Comments: These new taxes are not the end of getting in your pockets.
Next are the schools.
They will be asking for operating and safety referendums in the very near future to make up for the loss of property taxes.
Added: August 25, 2025 08:12:17 PM
Submitted by Name: D.H. From: madioson E-mail: Contact
Comments: with the new wheel tax,will strollers and walkers be tax?
Added: August 25, 2025 03:27:05 PM
Submitted by Name: riverfront
Comments: Maybe he will want to charge the barges and the other boats that traverse the Ohio as a river tax.
Added: August 25, 2025 01:51:04 PM
Submitted by Name: uncle carl
Comments: I wonder what stupid idea we will be blessed with today?
Added: August 25, 2025 01:27:58 PM
Submitted by Name: Downtowner too From: Madison E-mail: Contact
Comments: The mayor deciding now to do a poll on the riverfront when it's obvious how the community feels is so redundant. Much like closing the barn door after the cows are out. Why now does he seek community input on one of his projects when to my knowledge he has never done before? Your concern and commitment to the community obviously ended the day after you were sworn in and has only gotten worse for the city.
Added: August 25, 2025 01:22:27 PM
Submitted by Name: Charlie Cardinal From: madison
Comments: If the Mayor is running a poll regarding the thoughts on the Riverfront Apartments. We all know the numbers will be heavily slanted towards his agenda. It will be like a Putin election in Russia. This Mayor is incapable of doing anything above board.
Added: August 25, 2025 11:28:53 AM
Submitted by Name: To Madison
Comments: The old Meyer and Sons building is owned by Andy and Sarah Lytle under the business name of ELSA Investments, there's no clear plans on what they are doing with it and the city should definitely approach them to purchase it.
Added: August 25, 2025 11:22:44 AM
Submitted by Name: Whadda croc
Comments: Well it’s clear to see the mayor and his 6 stooges were warned about what would happen if we didn’t regulate homes being converted to tourist houses. But it looks foolish when you put the actual numbers to it. Too bad a lot of our PACE money went to those same buildings. And another thing, I can’t believe city council and the mayor are running a survey to see what people think. It’s not like we haven’t told him what we think. I was at the meeting when we were yelling and booing him. He knows exactly what the public thinks. Him pretending like there’s people out there afraid to speak up is just triumphed up lies trying to hide the facts. The only people who want that thing on the river are Courtney bu++ kissers, all 7 of them. Kudos to the nice lady who posted the truth about tourist lodging when she owns a tourism business.
Added: August 25, 2025 10:03:03 AM
Submitted by Name: Answers From: Housing shortage?
Comments: 200 is the number to remember——The mayor has repeatedly stated that Madison needs more family housing downtown. He adds there’s been “no new housing for more the 50 years.” Obviously most citizens just chuckled rather than explain ITS A HISTORIC DISTRICT so therefore preserving and restoring the old are MANDATED, building new isn’t a really viable option unless you build on vacant lots- in the flood plain or contained industrial lots.
But is there really a housing shortage in Madison? Depends- There’s plenty of land on the hilltop to build and a large number of homes over 300 thousand for sale. But not many available under 150 thousand and fewer available less than that. So yes there is a shortage of low and moderate income housing. And yes- we are doing just fine with upper income home owners who can afford the kind of house they want.
But in the downtown the mayor and council have been negligent in their duties on many issues, but especially regulating air BnB and VRBO. These are homes rehabbed and rented out to tourists overnight or temporary stays of several weeks. Several years back citizens began warning officials if they did not restrict the number of VRBO and BnB there would be a housing shortage downtown. And guess what?
There’s plenty micro lodgings in Madison according to 2023 data. Currently 130 air BNB and 62 VRBO- most of which are located downtown . So 192 - I only gave us 8 to make the math easy and counted a few that have opened since and closed since. So 200 homes have been pulled from available, local housing stock. Imagine if the mayor and council had listened to citizens - if they capped the number at 150, we would have roughly the same number of units as the proposed upper income, floodplain housing complex and not spend a dime. If we capped it at 100 we’d have about twice as many. And if we capped it at 50 - well obviously 3 times as many. All of which would not cost the taxpayers 6 million in cash incentives not counting sidewalks, utility, parking and land giveaways.
6 million is on the low side but because no one can actually answer how much the development will cost- leave alone how much taxpayers will donate- let’s just take half that number and say 3 million could have been forgivable loans or grants to homeowners - maybe 50 grand to folks who agree to buy and restore or repair a historic home and live in it for 5 years. As it works out we would have saved 3 million of our 6+ and kept 60 of our homes restored and family ready. The increase in property taxes could have helped pay off our bond to fund the program. (That’s what the mayor says) Thats more than the new development and imagine the cash that would have stayed to local contractors and home owners versus going to millionaires in Carmel and Fischers.
Don’t get me wrong - I’m not proposing the program I’m just pointing out how absurd it is to fail to regulate overnight micro lodging - let it grow out of control and then complain you have no family or young professional housing and then demand 6 million plus from taxpayers to pay rich guys in Carmel to build new housing in a flood plain , for rich people, in a historic district , on land promised to be green space. (More on that later). Have a great day. Tjh
Added: August 25, 2025 07:50:09 AM
Submitted by Name: Madison
Comments: The Mayor is simply wrong about no housing developments downtown in the last 50 years. The Tack factory and old school administration renovation projects come to mind. Both good reuse of historic buildings.
There is a dilapidated structure one block up from the mayor’s proposed riverfront apartments that could renovate or clear and build new, if needed. Meets your objective of affordable housing downtown.
Again, if you put 56 apartments on the river, where are those people going to stay when the river floods? Will the City be liable for living expenses for flood victims since the City subsidized these apartments/condos?
Name: More Taxes
From: Madison
These new taxes are not the end of getting in your pockets.
Next are the schools.
They will be asking for operating and safety referendums in the very near future to make up for the loss of property taxes.