Shared revenue threat leaves cities scrambling

State to get $14.2 million for local road improvements

Published: May 2, 2012
Tags: League of Wisconsin Municipalities, Scott Walker, Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Wisconsin Towns Association, WisDOT

Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday announced the state will receive $14,226,424 for town road and municipal street improvement projects, according to a Wisconsin Department of Transportation news release.

Water runoff lawsuit dries up in Supreme Court

Paul Snyder paul.snyder@dailyreporter.com A Dodgeville homeowner waited too long to sue the city for approving a subdivision that caused water damage to his property, according to a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling. The court on Friday upheld an appellate court ruling that Glen Hocking’s 14-year delay between the 1992 development and his 2006 lawsuit violated the [...]

Annexation bill divides towns, municipalities

By Paul Snyder Veterans of the annexation battles between towns and municipalities are split over a bill that would define the rules of engagement. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Andy Jorgenson, D-Fort Atkinson, would prevent cities and villages from annexing town land that is not contiguous — or adjacent — to municipal property. The [...]

Shared-revenue bill could boost local projects (UPDATE)

By Paul Snyder Local governments facing a grim future of postponed roadwork and delayed capital projects are hailing a bill that would force the state to return more money. But standing between the bill’s proposal and passage is the equally grim reality that the state doesn’t have any more money to return. “This sounds kind [...]

Milwaukee County bonds could undercut city rules

Published: February 8, 2010
Tags: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, bond, City of Milwaukee, Gonda, Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors, Hamilton, Huck, Lipscomb, Milwaukee County, RSC and Associates, Ruzicka, Wisconsin Alliance of Cities

By Sean Ryan A state law change that lets counties issue bonds for construction is letting developers sidestep rules tied to city of Milwaukee project support. Milwaukee requires developers that receive more than $1 million from the city hire Milwaukee residents, give contracts to emerging business enterprises and pay prevailing wages. The city enforces the [...]

Runoff debate centers on project costs

Published: January 25, 2010
Tags: Department of Natural Resources, DNR, grant, Heckenlaible, Huck, Northeast Wisconsin Stormwater Consortium, River Alliance of Wisconsin, runoff, water, Wisconsin Alliance of Cities

By Sean Ryan Green Bay engineers made a list of 70 city projects to satisfy state runoff rules, then rejected 50 as not worth the money. “Some of the projects that were initially proposed were infeasible, so to speak,” said Matthew Heckenlaible, Green Bay assistant city engineer. “So we have to go back to the [...]

State seeks fresh ways to attract, keep businesses (UPDATE)

Published: November 20, 2009
Tags: Alexander, Brown, development, Drinan, Huck, Madison Region Economic Development Enterprise, Mercury Marine, Oshkosh Truck, Schloss, The Kalamazoo Promise, Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, Wisconsin Economic Development Association
Comments: 1

By Sean Ryan Business parks, tax breaks and other tried-and-true perks just aren’t enough anymore, say economic development officials struggling for new ways to attract and retain companies. Governments still must provide cash incentives to lure companies or stop them from moving, but the importance of work force training, strong school districts and arts and [...]

Tax group spots TIF trouble

Published: July 22, 2009
Tags: debt, development, TIF, Wisconsin Alliance of Cities, Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance

Sean Ryan sean.ryan@dailyreporter.com A tax group is sounding the alarm that municipalities are overextending themselves with tax-incremental financing. State legislators, meanwhile are searching for ways to expand municipal authority for the development tools. As TIF use increases, so does the number of red flags that the development districts create problems for municipalities, said Dale Knapp, [...]

Cities brace for cuts to road money

Published: June 30, 2009
Tags: Connecting Highway Aid program, Interstate Sealant & Concrete Inc., state budget, Wisconsin Alliance of Cities

Sean Ryan sean.ryan@dailyreporter.com Wisconsin public works directors on July 6 will feel the first cut in the state’s reduction in road-maintenance money for cities. Municipalities will get 6.13 percent less in the July payment from the state’s Connecting Highway Aid program, which provides money to maintain, plow and police local roads that link to interstates. [...]