On February 9th, 2021, the Common Council voted to delay any consideration of the Transportation Utility Fee and directed the City Administrator to continue researching possible funding mechanisms for road projects. This direction includes determining whether the financials for the TUF could be reduced to mitigate the impact on property owners as well as continuing to educate the public about the Transportation Utility.
In June of 2020, the Common Council voted to hire Ehlers to assist with
conducting a study on a Transportation Utility to determine whether it
is a viable method of funding the City's transportation costs as well as
establishing the fee structure, implementation and administration
framework, and revenue needs. Based on information presented at the
September Council meeting, the Common Council voted to continue moving
forward with the study to its completion. This was
not a vote to approve/implement the Transportation Utility.
As a result, the City has created a website where residents and other stakeholders can go to get information on this process and on TUFs in general. Information, such as powerpoints presentations, scholarly
articles on Transportation Utilities, and information from the League of
Wisconsin Municipalities regarding TUF legality in Wisconsin. The City
will also post information on community meetings that will be scheduled
to give the public a chance to ask questions and learn more about what
the TUF is and what it would mean to the community if one is
implemented.
The website can be found
here.