The Milwaukee Post

12 • Milwaukee Post • July 26, 2013 Tax won't finance new Bradley Center MatureLiving Official says tax Experience the Difference!® Utah National Park Trail 12 Days Departing Sept 11 $2,199 per person DBL New York: Big City Sizzle 7 Days Departing Sept 16 & Oct 21 $1,959 per person DBL New England: Autumn Harvest 11 Days Departing Sept 21 $2,089 per person DBL New England: Lobsters & Lighthouses 10 Days Departing Sept 21 $1,799 per person DBL The Smokies: Misty Mountain Music 6 Days Departing Sept 30 & Oct 21 $1,099 per person DBL Scenic Bluffs of the Mississippi Valley 414.281.2002 • 1.800.236.8687 www.lamerstour.com 2688 S. 13th St. 384-3380 Special Rates for Senior Citizens & Veterans Monday–Friday: 7:30am–5:00pm, Saturday: 7:00am–12:00pm Vietnam Veteran - VFW Member Welcome To Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church 3030 W. Oklahoma Ave. 414-384-3520 Visit us! www.grace-ok.org Mission Statement: Our Calling is to Embody The Love of Christ in All We Do This Means We Will Proclaim The Good News of God's Grace, Teach His Word, and grow as Disciples of Jesus Christ in Service with and For Others Summer Schedule Begins 9am Worship with Communion hE S JosepRAL . O ass H NE FU AN S A RM SS 233346031 3 Days Departing Oct 23 $419 per person DBL Norv's BARBER SHOP 233503027 WAUKESHA – Mike Duckett, head of the Miller Park board, assured We Honor A ll Who Served in the Military. Thank You! 233503031 By DARRYL J. ENRIQUEZ Special to The Post ing. A report at the time from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau predicted the tax could be retired as early as 2014 to 2018, Duckett told the board. The district is made up of Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Washington and Waukesha counties. In 2012, the district collected $7.4 million in sales taxes from Waukesha County, which accounted for 28.7 percent of the district's 2012 revenue from the five counties of $25.8 million, Duckett said prior to the meeting. The park district also oversees operation and maintenance of the stadium and enforces the lease agreement with the Brewers. The Brewers have become a more profitable team because of the new stadium with annual attendance during its first 12 years reaching about 2.6 million, compared to the last 12 years of Milwaukee County Stadium operations that saw about 1.6 million fans annually. Duckett said Miller Park's retractable roof is a reason for the growth in the Brewers' fan base. It attracts fans from outside the metro area because they know they can travel to Miller Park and be assured of seeing baseball games regardless of the weather, he said. "The roof guarantees the game is played and starts on time," he said. On average, nearly 40 percent of games are played with the roof closed, he said. This season, half of the games have been played under a closed roof. Veteran County Board Supervisor Fritz Ruff closed Duckett's presentation by saying: "I remember those years (when the stadium tax was created) maybe too well, too many hard arguments, but it worked." NO could come to end as early as 2018 Waukesha County supervisors Tuesday that his group had neither the intention nor authority to push for converting the stadium tax into a financial conduit for a new Bradley Center. Duckett, executive director of the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District, visited the County Board to update supervisors on the financial state of the Milwaukee Brewers' home and disclose when the stadium tax might be retired. Concern is circulating among leaders of some of the five southeast Wisconsin counties where a 0.1 percent sales tax is paid to retire the Miller Park debt that it would be continued to finance a new Bradley Center. Waukesha County Supervisor Walter Kolb told Duckett that he would be "very irritated" if the stadium tax was spun into a financing tool for the Bradley Center. Duckett responded that his board had discussed that very topic at its last board meeting. "The Miller Park Board is focused only on Miller Park and retiring its debt," Duckett said. "Our only initiative is to keep an eye on the ball and retire debt." Duckett reminded the board that it would take an act of legislation to create a new taxing district for the Bradley Center, an aging building that some are pushing to upgrade or replace. Duckett told the board that the sales tax could come to an end as early as 2018, despite several years of decreasing sales tax revenue due to a downturned economy, according to a park district audit earlier this year. In 2001 when Miller Park opened, the park district was charged with retiring a $524 million debt for the sports stadium. The debt included the $392 million for building Miller Park, plus interest on the loans. The debt had decreased to $213 million, as of last year, Duckett said before the meet- OW N ER ME Cost of Traditional Funeral Services (2 Day Services) Milwaukee Post readers plan on spending over $15 million in the next year on new doors, roofing, windows and siding. "The Post Newspaper Company & Staff has been very helpful to Zimmermann's Auto. We will certainly continue to advertise with the Post Newspaper Company." ~Bill Zimmermann Interested in getting your share of the pie? with Minimum Steel Casket Joseph E. Sass $3,750 Church and Chapel $4,485 Max A. Sass $5,395 All Above Charges Exclude: Vault, Flowers, Clergy Honorarium, Death Certificate, Medical Examiner, Newspaper & Cemetery Charges Family Owned and Operated Since 1928 3397 South Howell Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 414-744-6370 233346023 READ THE CLASSIFIEDS 1019 W. Oklahoma Ave. www.josephsass.com 414-744-3636 233503029 Zimmermann's Service 360 E. Howard Ave., Milwaukee 414-744-9868 Classified Service Directory

• Cover