WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WSAU) — The city of Wisconsin Rapids is now ready to take resident input on a proposal to create a transportation utility that would eliminate special assessments charged to property owners when streets are repaired or replaced along their property.
Mayor Shane Blaser and the City Council have called a public hearing as part of Tuesday’s Council meeting where he says he wants to hear from everyone on both sides of the issue. “This is kind of the big kick-0ff to potentially approving it or denying it.”
The plan would essentially create a street project savings account for the city that every taxpayer would contribute to. Blaser says the city would also take money that would typically be borrowed for utility projects and transfer it to the account as well, which would bring down the tax levy a bit.
“We’re still working on some property classifications but for an average resident, they may see a $9 increase in their utility bill for the month. That money would go to pay for special assessments,” he said, adding that for now the $9 per month fee is what they would need to get the program started.
Blaser says he’s talked with other similar-sized communities in Oregon who say the programs have been a hit with residents. “They have had this model out there since the early 2000s. One of the engineers I spoke with said it was the best thing their community ever did. I’ve heard a lot of positives, and very [few] concerns.”
Blaser did acknowledge that it’s hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison between Wisconsin and Oregon because of different taxing strategies, but based on the feedback he’s received from those communities and the consultants who helped draw up the drafts of the program, he thinks they have a solid foundation in place.
He adds that Austin, Texas has also implemented a street utility program, but he didn’t look too deep into it because they are a great deal larger than Wisconsin Rapids. “They have about 14,000 employees in the City of Austin, which is probably about how many people we have in Wisconsin Rapids.”
Neenah, Wisconsin will be putting theirs into place this fall. Janesville is also working on one.
Other topics Blaser discussed with WSAU’s Mike Leischner include:
Start of video- Constitution Day declaration and events
4:00- Transportation utility discussion coming on Tuesday
8:50- Development on 8th Street
12:20- New jail
