Finance Committee backs adding informational voucher line to Green Bay tax bill; sends recommendation to council

The City of Green Bay Finance Committee on April 8 voted to recommend that the city add a single informational sentence to the Green Bay tax bill identifying the local levy amount for private school vouchers. Committee members and staff said the proposed insertion is the only location on the printed bill allowed by Wisconsin Department of Revenue (DOR) rules; the DOR and the Green Bay Area Public School District reviewed and accepted the proposed wording.

Director Albrecht, who led the staff briefing, told the committee staff had worked with the Green Bay Area Public School District (GBAPS) and the DOR to determine what is legally permitted on the tax bill and that the informational sentence must appear in the bill’s informational section; the DOR prohibits changes to the calculation section of the bill. Staff said there is no additional printing cost for the insertion.

Why it matters

Proponents called the change a transparency measure that would let taxpayers see, on the face of their tax bill, the amount the school district locally levied for private school vouchers. Opponents and some committee members cautioned about placement, consistency with the bill’s format and potential unintended messaging toward families using vouchers.

What staff and stakeholders said

Alder Crawford introduced the request to explore adding a separate line on the printed tax bill to distinguish voucher dollars over which the city has no financial oversight; staff brought a proposed one‑sentence addition after coordinating with GBAPS and the DOR.

Laura McCoy, identified in the meeting as the president of the Green Bay School Board, provided the exact proposed sentence and attributed the amount to the district’s levy: “of the amount levied by GBAPS, 8,991,023 dollars and 65 cents is for the purpose of private school vouchers. That’s the line.” McCoy said placing that sentence in the informational portion of the tax bill would directly notify Green Bay taxpayers of the locally levied voucher amount.

Members of the public spoke in favor of the change. Alyssa Prophet, introduced as an elder from 1262 Cherry Street, thanked staff and highlighted collaboration with the school district. Karen Schley, speaking for the League of Women Voters, said taxpayers have a right to know what happens to their tax dollars and urged inclusion of voucher amounts on the bill.

Some committee members raised concerns about format and potential consequences. One committee member noted the bill’s numeric breakdown ties amounts to assessed value and said a blanket sentence near the top would not mirror that per‑property presentation; another member warned that singling out voucher funding could cause misunderstood messaging or stigma for families using vouchers. Committee members repeatedly emphasized the discussion should remain about whether to place the sentence on the bill, not a broader policy debate about vouchers.

A staff clarification and next steps

Director Albrecht and staff said the DOR approved the approach as written and that no extra printing costs would be incurred. The committee voted to approve the staff recommendation and forward it to council as a committee recommendation; staff noted council may pull the item for further discussion when it appears on the council agenda.

Speakers (attributed in this article)

• Alder Crawford — Alderman who requested staff exploration of the tax‑bill disclosure (request recorded as coming from Alder Crawford). • Director Albrecht — Director, City Finance (staff briefing and DOR coordination). • Laura McCoy — President, Green Bay Area Public School Board (provided proposed sentence and levy figure). • Alyssa Prophet — Public commenter (identified as elder, 1262 Cherry Street). • Karen Schley — League of Women Voters member (public commenter). • Denise Gummer Hutchison — Chair, Green Bay Public Schools referenda committee and staffer with Wisconsin Public Education Network (public commenter).

Authorities

[{"type":"regulation","name":"Wisconsin Department of Revenue guidance on tax bill content","citation":"DOR review and acceptance referenced by staff","referenced_by":["tax-bill-voucher-disclosure-2025-04-08"]}]

Clarifying details

[{"category":"proposed_sentence","detail":"'of the amount levied by GBAPS, 8,991,023 dollars and 65 cents is for the purpose of private school vouchers.' — proposed placement in the tax bill's informational section","value":8991023.65,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Laura McCoy"},{"category":"cost","detail":"Staff said adding the one‑line informational sentence would incur no additional printing cost","value":"not specified","units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Director Albrecht"},{"category":"scope","detail":"Amount specified is the levy amount for Green Bay only; the full district levy across all municipalities is larger (staff cited a county‑level total closer to $13,000,000).","value":"not specified","units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Laura McCoy"}]

Proper names

[{"name":"Green Bay Area Public School District","type":"organization"},{"name":"City of Green Bay","type":"agency"},{"name":"League of Women Voters","type":"organization"}]

Community relevance

{ "geographies": ["Green Bay"], "funding_sources": ["local property tax levy"], "impact_groups": ["city taxpayers","families using private school vouchers","Green Bay Area Public School District"] }

Meeting context

{ "engagement_level": { "speakers_count": 12, "duration_minutes": 150, "items_count": 1 }, "implementation_risk": "low", "history": [{"date":"2025-01-14","note":"Request by Alder Crawford to explore feasibility; staff and DOR follow‑up occurred after that meeting."}] }

Searchable tags

["tax-bill","vouchers","GBAPS","transparency","DOR"]

Provenance

{ "transcript_segments": [{"block_id":"761.735-780","local_start":0,"local_end":165,"evidence_excerpt":"Consideration with possible action to appeal to staff from the finance committee on 01/14/2025. A request by Alder Crawford to explore the feasibility of an additional line on the printed tax, city tax bill for the Green Bay Area Public School District to distinguish the voucher dollars over which they have no financial oversight.","global_start":761.735,"global_end":780.0,"tc_start":"00:12:41","tc_end":"00:13:00","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"2396.455-2401.815","local_start":0,"local_end":120,"evidence_excerpt":"So motion still carries and the recommendation will go on to council.","global_start":2396.455,"global_end":2401.815,"tc_start":"00:39:56","tc_end":"00:40:01","reason_code":"topicfinish"}] }