PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — A legal challenge to a Port Washington referendum on tax incremental districts has been dismissed by an Ozaukee County judge this week, allowing the April vote approved by city voters to stand, at least for now.
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The referendum gave Port Washington voters a say in approving future tax incremental districts over $10 million. A group of regional business leaders had been trying to get that vote tossed out.
“The problem is that none of the plaintiffs demonstrate how, why, or when this might happen," said Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Adam Gerol in an oral ruling Monday. "What's lacking from any of the averments is any presentation of actual plans contemplated or specifically how this provision would negatively affect them ... in essence, all we have are people who say that they don't like the law, and they're ... in a very vague hypothetical — in a generalized sense — that they think it will have a bad effect.”
Great Lakes Neighbors United circulated the petition that led to the referendum and intervened in the court case. The group is happy the will of voters was respected, despite having to spend money to defend the vote in court.
"They gathered signatures, they voted. Today the court respected that," GLNU spokesperson Christine Le Jeune said in a news release. "While we welcome this decision, it is unfortunate that citizens had to raise thousands of dollars to go to court and ensure that their voting rights were respected."
One plaintiff, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, still does not like the precedent the decision sets for the city and the region. The group thinks higher courts should take a look.
"Regardless of today’s ruling, our concern has always extended beyond a single project or a single community," MMAC spokesperson Ryan Amundson said in a statement to TMJ4 News. "If measures like this become a precedent across Wisconsin, they risk making our state less competitive for the housing, jobs and investment our communities need. Finally, we're disappointed with the judge's interpretation of the law on multiple fronts and feel confident further examination in higher courts is warranted."
In the community, residents are weighing both the vote and the effort to overturn it. Roland Chaloupka, a Port Washington neighbor and former fire department dive team member, has been following the myriad of data center-related legal challenges.
"A say in these items is important, and I also feel our leaders are put in those positions to make those decisions," Chaloupka said.
Although Chaloupka was in the minority of voters against the TID ordinance, he is also wary of tossing out the vote.
"I'm a little on the fence, but let the courts decide which way we need to go," Chaloupka said.
Other residents, like Brian Preising, are worried that leaving the ordinance in place could negatively impact the city's financials in the long term.
"There's gotta be a happy medium both ways," Preising said. "All the sudden, in 15 years, they'll be complaining because they don't have enough tax dollars."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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