La Crosse continues to nickle and dime residents

The city of La Crosse never seems to miss a way to squeeze a few more bucks out of people. The latest example has to do with sprinklers that people install on their boulevards. For years, these La Crosse homeowners have been doing the city a favor by watering the grass on their boulevards, which are owned by the city. They put in the underground sprinklers at their own expense, and paid for the water used to water the lawn. But the city is hardly saying thank you. Instead, those with the sprinklers recently got a letter from the city telling them there would be a new annual charge of $50 if they wanted to continue being nice by watering what is technically city property. The response has been predictable. Most we spoke with aren’t going to pay the fee. Some even tore out their sprinklers and sent them to city hall. In recent years, people who want to launch a boat from a city dock, or have a fire in a backyard firepit, have been told they need to pay to get the necessary permits. And most recently, La Crosse’s police chief has warned that with a shorter alternate side parking season recently adopted, the city will lose $35,000 in parking ticket revenue. As a result, he warns, there will be some new pay to park system to make up for that lost revenue. That is an admission this whole alternate side parking system is little more than a money grab, and further evidence that city hall can’t seem to get by with less.