Judge refuses to block Port TIF referendum

Ozaukee County Circuit Judge Adam Gerol on Monday denied a request by a group of business organizations, including the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, for a temporary injunction to halt an April 7 referendum over tax incremental financing districts in the City of Port Washington, saying residents deserve a say in the matter.

“People have a right to vote,” Gerol said. “Officials have the right to hear from them.”

His decision means City of Port voters will decide on April 7 whether to enact a law requiring a binding referendum be held on any future tax incremental financing districts before they are approved.

Questions of whether the proposed referendum is constitutional, he said, can be taken up if voters approve the measure in April.

He set an April 16 scheduling conference in case it is needed.

The April 7 referendum was sought by Great Lake Neighbors United, a grassroots organization opposed to the Vantage Data Centers Lighthouse Campus being built on Port Washington’s north side.

Great Lakes Neighbors United has also filed a lawsuit seeking to void the TIF district.

The campus is being supported by a $459 million tax incremental financing district, prompting the organization to petition the city to place a question on the April ballot that would require a referendum for any future TIF district that requires large capital expenditures or has a base value or project costs of at least $10 million.

The business organizations filed a lawsuit against the city in January seeking to stop the referendum, arguing among other things that the proposed referendum is vague and conflicts with state law, which sets a specific process for approving a TIF district.

The city’s response to the suit says officials “largely agree” with the business groups’ objections, noting the city attorney expressed similar concerns before aldermen voted to place the referendum on the ballot. Officials felt compelled to include the question on the ballot because Great Lakes Neighbors had collected the state-required signatures needed to put the matter to a vote.

Great Lakes Neighbors United sought to serve as an intervenor in the case, something Gerol agreed to on Monday.

“In my opinion, they are indispensable to a fair resolution of this controversy,” Gerol said.

Gerol rejected the argument that the proposed referendum question is too vague. The business groups had argued that the question doesn’t define what a TIF district that requires a “large capital expenditure” is, and it doesn’t define at what stage of the TIF approval process a referendum should be held.

“I cannot say that it’s possible to view it as so vague it’s impossible to understand,” Gerol said.

Gerol noted that blocking a referendum question is a significant move meant to prevent irreparable harm, something he said the business groups did not prove would occur.

“Courts must be loath to interfere,” Gerol said.

The groups argued that holding a referendum on whether voter approval is required for future TIF districts will stifle development because developers who have to wait for a vote on TIF districts will not do business in the city.

That, Gerol said, isn’t proven.

“We have no idea how this election is going to play out,” he said. “It could be the opposite from what’s feared.”

Gerol had argued earlier this month that if voters reject the referendum, it could be seen as a sign the city is open for additional development.

In addition to the Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce, the plaintiffs in the case are The Associated General Contractors of Greater Milwaukee, Building Advantage, Commercial Association of REALTORS Wisconsin, Wisconsin REALTORS Association, NAIOP Wisconsin, Port Washington based Sid’s Sealants and its owner Sid Arthur.