FROM:         Kyle Christianson, Legislative Associate

  

DATE:         October 28, 2013    

  

SUBJECT:    County Call to Action - Contact Your State Legislators Today!

  

Representative Weatherston circulated LRB-3105 for co-sponsorship today that seeks to address a growing problem affecting counties and other units of local government. With more and more properties applying for tax-exempt status, municipalities have been striking deals with the owners of these properties to provide 'payment for services' agreements. While the municipality receives some compensation in lieu of taxes, other taxing jurisdictions such as the county receive nothing. Municipalities have leverage in this type of negotiation with a non-profit entity because it is the local assessor who helps make the determination of whether a property qualifies as tax-exempt.

 

For example, the City of Racine recently struck a deal with the owner of two apartment complexes in the city that applied for tax-exempt status.  To avoid a court battle, the property owner and city entered into a payment for services agreement that was worth roughly $140,000 annually, nearly what would have been paid to the city in property tax payments. 

  

This bill requires all payments received from a payment for services agreement between a political subdivision and a non-profit entity that owns a tax-exempt property to be divided among each taxing jurisdiction in the same proportion as property taxes. In other words, if a county is entitled to 20% of the taxes paid for a taxable property, then it would also receive 20% of the payment for services from a tax-exempt property owner.   

 

The co-sponsorship deadline for this legislation is Monday, November 4, 2013 at noon.  We are asking you to contact your legislators today to ask them to co-sponsor this important bill impacting counties.  To find phone numbers and other contact information for your legislators, click here and go to "Assembly" or "Senate" in the left menu. 

 

 

Please contact your state representatives and state senators today and ask that they co-sponsor LRB 3105.

Click here for a copy of the legislation.

Please contact Kyle Christianson via email or at 608.663.7188 or with any questions.