The Journal is reporting that suburban tax delinquency is up 23% in Milwaukee County:

Suburban Milwaukee County experienced a 23% surge in delinquent property taxes levied for 2006, the first double-digit boost since the nation's 2001 recession, County Treasurer Daniel Diliberti said Tuesday.

Sixteen of the 18 suburbs, including some of the county's wealthiest, were part of what officials view as a troubling, if somewhat puzzling, sign in a seemingly healthy economy.

If you read the entire article, you'll see that they interviewed several city officials from all around the county, asking them why they thought this was.  Here is the complete list of reasons I compiled from the article:

• Overly generous lending terms
• Overreaching property buyers
• Possible downturn in the economy
• Increased living expenses, especially gasoline prices and health insurance of course.

Not one single solitary person, including the authors of the article, mentioned the increase in property tax levies themselves as a possible cause for the rise in delinquency.  Apparently nobody in government thinks that increasing property taxes might make it harder for people to pay them.