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Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.

"Franklin taxes are an embarrassment"

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Dec. 13, 2009


I received the following e-mail from a Franklin 1st Aldermanic District taxpaying couple. I am withholding their names. I must point out that one of the authors told Alderman Steve Olson that she understands he did everything he could to try to stop the tax increase. The couple's comments were primarily directed at the mayor and school board:


"Dear Mayor Taylor, Alderman Olson, and members of the Franklin School Board:

 
When opening our tax bill today, we were appalled at what we saw - not surprised, as we knew it was coming - but appalled! When are the tax increases in Franklin going to STOP?! We do not live in a mansion by any means, however, our taxes are now over $8,000! For what?!
 
I'm tired of hearing excuses as to why Franklin cannot live within its means, just like any other business or family. All cities and districts are short on funds. The responsible ones find ways to work with what they have, not take other people's money to pay for what they don't have. Please don't tell me, "if you feel this strongly, then you should run for school board or office." We've been to several meetings over the years and realize our voices really wouldn't matter, so there's no sense in wasting our time talking to the wind.
 
When are the elected officials and board members going to realize that the average person cannot afford to live in Franklin anymore? The expansion and growth of Franklin is eventually going to stop and begin to decline, due to the exorbitant amount we have to shell out every year for the "privilege" of living here. We don't see a 'Welcome to River Hills' sign anywhere. We don't care how good the schools might be, or how green our pastures are, the taxing and overzealous spending needs to stop! Can you say "Fiber optic network?"
 
We're not sure about any of you, but we haven't had a raise in over 5 years. In fact, we've had to take pay cuts in order to keep our jobs. Yet, members of the board and common council feel that it's just and right to keep spending above what is truly needed. We honestly don't think any of you would run your household budgets the same way you vote to run our city and schools. But, it's not your money, right? Unless you are receiving raises every year that cover the increase in taxes, we don't expect any of you to vote for ANY kind of tax increases now or in the future.
 
Our house's 'fair market value' according to our tax bill is at least $55,000 more than what we could actually sell this house for right now. No realtor will touch trying to sell this house for that amount - trust me, we've looked into it. We wish we could move out of Franklin into a more responsible city, however, we'd never recover the loss. If any of you feel you'd like to pay 'fair market value' for our house, let me know.
 
So, in the meantime, we'll just continue to try and squeeze blood from a stone every single year around this time and hope someone figures out how to grow money trees in Franklin.
 
It's time to wake up and budget responsibly."


Pretty powerful stuff.

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