The Metropolitan Milwaukee Chamber of Commerce is backing a plan that solicits public and legislative support to “implement a new funding model” that might mean a sales tax hike to increase taxpayer funding for Milwaukee-area arts, parks, museums and zoo.
The MMAC held its annual all-member meeting yesterday at the Performing Arts Center in downtown Milwaukee — a site that was chosen to emphasize the meeting’s focus on the importance of arts and culture in the city.
The MMAC also on Monday released the results of its 18-month Cultural and Entertainment Capital Needs Task Force, which concluded that more taxpayer money is needed to “preserve and protect these signature attractions.”
See the report here: http://www.culturalneedstaskforce.com.
The report suggests an increase in sales tax as an option, while rejecting other tax options, including a ticket tax, TIF district and property or income tax increases.
Afterward, MMAC president Tim Sheehy told WisBusiness.com that while an increased sales tax is one possible solution to saving arts and entertainment, it has not been decided whether that should be just in Milwaukee County or more widespread. The task force report does note that “The Marcus Center, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee Public Museum and Wisconsin Center are regional vs. county-specific assets.”
“What we’re saying is there’s been declining public investment over the last decade,” said Sheehy. “What we want to do is lead the community to a consensus on how to fund those going forward. We’re not jumping to any conclusions right now.”
Asked if he is concerned about resistance to raising taxes, Sheehy said, “If anything’s going to happen, it would have to happen through a referendum. Let’s be clear about that. We’re not going to ask the Legislature to raise taxes.”
Several speakers at the MMAC event alluded to the importance of maintaining cultural attractions.
Corry Joe Biddle of MMAC’s FUEL Milwaukee network paraded out a group of millennials on stage and told the audience this age group has “different priorities” than earlier generations.
“Only 18 percent of men and women aged 18-34 say owning a home is the most important thing they can achieve in their lives,” said Biddle. “Only 21 percent of millennials are married by the end of their 20s. Compare that figure to the 1960s, when 77 percent of people were married between the ages of 20 and 34.”
In addition, Biddle said, “Millennials put great value on place and quality of life. What they do in their free time is as important as the paycheck they bring home. They live first and work second.”
Part of Monday’s event included a panel discussion comprised of Bert Davis, president and CEO of the Milwaukee Zoological Society; Dan Keegan, CEO of the Milwaukee Art Museum; Deanna Tillisch, CEO of the United Performing Arts Fund and Todd Teske, president and CEO of Briggs & Stratton Corp. Teske said Milwaukee needs entertainment and arts to recruit and keep the best and brightest working professionals. “Really good people are oftentimes very mobile,” he said. “They can live anywhere they want.”
Keegan, who previously worked in San Jose, Calif., technology hub, said that area failed to create an environment that invites longtime family life. “San Jose and the Silicon Valley region is made up of people who are global citizens — they’re not really connected to any single place,” he said. “They all call someplace else home, yet they are spending all of their 24/7 time around this churn of technology. It’s not a great place from that standpoint. It’s not a great center.”
Keegan said Milwaukee “needs to become a great destination” and warned, “If we don’t rally around establishing a great community, it could all go away.”
Gov. Scott Walker shared a stage at the event with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Milwaukee Common Council president Michael Murphy, MMAC officials and Milwaukee Bucks officials. But Walker, who spoke for less than a minute and a half, avoided the subject of funding the arts. Instead, the guv thanked “all the employers,” noting “Wisconsin’s unemployment rate went down to 4.3 percent — that’s the lowest it’s been since April of 2001.”
Walker then praised the Milwaukee Bucks arena deal, saying, “This really has been a team effort” and adding, “That $80 million (in state taxpayer funds) gets us a 3-to-1 return — $299 million just in income taxes alone — you can see it was a pretty smart investment to keep the Bucks here, not to mention the multiple effects it can have on the economy right here in Milwaukee, downtown, the city, the county and all throughout this region.”
— By Kay Nolan
For WisBusiness.com
