TOWN OF BUCHANAN, WI (WTAQ) — A conservative law firm is suing the Outagamie County town of Buchanan over the town’s transportation fee.
In the lawsuit, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty alleges the fee amounts to a tax that is not allowed under Wisconsin law.
“So the short version is that the town of Buchanan has essentially made up a new type of fee to generate revenue to pay for its roads,” said Deputy Counsel Luke Berg. “But there’s nothing in state law that authorizes the type of fee.”
Berg argues the fee pays for costs which can only legally be paid for through property taxes, including roads, sidewalks, street lights, storm water management and other improvements.
WILL alleges the fee is an attempt to bypass the legal limits on property tax levies, which, if exceeded, need to be approved by voters.
“The Town of Buchanan, instead of doing that, just made up this new fee, and is using it to raise $850,000,” Berg told WTAQ. “Which, for the town, blows past that levy limit by about 33 percent.”
The lawsuit asks the court to declare the fee unlawful and prohibit the town from levying, enforcing or collecting it.
However, Buchanan isn’t the only city with such a fee.
“The League of Wisconsin Municipalities wrote a memo recently endorsing this as a new way for cities to generate revenue,” said Berg. “The City of Neenah has one, and a few others do too. In our view, none of these are legal.”
WILL put out a notice a few months ago warning about the suit. It was filed Thursday morning.
WTAQ has reached out to representatives from the Town of Buchanan, who said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
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