CapitalSky
2015-16, No.9
March 2, 2015

In this Issue:


Why League is Neutral on Prevailing Wage Legislation

JFC to Hear Testimony from State Agencies

FCC Preempts State Hindrance of Municipal Broadband

Legislators Looking to Expand Fees that Impact Levy Limits

Mayors' Op-Ed Endorses League's Partnership for Prosperity

Recently Introduced Legislation

Hearings on Municipal Bills

League of Wisconsin Municipalities
 
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Legislative Bulletin Archive 
 
Why is League Neutral on Prevailing Wage Legislation?
A message from Executive Director Jerry Deschane

A few members and legislators have questioned why the League, a longstanding opponent of current prevailing wage requirements on public works projects, is silent on that topic so far this legislative session.  The answer is simple:  we're silent because there is a far more important issue at stake.  Engaging in a prevailing wage debate will fracture the coalition that was formed to support adequate and sustainable funding for transportation. In every state where there has been a tough transportation debate, one of the essential elements of success is establishing and maintaining a strong coalition, including business, government, and labor groups.  Breaking that coalition will endanger funding for our transportation system.

 

Wisconsin needs to raise transportation revenues.  That's an unpleasant but indisputable fact. Wisconsin faces a $750 million deficit in transportation. The current state budget proposal attempts to address it by borrowing money, a lot of money. $1.3 billion to be precise.  But that's not a long term solution; borrowed money is not "new money;" it's spending next year's highway money patching today's potholes.     

 

Over the past decade, as transportation resources have become more scarce, the state has responded by borrowing more money and by reducing support for local roads.  As the state borrows more of next year's money, it will have to make even deeper cuts to general transportation aids, local bridge aids, and transit aids. You can't bond for road salt. You can't bond to pay snow plow drivers. The system is heading for collapse and it needs to be fixed. The League believes fixing the system by providing sustainable revenue streams is more important than arguing about prevailing wage. 

 

For more information on the transportation debate and the need to address the transportation shortfall see the Transportation Investment Coalition white paper posted on our website.  

Joint Finance Committee to Hear Testimony on State Budget from State Agencies this Week

The Joint Committee on Finance will meet in Room 412 East, State Capitol, to hold briefings by representatives of state agencies on the Governor's 2015-17 Biennial Budget, Assembly Bill 21/Senate Bill 21.  The committee will meet Monday-Wednesday this week. View the committee's schedule and the order of agencies here.

FCC Issues Opinion Overturning NC and Tennessee Laws Hindering Municipal Broadband 

Last Thursday the Federal Communications Commission voted to push aside laws in two states that restrict municipalities from building out their local high speed broadband networks.

In a 3-2 vote, the FCC granted petitions from Chattanooga, Tennessee and Wilson, North Carolina that asked the agency to invoke its powers under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act to "remove barriers" to infrastructure access.


The upshot is that the FCC has invoked federal power to preempt state laws that, according to advocates for the municipalities, were passed at the behest of big telecom companies. While Thursday's vote applied only to Tennessee or North Carolina, it will provide legal ammunition for communities in more than twenty other states that confront laws banning or restricting municipal-run broadband services.


The FCC's press release on its municipal broadband decision can be found here.


Less than a handful of communities in Wisconsin offer a fiber or cable Internet connection to residents.
Wisconsin law allows municipal broadband but municipalities interested in providing broadband services must comply with several procedural hurdles set forth in state law. The U.W. Extension's Broadband and E-Commerce Education Center provides an excellent summary of Wisconsin law relating to municipal broadband, here
Legislators Looking to Expand Types of Fees Requiring Reductions in a Community's Allowable Levy

The 2013-2015 state budget changed the levy limit law to require a municipality to reduce its allowable levy by the amount of fee revenue it collects for providing garbage collection, fire protection, snow plowing, street sweeping, or storm water management if any of those services were funded in whole or in part in 2013 by the property tax levy. 

League staff learned this week that Senator Lasee (R-De Pere) is working with Sen. Marklein (R-Spring Green) on a budget amendment that would expand the levy limit fee provision to apply to any fees for services, not just the five services currently listed in state law. One good piece of news is that as part of the amendment, the legislators plan to clarify that fees used exclusively for debt service would not impact a municipality's allowable levy. In other words, the legislators, at the League's request, intend to treat fees for debt service the same as property taxes used for debt service, and exempt them from levy limits. The League is closely monitoring this issue and will report on any future developments.  
Mayors' Op-Ed Endorses League's Partnership for Prosperity and Urges Legislature to Collaborate with Municipalities 

In an op-ed published in the February 22 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto & Oak Creek Mayor Steve Scaffidi called upon state government to work collaboratively with local governments. "Our elected leaders in Madison should empower local government to help us better meet the individual needs of our communities and honor the long-standing Wisconsin tradition of home rule and local control. It should resist the temptation to adopt one-size-fits-all solutions in Madison and, wherever practicable, it should empower local officials to adopt governmental solutions tailored to the specific needs of their communities." 

