Dem Governor Candidate Promised Tax Hikes Would Save His County — Here’s What Locals Got Instead

Democrat Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate David Crowley promised higher taxes would stabilize Milwaukee County and expand services, but taxpayers got a new sales taxand only brief property tax reliefwith little else to show for it.

Read more EXCLUSIVE: Watchdog Sounds Alarm On The Left’s Massive Foreign Money Pipeline

Crowley, who has served as Milwaukee County executive since 2020, backed a 0.4 percent sales-tax increase as part of his $1.3 billion recommended 2024 budget, which Urban Milwaukee (UM) hailed as a “budget of firsts,” according to the report.

The budget came after the 2023 passage of Wisconsin Act 12, which authorized the additional 0.4 percent sales tax.

It was also the first county budget since 1992 to lower the property-tax levy and the first in more than a decade to prioritize new investments over cuts. (RELATED: Data Center Diehard Making Trouble For Wisconsin Democrats)

The tax relief, however, did not last.

After Milwaukee County cut its property-tax levy by $21 million, or 7.7 percent, in 2024, the levy increased 2.5 percent, and in 2025, followed by another $12.1 million, or 4.1 percent, increase in 2026, according to a FOX6 Milwaukee report.

Crowley’s office defended the 2025 increase, arguing that the budget would “keep property taxes low” while avoiding “drastic cuts to services.” County officials also argued that the levy remained more than $20 million below projections made before Act 12.

Crowley himself acknowledged in 2025 that “the sales tax was not going to fix all of our problems,” according to FOX6.

So where did the new sales-tax money go?

The additional 0.4 percent sales tax, which raised Milwaukee County’s rate from 0.5 percent to 0.9 percent in 2024, was authorized by Act 12 and largely goes toward paying down the county’s pension obligations, according to the county’s 2024 operating budget documents.

The tax helps cover the county’s pension debt and payments on bonds it previously took out to help fund its pension system. It can also be used for some regular pension costs for current employees, according to the 2025-2030 Milwaukee County Comptroller’s five-year financial forecast. (RELATED: Polling Firm Says Data In Closely Watched DSA Race Was ‘Social Experiment,’ Then Shuts Down)

In 2025, the tax was expected to bring in $83.6 million. About $57.8 million was projected to go toward the county’s pension shortfall, $18.9 million toward repaying Pension Obligation Bonds and $6.8 million toward regular pension costs, according to a Milwaukee County Comptroller report.

While Crowley has argued that higher taxes were needed to stabilize Milwaukee County’s finances and protect essential services, his 2024 budget drew criticism over funding for the Sheriff’s Office and county jail.

Read more Tulsi Gabbard Called It From The Start

The Sheriff’s Office said it needed roughly $10 million more than what was budgeted, while the jail was short about 50 corrections officers, according to a UM report.

Milwaukee County Sheriff Earnell Lucas also criticized the budget, saying public safety was not being treated as a priority. Crowley’s administration touted a $7.4 million increase for the Sheriff’s Office. However, bout 70 percent of that increase came from shifting money between county accounts rather than providing new funding, according to an Urban Milwaukee report.

The result is a more complicated picture of what the tax increase was intended to accomplish.

Crowley and county officials presented the additional revenue as a way to strengthen the county’s finances and preserve services. In reality, a significant portion of the new money was ultimately dedicated to addressing the county’s longstanding pension obligations.

Meanwhile, questions about funding for public safety and other county services remained.

Meanwhile, the new sales-tax revenue provided additional funding for the county’s longstanding pension obligations, while other areas of the budget continued to face financial pressures.

More recently, Crowley’s administration has pointed to inflation, tariffs and rising overtime costs at the Sheriff’s Office as contributors to the county’s budget pressures, according to a FOX6 report.

But the county’s financial challenges have not disappeared. Crowley must propose his 2027 budget before October, and the county is already facing a projected $50.8 million shortfall, raising the possibility of another tax increase. (RELATED: Swing-Seat Democrat Haunted By Tax Record As GOP Eyes Pickup Opportunity)

For taxpayers, the picture is mixed.

The county’s property-tax levy remains below its 2023 level, but residents are now paying a higher sales-tax rate, while the property-tax levy has increased in each of the two years since the historic 2024 cut.

Read more Kim, Putin Near Completion Of First-Ever Road Link As Military Partnership Grows