Milwaukee Aldermen Peter Burgelis and Robert J. Bauman spoke after a Finance and Personnel Committee meeting about the financial impact of the downtown streetcar system. Alderman Burgelis said, “Today’s discussion made clear that we need to separate headlines from hard numbers,” referring to city data, according to the City of Milwaukee.
The City Assessor’s 2025 Revaluation Report shows that property values in Milwaukee rose by an average of 15 percent. The downtown area, which includes the streetcar route, saw a 16.46 percent increase in assessed values, as reported by the City of Milwaukee.
Commercial property values in downtown Milwaukee have increased by nearly 30% over the past year. As a result, a larger share of the city’s property tax levy is now being paid by businesses in the downtown area. Alderman Bauman said, "This surge in downtown and commercial property values means that a larger share of the city’s property tax levy is now covered by businesses and developments in the city center." This shift reduces the portion of the tax levy that residential property owners need to cover, as stated by the City of Milwaukee.
