Milwaukee County Board to consider measures allowing deferral of property tax installments

Milwaukee County municipalities would be able to waive interest and penalties on property tax installments unpaid after March 31 as long as the payments are made by Oct. 1, under a measure recommended for approval Thursday by a committee of the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors.

Under state law, if the measure wins approval at the county level, municipalities must then pass their own, similar measures permitting the deferments.

The aim is to assist property owners struggling as a result of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

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The waiver, however, wouldn't apply retroactively to missed or late payments for property tax installments due before April 1, according to guidance from the Wisconsin Counties Association.

City of Milwaukee Treasurer Spencer Coggs urged passage of the measure in a letter to Supervisor Jason Haas, who chairs the county's Finance and Audit Committee. 

"The coronavirus pandemic has hit Milwaukee County municipalities extremely hard, but has especially adversely affected its communities of color within the City of Milwaukee," Coggs wrote, noting that the county leads the state in confirmed cases and deaths from the virus. 

At the end of the tax collection period in April, Milwaukee had 2,895 property tax accounts that were delinquent because an installment hadn't been paid, Coggs wrote.

These weren't solely residential properties occupied by the owners, but also rental properties whose tenants had lost employment and could no longer pay rent, rendering the landlords unable to pay their taxes.

The measure, which allows a blanket waiver, will go before the full County Board May 28.

So, too, will a more restrictive version that requires property owners to attest that they used at least 25% of the property as their primary residence and/or owner-occupied business during the coronavirus pandemic.

The latter measure was recommended for rejection but will still proceed to the full board for consideration. 

Supervisor Ryan Clancy, who co-sponsored the more restrictive measure with Supervisor Sheldon Wasserman, raised concerns during Thursday's meeting that property developers and owners of large apartment buildings could take advantage of the measure. 

"I don't believe the intent was ever to help out, you know, property developers or large apartment buildings, who I believe would look at something like this as essentially a handout — a months-long, interest-free loan in which they don't need to pay property taxes that they may very well have sitting around," Clancy said.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.