Winnebago County Supervisors let sales tax resolution fail

OSHKOSH, Wis. (WISS) – For the time being, Winnebago County will remain one of two counties in the state without a countywide 0.5 percent sales tax.

Vice Chair Chuck Farrey proposed a resolution that would have drafted an ordinance to levy the sales tax with revenue sharing with the municipalities in the county. The resolution failed due to a lack of a second. It never came to a vote for the Board of County Supervisors of 35 members.

Before the action, a dozen Winnebago County residents spoke against the half-cent sales tax.

Joan Patterson said the sales tax would negatively affect the poorest of the county’s residents.

“In 2024, there were 173,307 people in Winnebago County. Of those, only 49,418 owned homes,” said Patterson. “Only 28 percent of people would benefit from a property tax cut as a result of this sales tax increase. So again, it doesn’t benefit those that live at or below poverty level.”

During board discussion, County Executive Gordon Hintz expressed his opposition to the sales tax as well.

“As for the sales tax resolution before you tonight, I have strong reservations about municipal revenue sharing with the immediate and future needs of the county,” Hintz said. “In addition, I think the lack of a detailed and accountable plan that the public can understand needs to be addressed before any kind of ordinance of whatever kind, involving a sales tax moves forward.” 

The Sept. 16 meeting of the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors was the second meeting in which the supervisors and community members discussed a potential sales tax. It was also the topic of conversation at the Aug. 19 board meeting.

It is estimated that a half-cent sales tax would cost the average spender $100 per year, or $8.33 a month. At the same time, it would result in approximately $240 in property tax relief for the median homeowner.

In addition to Winnebago, Waukesha County is the only other county that does not use the 0.5 percent county option sales tax. The state allows counties to levy the 0.5 percent tax “for the purpose of directly reducing the property tax levy.”

Wisconsin levies a 5 percent sales tax. Groceries, gas, and prescription drugs are exempt from sales taxes in Wisconsin.

This may not be the final word on a sales tax in Winnebago County. The Board of Supervisors could bring it forward again as an ordinance or as a resolution.