Read the full op-ed here.
Recently Introduced Legislation

SB 47/AB 58, Responding to Request for Absentee Ballot. Requires a municipal clerk who receives a request for an absentee ballot by mail, email, or fax to respond to the request no later than one business day after receiving the request. Introduced by Rep. Horlacher (R-Mukwonago) and Sen. Harsdorf (R-River Falls) The League has not yet taken a position on this this bill.  Send comments to League staff about this bill     


SB 50, Technical Changes to TIF Law.  This bill was recommended by the TIF study committee and makes several technical changes and improvements to TIF law including the following:  

  • Amends the notice requirement of the planning commission from a class 2 notice to a class 1 notice with regard to notices relating to the TID amendment process.
  • Specifies that the requirement related to maintenance of industrial zoning 
    applies only to districts that are declared to be industrial districts.
  • Specifies that the municipality's equalized value for the preceding year, as used in the calculation of the levy limit exception for the year that a TID terminates, excludes the value of any TID value increments. 

Introduced by the Joint Legislative Council. The League supports this bill.  Send comments to League staff about this bill  


SB 51, Joint Review Boards and Tax Incremental District Annual Reports.This bill was recommended by the TIF study committee. It requires a municipality to always convene a standing Joint Review Board in order to create a TID. The bill requires that a municipality submit the annual report describing the status of each existing TID to each overlying taxing jurisdiction as well as the Department of 
Revenue (DOR), by July 1, annually. The bill also specifies the type of information that must be included in the annual report.  Introduced by the Joint Legislative Council. The
 League supports this bill.  Send comments to League staff about this 

 

SB 52Modifying Requirements for Donor TIDs.  
This bill was recommended by the TIF study committee. Under the bill, for TIDs that exist on the effective date of the bill, such donor TIDs may share tax increments notwithstanding the fact that they do not have the same overlying taxation jurisdictions as the donee districts if the dissimilarity is because one of the districts includes a lake sanitary district, a public inland lake protection and rehabilitation district, or a town sanitary district (special districts). Also, for TIDs created on or after the day the bill takes effect, special districts may not participate in the financing of a TID. Lastly, this bill allows any type of TID to be a recipient TID and use donated tax increments. Introduced by the Joint Legislative Council. The League supports this bill.  

SB 53, Extending life of TIDs adversely impacted by state law changes. This bill allows a community to extend the life of a tax incremental district if the district is adversely impacted by statutory changes, such as the state's recent buy down of the tech college tax rate. Introduced by the Joint Legislative Council. The League supports this bill. Send comments to League staff about this

SB 54, Treatment of Vacant Property and City Owned Property in TIDS. Removes the restriction that property standing vacant may not comprise 
more than 25 percent of the area in a TID for TIDs created after the effective date of the bill. Additionally, for a TID created on or after the effective date of the bill, the bill revises the calculation of the initial tax incremental base of the district to exclude all tax-exempt city-owned property. Introduced by the Joint Legislative Council. The League supports this bill. Send comments to League staff about this

SB 55, Amount of equalized Value that can be included in TIDS. Increases from 12 to 15 percent the amount of a community's equalized value that can be included in its TIDs. Introduced by the Joint Legislative Council. The League supports this bill.  Send comments to League staff about this

SB 56, Extends Option for Declaring TIDs Distressed. The bill replaces the October 1, 2015, deadline by which a local government must declare a TID to be distressed or severely distressed with a new deadline of October 1, 2020. Introduced by the Joint Legislative Council. The League supports this bill Send comments to League staff about this

SB 57, Redetermining Base Value of Poorly Performing TIDs.  The bill proposes an alternative process for redetermining the base value of a TID. The bill would authorize a local legislative body to request redetermination any time that a TID is in a decrement situation for a single year. Under the bill, a local legislative body's ability to require redeterminations under the alternative process must first be included  in the TID's project plan, resulting in JRB approval of the possibility of redetermination but not each specific resolution for redetermination. The ability of a local legislative body to request multiple redeterminations also must be specifically stated in the project plan. Introduced by the Joint Legislative Council. The League supports this billSend comments to League staff about this
Hearings on Municipal Bills 

AB 28, Traffic control at nonfunctioning or malfunctioning traffic control signals. By Assembly Transportation Committee on Tuesday, March 3 at 10:00, in Room 417 North. The League has not taken a position on this bill.