than 7 percent. But Konkel said it "will be close" to persuade the council to adopt the plan. Ten members, one vote short of an 11-member majority, have said that they would not increase the tax levy beyond 4.1 percent.