Kabat pushing for prop. tax cut again heading into La Crosse budget hearing

A much different city council in La Crosse this year, but Mayor Tim Kabat may still see some pushback on his plan to cut property taxes for 2018.

The city’s annual budget hearing on Tuesday night should make that clear.

Kabat is pushing again for a slight property tax decrease: about $29 on a $121,000 home.

He says the roughly $70 million spending plan fully funds priorities that the city has set. It calls for, among other things, fully funding its six neighborhood resource officers and restoring hours cut at the city’s two branch libraries. He also insists taxes shouldn’t go above the amount needed for those priorities.

Last year, the council crashed the mayor’s tax cutting party by opting for more money to put in the city’s slush fund. The argument then was that the city should raise taxes as much as the state allows.

Since then, most of the city council members have been replaced by voters.