PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. — Port Washington residents are petitioning for a say in how the city approves future tax increment districts after the Common Council approved a TID for a $15 billion data center campus.
A neighbor group named Great Lakes Neighbors United presented a petition with more than 1,000 verified resident signatures at City Hall Thursday afternoon.
The petition calls for public referendums on any future tax increment districts over $10 million. The petition would not affect the recently approved TID for the data center campus.
"Over 1,000 residents signed this petition to force their voice into the public," said Christine Le Jeune.
Jacki McDowell, who retired to Port Washington from the East Coast seven years ago with her husband, Paul, supports the petition.
"I'm not against development. I'm actually usually for it. I think it needs to be well thought out, though," McDowell said. "Tax breaks and such to businesses might be getting a bit out of hand."
The petition raises questions about whether local governments are overusing TIDs beyond their stated purpose of cleaning up blighted areas.
Watch: Port Washington neighbors gather 1,000 signatures, petition city to change future TID approval process
"We want officials in other cities as well to do a better job of listening to their constituents early in the process," said Mike Beaster with Great Lakes Neighbors United.
City spokesperson Chris Jenkins maintains the data center TID will protect residents from paying for developer Vantage's infrastructure costs. Officials say the campus will help increase the city's tax base and lower property taxes for residents.
For any petition received, the city will follow its standard procedures as clearly defined by statutes. Those procedures include:The Common Council voted unanimously during its Nov. 4 meeting to create TID No. 5, which shields the city and taxpayers from financial risk while providing a structure for Vantage Data Centers to essentially pay itself back for qualified infrastructure improvements Vantage is paying for up front. The TID advances to the city’s Joint Review Board for final approval on Nov. 18.
- Any petition must contain signatures of city electors in an amount equal to at least 15% of the total number of votes cast for governor in the last general election within the city. To provide context, that number is 954.
- The City Clerk must then evaluate any petition to determine whether it has the minimum number of signatures, whether all signatures are valid, and whether the proposed ordinance is legal. The Clerk has 15 days to complete this review.
- If the Clerk determines the petition is not sufficient, a written response must be provided to the organizer. The organizer would have 10 days to make any necessary corrections.
- If a valid petition is received, the Clerk must then forward it to the Common Council. The Council then has 30 days to either pass the ordinance or schedule the ordinance for a referendum, which would occur in 2026 – either in a special election or in the next general election.
- Any legislation adopted through this process would only apply to future City actions. It would have no effect on approvals that have already occurred.
Outside of the TID, Vantage also will pay property taxes on the land it has purchased.
The City already has approved the data center project, including a development agreement with Vantage and data center-specific zoning codes that were drafted after listening to input from residents and community members since January. The signed development agreement includes provisions to create a TID, and the city would face potential liability by not doing so.
If the petition is valid, the Common Council must either pass the ordinance or send it to a public referendum next year.
"Even if the only thing we get is an acknowledgement that we want to be more involved, I think our point will come across," Beaster said.
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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