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Committee approves tax-bill insert to disclose voucher funding after public comment
Summary
The Finance and Personnel Committee approved Resolution 64 to add a one-page insert to property-tax mailings explaining how state-mandated private school voucher funding affects local levies; the measure passed as amended with a 4–1 vote after public comments and a cost estimate of about $2,700 for inserts was provided.
The Sheboygan City Finance and Personnel Committee voted to approve Resolution 64 to place a one-page insert in property-tax mailings that explains state-mandated private school voucher funding and its effect on local levies. The committee passed the measure as amended in a 4–1 vote, with the chair recorded as the lone dissent.
Public comments that preceded the vote pressed for the change. Mackenzie Petri Rust, a public educator who identified herself and gave a local address, told the committee she supported the resolution “because I believe it's important that the citizens are informed and educated as to how their property taxes are utilized in the city by public schools and voucher schools.” She told the committee that in the 2025–26 school year “the total tax levied by the school district was $31,700,000 but of that, $7,200,000 was diverted to voucher schools,” and added that represented a year-over-year increase of $712,000.
Director Krieger provided cost details for the proposed insert: “The total cost for the bills is about $2,700 for that insert. It's 16¢ per bill, which we think is a very cost effective way to get in touch with every property owner in the city.” Krieger said the school district had agreed to pay its share (about $110–$120) of the insert cost related to voucher information.
Committee members expressed support for transparency. Alder Decker said the insert was “a money saving thing for the taxpayers” and a benefit for employees who use city services. Alder Perella moved an amendment that removed language about coordinating with Sheboygan County; the amendment passed, and the committee then approved the resolution as amended. The chair expressed concern that distributing material about a politically contentious issue via tax-bill mailings could be construed as a political campaign and recorded a dissent on the final vote.
The resolution instructs city staff to include the approved language in the informational insert that accompanies property-tax mailings. The committee set a tentative date of August 10 for its next meeting; the timeline for the insert’s inclusion in the fall property-tax mailing was not specified in committee remarks.
